Carolyn Waibel: 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: St CharlesWebsite: https://www.facebook.com/VoteWaibel/Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: @VoteWaibelOffice sought: St. Charles Unit District 303 School Board Age: 44Family: I am a second generation St Charles citizen and have lived in our great city for almost forty years. I am now raising my son here, who is an eighth grader at Wredling Middle School.Occupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: Bachelors Degree in CommunicationsUniversity of Illinois Champaign-UrbanaCivic involvement: Commissioner for St Charles Mental Health CommissionCommissioner for St Charles Youth CommissionMid Valley Mental Health Partnership for Kane CountyElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers Do you support the closure of Haines Middle School? If so, what should be done with the Haines campus once it is closed?At this point , the decision to close Haines has been made and our focus as a community needs to be on the transitions for the students, parents and teachers from both Thompson and Haines. We need to focus on making the middle school experience safe for the students and faculty during the construction. It is important that we are proactive and put in place procedures and processes to ease anxiety for students with building transitions, extracurricular changes, and social and emotional interruptions and changes. We need to seek input from our parents and teachers to project and prepare for the students emerging needs. It is important to create a unified culture for the new school that represents the history and future of both Thompson and Haines. When construction is complete and Haines is not being utilized for student use, it could be used for more administration and district use, until it is certain that the building would not be necessary again for student use in the distant future.District officials expect the student population in the district will continue to decline in coming years. Do you believe that projection is accurate? If not, why? If so, would you support the closure of any other district schools, as was contemplated last year?The district analysis done in early 2015 does accurately show projected declining enrollment for the coming years. However, there are many intangibles in real estate projections that make it difficult to project more than a few years. So now in early 2017, it is possible that the projection may be different than earlier forecasted. For instance, St Charles now has several housing development plans in the discussion phases. These housing developments could keep the student population higher than was projected in 2015. These proposed developments are likely to include residences. These details have yet to be revealed, but surely will affect enrollment numbers to some degree. A collaborative communication effort with the district and the city needs to occur in the coming years as our city continues to evolve. This will help keep projections accurate. We need to preform new market analyses in three, five and ten year incremental breakdowns including all new scenarios currently on the radar in St. Charles. We have a responsibility to the constituents to make sure we are being financially responsible with the use of our facilities.Jason Pearson was selected as the next superintendent to replace Don Schlomann. What are your top goals for Mr. Pearson?Dr. Pearson will be leading the community through many changes with the middle school transitions. I would like to see him prioritize the needs of the students, parents and teachers equally with the financial responsibility that the previous administration has valued. It would be optimal to have a proactive plan in place for the transition of the middle school students for emotional and social needs, as well as physical safety before any construction begins, including contingency plans for crisis intervention needs. Also it is equally important for Dr. Pearson to communicate effectively and openly with the community, faculty, parents and students. It is imperative to be up front and engage our parents in the education process, so they have an opportunity to share feedback and gain a full understanding of the decisions. It is necessary for the community to be able to approach the administration with their questions of "why" and receive comprehensive answers. Most decisions can be accepted by the community, if they can be explained with understanding and reason, thoroughly and honestly. Lastly, Dr. Pearson has a challenge of positively evolving with the technological climate in our culture for our student population. There will be transitionary changes in curriculum, teaching, and behavioral needs that will continue to occur as our culture continues to evolve at its fast pace.In recent years, school board members have crafted the budget with guideline of limiting annual property tax levy increases to 2 percent or less. Can/should that guideline remain in place?The Board has done a good job of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars in recent years, allowing them to come into these construction decisions with a robust budget. Even though the decisions for school improvements have been made, and the budget will look different in the next board cycle, the guideline still makes sense. The question of limiting property tax levies most likely will be made for us soon at the state level however, and will be taken out of the hands of the municipalities. Illinois lawmakers are making decisions currently to freeze property taxes, which will change our dependence on them. We must remain steadfast in our conservative budgeting and wise spending while being active with educators in lobbying law makers, particularly our local representatives, to take a strong look at the funding formula which relies so heavily on property taxes.Do you support the current plan to borrow money to replace the athletic field at St. Charles North High School with synthetic turf? Do you support a related plan to borrow money to remodel the Norris Recreation Center?The Norris Recreation Center has been in need of repair and assistance for more than ten years. It is a collaborative effort from the St Charles School District and the St Charles Park District to maintain the facility, which is much needed by the community. St Charles East uses this facility as their swim facility for physical education classes throughout the day, as well as for their swim teams. As a long-time resident of almost forty years, I believe the joining of these two entities to restore this facility is a workable solution to continue the generous legacy of the Norris family from previous generations. However, I believe for both projects, the Norris Center and the St Charles North turf, the "whys" are still unclear. Though we have been told they are both necessary, and I don't doubt that they are; we still end up with the questions of why and why right now? For both we have not been given adequate answers.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Another issue very important to our children is their emotional well-being or mental health. Mental health is now nationally recognized as one of the top five health concerns in the country, next to cancer, heart disease, etc. It is a growing concern and one that affects our children and community. St Charles School District has an amazing team of faculty and support staff to help our students every day. They guide many students dealing with anxiety, depression, mood disorders and other issues. They work very hard and need more support to care and support the growing population of students with emotional well-being needs as well as caring for their physical and educational needs. The level of anxiety absenteeism has grown in our student population in the last several years and we should be exploring the reasons. We need to expand parent education to break the stigma, have open and honest communication filled with kindness and compassion for our kids, and make available the vast help resources that we have in our great community. We have the ability to reach out to our 12,000 plus kids and change lives, for the better, and together we can make that change.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis inspires me because his message is one compassion, peace, understanding and acceptance while holding true to his beliefs and leading by example.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The examples set by my parents of strong work ethic and to stand up for what you believe in, has guided me throughout my life.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I have very little regret in life, but if anything I would have added a degree in teaching or child development.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math was my strong subject and was utilized in my career as a Sales and Marketing Director and while working for several large corporations.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?People with good intentions make promises, but people with good character keep them.