George Lowe: 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: CaryWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County CollegeAge: 74Family: SingleOccupation: Retired, Owned Lowe Oil Co. Certified Computer Repair and Network Technician, TeacherEducation: Graduate of Crystal Lake Community High School (CLCHS)Associate of Science, McHenry County CollegeBachelor of General Studies, Computer Science, Roosevelt University Civic involvement: Formerly:Operation Health, Health System Agency for Lake, Kane and McHenry counties, Il., Cary Planning Commission, Cary Chamber of Commerce.Elected offices held: Trustee Village of Cary, 1971-1973McHenry County Board, 1974-1986McHenry County College, 1993-Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NOCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To make available an Affordable, Quality Education, for those that need and want it. That can be an Associate Degree, Certificate or a program in Work Force Development.Key Issue 2 To work with and support The Friends of McHenry County College Foundation and help raise funds so that students that can not afford college have an opportunity to receive a scholarship to pursue their dream.Key Issue 3 To keep McHenry County College monetarily sound. In today#146;s environment with the state nearly broke and resources dwindling MCC needs to look at alternatives. Partnering with High Schools and using the internet are just a coupe of things that may need to be expanded.Questions Answers With enrollment up at my many community colleges, it can be challenging to keep pace as far as available classroom/lab space, the number of qualified teachers and available course work options. How would you manage that?The administration and faculty at McHenry County College have been very cooperative in the allocation of resources to keep up with the greatly increased enrollment the college has seen in the past two years. The Administration, full time and adjunct faculty are to be commended in their efforts to accommodate all the new students. Using the internet for online classes is also a great help in keeping down the cost of education.In tough economic times, many students (and working professionals) turn to a community college for its educational value. How do you ensure that a person's financial sacrifice equates into an educational benefit?The Academic Quality Improvement Program is the vehicle that will ensure that the Administration, Staff and Faculty do the proper job of giving the students the education value they seek.The advisors are a big part of ensuring that the gain equals the pain. Just recently a company came to the college President telling her that they need welders. The college currently offers welding classes and now plans to expand that course work to include the type of welding that company needs. Not everyone needs to be a welder; but, that illustrates how some may find a skill that is needed which may not even be what they were looking for.Is a tax rate increase needed and, if so, how do you justify it?During my tenure at MCC I have seen the state contribution decrease from approximately 23% to the current rate of approximately 5%. Either way that is a long way from the 33% that was talked about when Illinois passed the Community College Act. At this time the taxpayers of the MCC district are paying approximately 63%, the students through tuition 32% and the state 5%. I will continue to lobby the state for more funding and will squeeze that penny.In today#146;s litigious society the Board has to balance all aspects of a problem to see which side does the least harm to the college and that is not easy.As a retired person living on Social Security and my investments I don't want to spend any more than I have to. It's my tax money too.Community colleges provide many services to a diverse population. Is there a service your college should be providing that it is not, or reaching a segment of the population that it is not?As a board member I take great pride in knowing that we provide a wide range of offerings to a wide range of constituents, from recent High School graduates to Senior Citizens, as is our mission. The offerings are as diverse as Ball Room Dancing, Welding, Nursing, Calculus, and Digital Media. In addition our Adult Literacy continues to grow. The college has systems in place to review the changing needs of the community and adding programs such as welding.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.Having been a student I was always aware that there were never enough PCs for the class. Even after graduating I still took classes and to my astonishment we were not to have computers until the second week of class. When the class is a short eight (8) weeks that is too long. That is when I ran for the Board. I have since then tried to make sure that all classes have adequate equipment.I have helped to push for a Nursing Program. I have worked at the state level to get adequate funding, which no school gets. The college has purchased additional property on which to grow as well as buying the Shah Center which is used for Work Force Development among other things.When first elected to the Board the college was borrowing money to meet its obligations, not now, we now have a fund balance.