James G. Poskozim: 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: Des PlainesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Des Plaines Elementary D62Age: 61Family: Married for 38 years 2 children ages 30 and 22 1 Grandchild and expecting anotherOccupation: AttorneyEducation: B.S. Electrical Engineering - University of Illinois, Champaign 1972J.D. IIT/Chicago-Kent Law School 1979Civic involvement: Chairman First Northern Credit UnionLector at St. Mary's ChurchElected offices held: Board Member of District 62Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintaining the fiscal integrity of District 62. We rely primarily on local property taxes and not on money controlled by the dysfunctional State Legislature. This has allowed us to maintain our very strong financial rating and still undertake the programs and facility upgrades necessary for our children. Our first job as Board members is to live within our means and not make commitments that jeopardize the District's future.Key Issue 2 It's really the same thing as issue number 1 above. I believe in efficient and effective small government. I have worked as both an engineer and an attorney, with a background that demonstrates some financial acuity. I believe that decisions should be driven by data, not by a personal agenda.As an unpaid Board member of this local School District I believe I can add value to the decisions made by the entire Board that affect the lives of the people who live here.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.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?We do track and coordinate the progression of our elementary school students as they transition to High School to some extent. There is a state run program in development that will do this better, and I look forward to getting access to this information. What I do know right now is more anecdotal, but it does indicate that our students do have the opportunity to progress into quality colleges and good jobs, and from talking with others I believe we do have a generally good reputation among neighboring communities. Both of my own children graduated from District 62 schools and eventually went on to very well respected Big 10 universities.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?I do not support any tax increase. As stated above we do not rely on State controlled money for the overwhelming majority of our budget. Fortunately in the near term we do have the revenue to support our initiatives. As you are also aware we are in the middle of a reconstruction program that was long overdue. Before we undertook that effort we went through a multi-year Master Planning process. I would not have voted for spending that money unless it was clear that we could afford it without asking for any further increase in taxes.Long term is another issue. We need to continue to control spending, and most of our spending is on teacher salary. At the same time there is a growing national recognition that we need to improve teacher performance. I do not believe these are conflicting priorities. One of the most important initiatives that we can undertake was specifically added to our current contract in the last negotiation, and that is to form a joint committee with the teacher's union that will make recommendations for changing the basic salary structure of our future teacher contracts. If done well, that can be a win for both the financial integrity of the District and for high performance teachers, and if re-elected I hope to be part of that ongoing effort.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.I do not believe that experience as a teacher is necessary for this position. As far as I know the union hasn't taken a position either for or against me. Being on the Board means that you represent the entire Community, not just one section of that community. My experience comes from living in Des Plaines for almost 30 years, from paying taxes here and from the experiences of my children who attended District 62 and have gone on to successful lives. My concerns are those of every person who lives here. I am willing to do what is necessary to accomplish our core mission (education) and I am not overly concerned with whether or not I am popular with any particular interest group.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?I believe it is necessary to restructure teacher compensation so that there is better alignment between performance and pay. Good performance should drive good pay. Bad performance should be remedied or removed.The private sector has gone through a terrible economy for several years. Hopefully that will not continue forever. But public employees are not separate from the economy and their pay should be commensurate with similar employment in the private sector that supports them.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 pension system for public employees in the State of Illinois is one of the largest financial problems this state has. It has been totally out of control for decades. We need to make decisions based on what the effect will be for the next 20 years, not just on the time until the next election.