Kevin Lindell: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Mt. ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Northwest High School District 214 School Board Age: 55Family: Wife- Lisa (Married 18 years) Sons- Ben (16) and Christian (10) Daughter- Faith (14)Occupation: Insurance ConsultantEducation: Bachelor of Science- University of North DakotaCivic involvement: Prior Church Council, Church Youth Board member Prior Mt Prospect Park District Youth Baseball Coach Youth and High School Sports Official (35+ years)Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers How satisfied are you that your school district is adequately 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 am continually asking parents of D214 graduates that have moved on to various colleges (4 year and 2 year) as to their preparedness in taking on these next challenges. Without exception the response has been very positive. Thus, I think the district has done a very good job in this regard. My concerns are with the students that are choosing tech careers or non-conventional continued studies. I think that it is important to monitor the employment needs and trends of the global economy and present training and development for these individuals at an early time. An effective school district needs to be monitoring industry trends and responding to the education needs of this group of future workers. With D214 representing a wide range diversity, flexibility has to exist in meeting the needs of each of the member High Schools. Opportunities for students to develop skills via classes offered at district High Schools should be promoted and encouraged. If a carpentry class is offered at one High school, all D214 students should be aware of this class and encouraged to enroll. I would strongly support Intro Trade classes and interships to allow students to explore whether such careers are ones that they would like to pursue.What budgetary issues will your district have to confront during the next four years and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, be specific about programs and expenses that should be considered for reduction or elimination. On the income side, do you support any tax increases for local schools? Again, be specific.D214 has done a good job in balancing the needs of the various member schools with available financial resources. The reserve funds that are in place have proven to provide for necessary physical structure improvements. I would support continuing to fund these needs in a cost effective judicious manner. However, when these reserve funds get to point that they are viewed as meeting the needs of the district, the district needs to be good financial stewards and make funding decisions that are in the best interest of the entire community. Money should NOT be spent just because it is available!! One of the strongest pillars of the home real estate market place is the quality of the school systems. Even in down economic times, communities that have strong school systems have proven to fare better than communities that do not have strong school systems. Four years ago, after 25 years of living in the northwest suburbs communities of Chicago, my family made a decision to build a new home in Mt. Prospect. The primary motivating reason for leaving our prior community was the school systemsâ#128;brvbar;â#128;brvbar;especially the D214 High School system..... in Mt. Prospect. The strong performance of D214 schools has become a magnet drawing people to our communities. This benefits and protects the value of people's most costly personal investment, home values. It is important that we continue to fund our schools in a way that we continue to be viewed as a targeted community to live.Are you currently employed by or retired from a school district, if so, which one? Is any member of your direct family - spouse, child or child-in-law - employed by the school district where you are seeking a school board seat?NoAs contract talks come up with various school employee groups -- teachers, support staff, etc. -- what posture should the school board take? 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?It is my opinion that teachers should be rewarded for their tenure, education pursuit and ability to teach. If we want the best prepared and educated students, we need to have teachers and administrators that are among the best in the state. The district should do what it can to attract and retain quality educators and administrators. This would include providing contracts that are competitive with those that are offered by other top districts. Contracts should be in place that are line for the economic times that the nation, state and district are under. If we are experiencing an economic downturn, contracts should be negotiated whereby the Union is receiving increases in line with what is occurring in the communities they are serving. Being a business person, I also think we should develop a way to reward teachers that are recognized as being special and inspiring the students that they teach. Whether this be in the formal teaching contract or in a non-traditional way, recognition is important. I would offer a fresh set of eyes to look at creative and innovative ways to reward our district teaching staff.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?It is my position that the superintendent and administrators at D214 receive fair and commiserate salaries and benefits. I do not feel that increasing their salary short term for the benefit of increasing their pension benefits is justified. This practice is not commonplace in the business community and as such I do not see why it is needed in the school system. People make retirement planning decisions years in advance of actual retirement. Superintendents and administrators should be able to make these decisions without the need for last minute increases.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I offer the district a representative that would have current family member students in the D214 district. (Only 2 of the existing 7 Board members have current children in the district.) We currently have a Sophomore and Freshman in the district (along with a 5th grader). I feel it is very important that there be numerous representatives on the D214 board with current â#128;~skin in the game'. It is important that when programs are presented by the district administrators that there be numerous members on the board that can validate the value of offered programs. I have current real life experience of a D214 Program that was presented to board members that in fact was NOT delivered in a manner that was expected by the students or their families. With the continual interaction that I have with other families with active D214 students, I feel that I truly differentiate myself from the other candidates. The other differentiator I offer the district voters is that I will be a member that will ask a lot of "why" questions. The fact that things have been done a certain way in the past does not mean that they have to be the same in the future. An example of this is class final scheduling. Why are our kids having semester tests after the Christmas/ New Year's holiday when the majority of other districts conclude the 1st semester in conjunction with the holiday break? I will not be afraid of asking "Why" questions!Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Warren Buffett- He leads with a values-based style that empowers his managers to operate as business owners. His philanthropic commitments are exemplary.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The biggest life lesson I learned while growing up was the ability to set goals and have the perseverance to achieve the goals.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?When we bought our 1st home, we did not put enough emphasis on school systems. I wish we would have thought about this more.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I attended a 1 room country school for the 1st 3 years of school. I listened and learned 6th grade math and always loved math.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Live life with the foundations of honesty and integrity. Take ownership and responsibility for all your actions and treat others with kindness.