Kathleen Burley: Candidate Profile

Back to Community Unit District 300 School Board

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: AlgonquinWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Kathleen Burley - CUSD 300 board of educationOffice sought: Community Unit District 300 School Board Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Married to my husband Jack for 24 years. 3 children. 2 in college that attended D300 and my son who is a junior at Jacobs HS.Occupation: Volunteer advocate for public educationEducation: BA Communication Management - Judson UniversityCivic involvement: 19 years volunteering in CUSD 300: Includes former PTP President at DeLacey Preschool, School Improvement teams at DeLacey and Neubert Elementary, art mom, Room mom, Parent co-chair of a D300 Boundary Committee, parent advocate who made 4 trips to Springfield, Illinois to lobby our legislators during the Sears EDA session. Cub Scout Pack 368 Committee Chair and acting Cubmaster, Girl Scout leader for 9 years, Events chair for Algonquin Area Youth Organization, Founding member of the new Algonquin/LITH Kiwanis Club and an active, weekly volunteer for the D300 Food Pantry. Currently, I serve as Legislative Liaison for the school board.Elected offices held: CUSD 300 Board of Education 2013-2017Questions Answers With ongoing state funding challenges, suggest ways the district can remain in the black without spending down its surplus, raising taxes or taking on additional debt. If cuts were needed, where would you look to tighten?Our district has done a good job recently in making sure we are well above our board mandated financial threshold. We have been proactive to save, knowing the volatility of our state government. Additionally and if needed, I would not vote to cut anything directly related to the students (curriculum, services, extra curriculars, etc.). Instead going line by line through the budget eliminating those items not vital to education as necessary. New district initiatives would be one example, to put on the back burner until finances were more secure.Should the district consider cutting ties with its charter school considering the problems with its management and leadership over the last two years?No. We must remember the students and families of our Charter. Regardless of problems with management and leadership, our first priority must be to continue to support the families that attend the Charter, many of which flourish there. They are a strong knit community. Cambridge Lakes is part of our D300 community as well, and as a district approved charter school, district oversight must continue to insure all students are educated equally and fairly at the school.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?As board members, we must remember our role and not overstep what that role is. We work with our superintendent to direct the combined vision of our district. While we vote on curriculum throughout the district, we as board members are not educators. We must rely on whomever we put into those roles to direct curriculum. Oversight belongs to the board, however, in making sure we are heading down the right path for the district. Changes to our curriculum currently address our new 1:1 initiative and adjustments must be made to make sure we have the finances to support additional focused curriculum. Curriculum of the future needs to be updated frequently to reflect change, which is frequent in this digital age.What are some innovative programs the district could undertake, such as its career pathway programs, to set itself apart?Many of the district initiatives are already setting us apart from other districts. By next school year, we will be the largest district using 1:1 devices (chromebooks, ipads). We are expanding and adding every year to our pathways programs, which needs to continue. Career and technical education is so important for our students to be successful whether or not they are college bound. In expansion of these pathways, I would like to see us focus more with connections to our community partnerships in setting up additional internships and apprentice programs to solidify what is being taught and to give these students the experience they need for the workforce.What role can and should school choice play in your district? If Congress or the state approves a voucher system or other means giving students broader choices among public and private schools, how will that affect your district? What is the appropriate response for the board of education of a public school system?D300 already has school choice within the district. We have our dual language program and we have our Pathways program for CTE as a few examples. While I, as a parent, understand other parents wishes for school choice, vouchers take money from public school systems and make them weaker as district expenses do not drop when a handful of students would leave with vouchers for a private school. An example would be if you have a family of 5 and 2 children go to college, your expenses don't drop. You still have a mortgage and utilities. So, vouchers would take away an already tight budget in a state that does not meet its financial responsibilities. There are no studies that I've seen which promote private or charter schools as performing better than public education, especially if that public system is properly funded.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Candidate did not respond.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Senator Tammy DuckworthWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I learned humility.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Studying harder in high schoolWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English was my best subject. I am a communicator at heart and english goes hand in hand with writing and speaking.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be genuine in everything you do. Be true to yourself and others.