Susan Facklam: 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: GrayslakeWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Grayslake Elementary D46Age: 58Family: Resident of Graylake for 19 years. Married, 3 boys, 2 are college graduates and the youngest is a senior at Grayslake North High SchoolOccupation: RN, but not presently workingEducation: Practical Nursing School, St. Francis Hospital, Cincinnati, OH 1979 and Associate Degree in Science in Nursing, Elgin Community College, 1990Civic involvement: I serve on the executive and governing boards of the Special Education District of Lake County. I am a member of the Booster Club of Grayslake North High School as well as the Principal's Adivisory Committee. In the past, I also served on the PTF (Avon School) and the PTO (Frederick and Grayslake Middle School). And was an active volunteer.Elected offices held: Elected to school board in 2003Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I continue to have multiple priorities for the school district. My overall goal is to continue to advance progress toward establishing and maintaining high quality education for the 4000 students who reside in our district.Key Issue 2 It is important to continue to advance progress in this district while maintaining strong fiscal responsibility. Property taxes are high in the district and the economic recovery is slow. It will be vital that we have knowledgeable and experienced board members who are able to look very closely at spending (which must include a detailed look at individual line items on the budget) to ensure that spending is thoughtful and responsible. More importantly, spending decisions and/ or possible budget reductions should always be framed within the principle that our children always come first.Key Issue 3 Supporting and enhancing the quality of our teachers, programs and curriculum. While students come first, the teachers are the backbone of the district. I am continually impressed with the quality, enthusiasm and commitment of our teachers. It will be important to support efforts to provide our teachers with the tools and skills to be even more effective and to align our curriculum with current standards and best practices.Questions Answers How should the district approach the next teachers union contract talks? Would you be willing to pursue salary cuts or freezes? Explain your answer.The current teacher contract expires in June, 2012. In the current contract, there is a memorandum of understanding that states that the union will agree to return to the bargaining table to discuss contractual issues surrounding compensation if the board requests that the union do so. However, the union is under no contractual obligation to agree to any proposed changes, including salary concessions. To begin the FY2012 budgeting process, the board will review the financial projections for the FY2012 at the February 2, 2011 board meeting. At that time we'll be able to make a better assessment of what budget changes may be needed to ensure the continued financial health of the district. Any impact on the final year of the present teachers' contract is uncertain. However, salary cuts or freezes are always a possibility. Over the past 7 years I have played an integral role in the negotiations with the union as I bring detailed knowledge of our district's finances and the negotiation process.Transparency has been an issue at District 46. How do you believe the district is doing with conducting the public's business? Any suggestions for improvements?I believe that the district is doing a good job in this area. We've made many changes over the past year to improve communications with parents, students and the community at large. The most significant change this last year is that the board agreed to post our detailed check journal online. Remember, the activities of the Board are governed by the Open Meetings Act. All discussions involving more than 2 Board members must be conducted publically. Open, thoughtful and respectful discussion is encouraged and necessary to ensure that the needs and desires of the parents and the community are met.How do you view the relationship with South Carolina-based consultant Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Inc., which has given awards the district has promoted and hosted conventions that staffers have attended in warm-weather locations in December?Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence, Inc., is a non-profit educational organization committed to ensuring that all students achieve their highest potential by providing schools with measurable and sustainable solutions. The program assists all schools, with a special focus on low socioeconomic, culturally diverse, and low performing communities of learning in assessing the quality of their academic and instructional programs and in developing a school-wide action plan to ensure measurable student achievement.While I acknowledge that the cost of the program is controversial, the district has derived numerous benefits from our association with this non-profit organization. For example, teachers use more data driven instruction and #8216;data dens' that documents each and every student's progress. This is especially helpful with students who require different types of intervention, which is particularly prevalent in our district. Also as a result of their involvement in our district, we are putting more emphasis on technology and making sure that it is integrated appropriately. Cost-effective use of educational consultants and experts will assist our efforts to improve our curriculum and how we deliver the material to our students.What steps, if any, should the district take in response to an audit late last year that found the need for tighter controls on student activity funds?Although, the independent auditor pointed out some weakness in this area, they also clearly stated that they didn't feel as though there was any wrong doing. The audit suggested that some items that were listed in the activity fund should probably been more properly recorded as district funds. The audit also stated that many of the funds had negative balances.As a result, the auditors suggested a plan that our administration and business manager has put in place to correct this deficiency. The board was given a copy of this action plan. The monitoring of the plan will be an ongoing process. I expect the board will receive periodic updates and will need to question the administration to make sure that the necessary steps put in place were adequate. Also, funds that have negative balances or have been inactive for a long period of time will need to be corrected or closed. Stronger accounting and business management practices have long been one of my key priorities.Do you think the names of individuals who are the subject of personnel action in an open meeting should appear on the agenda for the meeting? Why or why not? Currently the district omits the names of such individuals.The personnel agenda item covers resignations, dismissals, leave of absences and new hires. I believe that an individual's privacy should be protected until the board takes action. As soon as the board takes action, the names on the personnel report do become public. I would suggest that to be clearer the action item should state which positions are being hired as well as the number resignations and/or leaves of absences that are being accepted. For example, it could be stated that on tonight's personal report there are 3 new certified staff hires, one resignation to be accepted (and when) and 3 leave of absence requests.