Jay Fisher: 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: LisleWebsite: http://www.electjayfisher.comOffice sought: Naperville Unit D203Age: 43Family: Married to Jill, a nuclear engineer, for 18 years. We have two boys, ages 7 and 10, who attend elementary school in District 203.Occupation: For the last six years I have been a Stay-at-Home Dad for my two boys. I am active in their school and their extracurricular activities. Before that I worked as an attorney in legislative and regulatory affairs for a national medical society.Education: B.A. in Government, Cornell University, 1990J.D. with Honors, George Washington Univ. Law School, 1993Civic involvement: Trustee, Lisle-Woodridge Fire District (appointed position), 1999-CurrentSecretary-Treasurer, Board of Directors, DU-COMM, 1999-CurrentTreasurer, Steeple Run Home and School Assoc., 2009-CurrentNewsletter Editor, Steeple Run Home and School Assoc., 2008-2009Treasurer, Supporters of Talented and Gifted Education (STAGE), 2010-CurrentSoccer Coach, Lisle Park District, 2008 and 2009Member and Sunday School Teacher, Grace U.M.C., NapervilleClassroom Teacher, 2nd Grade Junior Achievement, Steeple Run Elementary School, 2007 and 2010.Elected offices held: Precinct Committeeman, Lisle Township, 1996-CurrentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 In these tough economic times we need to make sure that every dime is spent wisely and, as much as possible, directly affects the education in the classroom.Like many people I moved here in large part because of the successful schools. Resources will continue to be limited and the Board, the Administration, the staff, and the public will need to work together to ensure that our schools are successful and the citizens' taxes are being spent wisely.Key Issue 2 I will be an advocate for all constituents in the District and strive to listen to all concerns. As education is continuously changing we need to utilize all the talent we have among our District residents. We need to make sure the District is as transparent as possible. Also, with a multitude of unfunded mandates and new rules being written in Springfield and in Washington I believe the District would benefit from being proactive in the legislative and the regulatory arena.Key Issue 3 If and only if the finances allow, I believe we should utilize the declining enrollment to implement smaller class sizes for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grade.29 First Graders and three adults in a classroom is a far from optimal learning environment and is not ""World Class.""Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?First, as a graduate of a public school system in Illinois that prepared me for the Ivy League and Law School I am personally aware of the importance of a quality education. Second, I bring a history of Board governance from my time with the Lisle-Woodridge Fire District, the highest ISO rated Fire District in the nation. This would allow me to bring fresh ideas to the Board.Third, I am active in my local Home and School Association which provides me with input from staff and parents about the state of our District.Lastly, I would bring my legal training and political experience to the Board which it is currently lacking. With many important rules and mandates being handed down from Springfield and Washington my background and relationships can be beneficial in attempting to craft laws and rules to help District 203. Do you support retaining teacher tenure rules that make it nearly impossible to fire teachers?Bipartisan groups in Springfield and Washington are looking at easing tenure rules to make it more rigorous to earn tenure and easier to fire poorly performing teachers. While tenure makes it all but impossible to fire a teacher for political reasons it also leaves bad teachers in classrooms. This is especially important in poorer districts across the state. A year (or more) with a bad teacher is a year of education our children will never get back. Therefore I support easing teacher tenure rules.Do you support merit pay for teachers?Basic economics show that incentives work. Teachers, like all professionals, will respond to incentives. In our society if you do a better job you are more highly rewarded. I, therefore, support merit pay.District 203, I believe, has a committee looking at ways to implement some aspect of merit pay. The devil will be in the details, however. It will be a difficult task to create a methodology that accurately assesses a teacher's performance using such criteria as test scores, administrative review and other assessments.The district has managed the current financial storm without slashing jobs and deficit spending. How do you ensure that stability will continue?The District 203 has an advantage over other school districts in this situation as it gets 86% of its revenue from property taxes and only 5.5% from the state. Most districts rely more heavily on state and federal dollars which is where the cuts have been.However, with declining home values and increased unemployment, rising property taxes are being felt by homeowners in the District. Also, the District projects deficit spending as early as 2016. To ensure balanced budgets we need to make sure that all stakeholders are limiting expenses wherever possible and focusing on what directly affects the children in the classroom.We need to make sure that financial projections are accurate and open so we can work together to make the budgets continue to be balanced and educational quality does not suffer (nor does the homeowner).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 an alumni admissions ambassador for Cornell University I have spoken with applicants from District 203. I am quite confident after my conversations that the District is preparing its high performing students for success at the highest levels of academia.The District last year sent out an alumni survey. I was not able to locate any results on the District 203 web site. It should be enlightening to see how the District 203 alumni felt about their preparation for college and/or work.I was disappointed to hear that the overnight portion of 5th Grade Outdoor Ed was being eliminated as that provided an important growing and maturing experience for many kids. We need to make sure that our children have opportunities to mature, like Outdoor Ed, so that they are ready to live independently and successfully when they enter the business world.