Jennifer Manski: 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: Green OaksWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Oak Grove District 68 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 46Family: Married, three childrenOccupation: Currently: Pharamacovigilance Quality Systems Director, Abbott/AbbVie (3 years) Previous experience in Information Technology, Hospira (5 years), Pharmaceutical RD Process Improvement (2 years)and Clinical Data Management (11 years)with AbbottEducation: BA Chemistry and Mathematics, Lake Forest College MBA, Keller Graduate School of ManagementCivic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Oak Grove D68 School Board Member 2009-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 As a board member, I expect to continue to represent the community's value in a high standard of learning and maintain Oak Grove School as one of the top schools in Illinois.Key Issue 2 Together with the community and administration, I look forward to refreshing our Oak Grove D68 Strategic Plan and implementing a process to ensure that this plan is actively managed and communicated.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What do you think about the shift to the common core standards? How big a role do you think the board of education should play in setting the curriculum for students and what ideas do you have for changes to the current curriculum?I am in support of implementation of core educational standards that drive the curriculum. The important role that the Board plays in setting the curriculum is to ensure that, in addition to its merit of content, the staff and students have the training and tools in order to effectively implement.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?Our graduates have demonstrated success in transition to Libertyville High School (LHS). The collaboration between Oak Grove D68, LHS, and other LHS feeder districts is an important part of this success and must be strengthened as the new common core is implemented in the elementary and junior high levels for continuity of education.What budget issues will your district have to confront and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, what programs and expenses should be reduced or eliminated? On the income side, do you support any tax increases?Oak Grove D68 is challenged with maintaining a high standard of learning with diverse educational programs through an uncertain economy and declining enrollment. I believe the District should continuously evaluate spending; looking for inefficiencies to provide assurance that revenues are being used to provide for the students and support long term sustainability of the District. It is critical that the District continue to evaluate the effectiveness of programs offered and resource programs of value at an appropriate level to meet our student's needs. Core programs along with STEM, foreign language, and social emotional learning should remain a priority.As contract talks come up with various school employee groups, do you believe the district should ask for concessions from its employees, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?We continue to be in a tough economy. Our community members who support Oak Grove D68 have realized job loss, pay cuts, lower annual increases, and increase in their contribution to insurance. I think it is appropriate for a district to ask for employee concessions consistent with economic trends of the community.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?Salary increases should be proportionate to merit and performance and not used as a strategy to boost pension benefits. As such, I would not support an increase in pay solely to boost pension benefits.