George Bouris: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Propsect HeightsWebsite: http://www.GeorgeForD23.comOffice sought: Prospect Heights Elementary D23Age: 45Family: Married with two children. One boy and girl currently attending IKE.Occupation: Vice President, Director of Engineering for a Local Architectural Engineering Firm.Education: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME)Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: noneHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Financial transparency of D23 for our community while maintaining the best for the children.Key Issue 2 Decisions affecting our community and children should be based on actual facts and input from professional assessments, not on subjective opinions.Key Issue 3 School Tax Referendum has not been proven necessary for the near future.Questions Answers How satisfied are you that your district is preparing students for the next stage in their lives, whether it be from elementary into high school or high school into college or full-time employment? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?As of today we have seen positive results for the children. However, with GLC recently being passed in January it is not known if these positive results will continue or lessen. The district has not performed studies of costs, psychological and academic effects. Some school districts that have tried GLC had to revert back to community based schools due to higher operating costs or negative academic results. The Board did not reach out to these districts for input. There have been districts that have been successful but had to remodeled the schools, build additions and add teachers to support the programs.GLC for D23 should be put on hold indefinitely until studies can be evaluated.What budget issues will the district have to confront? What measures do you support to address them? If cuts are needed, be specific about programs and expenses that should be reduced or eliminated. Do you support any tax increases for local schools?Based on the information provided to the public I do not agree that there is a D23 financial crisis. To date $2.7 million in cuts and fees have been proposed against a $19 million budget with $4.7 million in reserves. Only $1.2 million has been adopted and the remaining savings will not be adopted until the results of the referendum. Cuts do not include any administrative savings which represents about 10% of the budget.Furthermore, the Board has not formally announced the exact date they will inform the public about the detailed description surrounding the $1.5 million in savings. The Board has indicated that they reserve the right to withdraw the cuts if the tax payers pass the referendum. Additionally, they plan to blend the language of the referendum to include cuts and fees as well as a tax increase under one statement. In essence if a tax payer wishes to vote for cuts and fees and no to taxes, their vote will not count. This leaves the tax payer no choice but to vote yes to a tax increase or be silenced due to the fact that the board reserves the right not to accept the peoples vote on cuts and fees.The assumed deficit for this year is $700k and next year is $900K. After reviewing the D23 budget submitted to the State from 2007 to 2010 there have been similar deficits assumed each year. By the end of the each fiscal year however, the budget was balanced without any further cuts or fees due to actual expenses and revenues.Is experience as a teacher or support from a union valuable because it suggests educational insights or detrimental because it creates pro-teacher bias? Please clarify whether you have such experience or would accept union support.My goal is to provide the best educational and financial decisions based on my experience in managing $100 million budgets and designing education facilities. If the union wishes to support me I welcome the support.As contract talks come up with various employee groups, what posture should the board take? Do you believe the district should ask for concessions, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?Financial adjustments should be consistent with the challenges faced today by all working people and corporations.If your district had a superintendent or other administrator nearing retirement, would you support a substantial increase in his or her pay to help boost pension benefits? Why or why not?No.The tax payers and children's education should not support a pension boost. The Superintendent's income is approximately $200,000 per year. He will be fine.