Julie Murray, 4 years: 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: LindenhurstWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Millburn Elementary D24, 4-year termAge: 34Family: Married, three childrenOccupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: Bachelor's Degree in Elementary/Middle School Education, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1998Master's Degree in Educational Leadership, Northeastern Illinois University, 2002Civic 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 Address the financial crisisKey Issue 2 Maintain quality educationKey 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?I believe Millburn School District is doing an exceptional job preparing our children for the future. 95% of Millburn students meet or exceed ISAT standards compared to the state average of 81%. This score has been consistent over the past five years and is a good indicator of the success of the district's education.In addition, Millburn is making Adequate Yearly Progress in almost all areas. I would like to see special attention made to the one area not making AYP. 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?District 24 is currently facing challenges with its budget and funding. Money is not coming in from the state and this causes great strain on the district. I think there are many avenues to look into in order to make up the 1.1 million dollar deficit and all these options need to be heard. Tough decisions have to be made, but we have to still provide the best education possible for the students. We need to look into cutting our spending and creating more revenue either by paying to play, increase registration fees, and/or tax dollars. There is no miracle cure to the deficit. We need to look into many different avenues and still keep our high standards of education.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.The primary function of any Board Member is to set policy for the district. Because of my nine years experience as a classroom teacher, my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership, and being a parent of three children all of whom will go through District 24, I have the background knowledge to understand the issues brought by the many different stake- holders of District 24.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?At this time it is difficult to speculate exactly what I would do without all the information, but my main goal is to be fiscally responsible and do what is best for the students of District 24. 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?I do not support a substantial increase in pay for administrators. It is not a financially responsible decision during these hard economic times.