Kaneland candidates share views at forum

Collective bargaining, yes. Tax increase, no. How many school board meetings have you attended? Umm ...

The seven people running for Kaneland school board gave their views on these topics and more at a forum Thursday sponsored by the Kaneland Education Association and the Kaneland school district’s citizens advisory committee. It was held at Harter Middle School in Sugar Grove.

Incumbents Teresa Witt and Deborah Grant and Pedro Rivas, Gale Pavlak, Patrick Denlinger, Joe Oberweis and Tony Valente are seeking four 4-year terms on the board.

Valente, the former principal of Kaneland High School, made his stand clear in his opening statement, saying he had a “track record of raising student achievement within the parameter of declining finances.” Then he made two promises: He would never vote to raise taxes or borrow money, and he would stop any efforts at backdoor referendums.

He was critical of Grant later in the forum, after she said that while ACT scores are important, there are other things important to making a student such as her oldest son read for college or work life. Her son, who took emergency medical technician training at the district’s Fox Valley Career Center, is now a student at Loyola University, and is interested in working in health care. She credited teachers for teaching him skills.

Valente countered, however, that colleges consider ACT scores, and when they do, Kaneland doesn’t compare well. “I’m sorry and disheartened to hear Ms. Grant doesn’t have the expectations of our school district that everyone on my street has,” he said.

All said they would oppose increasing the operating tax rate. But when the question was re-posed as a yes-or-no-only, “35 kids in a classroom, or a tax increase?” there was some difference.

“This is probably going to come back to haunt me, but I would probably vote to ask the voters. At a minimum, we owe them the choice,” Oberweis said. And Grant and Pavlak agreed, with Grant citing her experience having taught a class with 38 students in it.

All were asked the “Wisconsin” question: should teachers have full collective bargaining rights, or have it restricted to just their salary?

Again, all supported collective bargaining, even those candidates who have never belonged to a union.

“I wouldn’t want that control (over employees’ pay) taken away from the local school district. I would like Kaneland to decide what Kaneland’s teachers are going to get or not,” Witt said. And it would be cumbersome to ask voters for approval every time a proposed pay increase would exceed the rate of inflation, she said. Grant, who belongs to a teachers union in West Aurora District 129, said she thought the question of whether union dues should be automatically taken out of paychecks was one area that could be changed. And Valente, noting the previously strained relationship between the KEA and the school board during the 2008 contract talks, said that was the real issue behind the question. “Last time it was the issue of transparency. Make sure the union is seeing what you see in those numbers, because otherwise you start to debate what the numbers are,” he said.

Pavlak was asked for an example of the “reckless spending” she says she will be on guard for. “What I heard from the community was that they just did not understand was why we are spending $7,500 to move graduation to Northern (Illinois University’s Convocation Center), when it cost $1,500 to have it at school?” she replied.

And about attending meetings? Denlinger, Oberweis and Pavlak admitted to attending none before they decided to run for school board. Rivas, however, estimated he’s attended almost all of them the last three years. “I think it is very important. I have learned a lot,” and it has helped him prepare to serve, he said.

A video of the forum will be posted on the district’s website, kaneland.org sometime in the next few days.