Jacob Justen: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Jacob Justen

City: Crystal Lake

Office sought: School Board Member, Community High School District 155

Age: 32

Family: Wife, 3 Children

Occupation: Commercial Credit Analyst

Education: Bachelor's Degree, Columbia College of Missouri (business management, accounting, financial planning)

Civic involvement: Cub Scout Den Leader

Previous elected offices held: None

Incumbent: If yes, when were first elected? No

Website: None

Facebook: Jake Justen for D155 School Board

Twitter: @JustenForD155

Issue questions

What are the most important issues facing your district and how do you intend to address them?

One of the most important issues is declining enrollment district wide. Since the 2009-10 school year, enrollment has declined 16 percent. Enrollment will continue to decline over the next 10 years based on projections from the Efficiency and Effectiveness Report using Feeder District and other data. The District will need to continue to assess staffing levels as enrollment decreases, including reducing the number central and school administrators, as well as division leaders and assistants. Currently, there are eight students to each employee in the District (teachers, administrators, support staff). Like the Haber Oaks campus, which was sold and absorbed into Crystal Lake South, the district office could be absorbed into one of the school buildings and office building on Virginia Road repurposed and sold or leased to further reduce costs to the district.

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?

District 155 has a graduation rate of 95 percent with 90 percent of last year's graduating class continuing to technical schools and two- or four-year colleges. Nearly $12 million in scholarships were earned by the class of 2018. The District also had three students who earned perfect scores on the 2018 ACT.

However, studies show that 30 percent of college students require remedial classes in English, math, or both. This extends the time, and therefore the cost, required to attain a degree. The District must assess the effectiveness of education methods used for comprehension and retention.

Applying knowledge helps to improve both comprehension and retention. The Workforce Development programs, such as the machine lab and business incubator room, are providing students the opportunity to apply their knowledge and collaborate with community mentors. The District should continue to work with the local communities to provide opportunities for students to apply what has been learned which will help better prepare for life after high school.

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? Be specific.

Reducing personnel costs will be a budgetary issue that the district will have to confront during the next four years. Salaries and benefits compromise 79 percent of the current school year operating expenses. The Efficiency and Effectiveness Report recommends reducing the number of administrators in the central office and in each school. Additionally, as positions are vacated the District can hire more cost-effective staff or leave the position vacant based on staffing needs.

The District recently closed the Haber Oaks campus, which was absorbed into Crystal Lake South. Likewise, the central district office can be closed and absorbed into a school building, allowing the district to divest the office building and further reduce occupancy expenses (utilities, property insurance, maintenance).

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?

No, I am not currently employed by or retired from any school district. I do not have any direct relatives employed by District 155.

As 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?

The position of the school board should be to seek concessions during contract negotiations. Personnel costs (salaries and benefits) are the largest expense of the District, accounting for 79 percent of the current year expenses. Concessions can come in the form of amended salary schedules - the recently approved contract establishes a committee to study alternative compensation methods - but can also include reducing stipends, changing retirement contributions, and reducing supervisory/non-instructional duties for certified staff.

Negotiations should also be transparent. The three-year contract approved at the January board meeting was not made available to the Northwest Herald and details were not made public until shortly before the vote. The community was not able to offer feedback on any specifics of the contract.

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?

No, I would not support a substantial increase in pay for a superintendent or administrator nearing retirement. When salary is spiked near retirement to inflate pension benefits, the benefits received are no longer in line with contributions made to the pension fund. This practice has been a contributing factor to the high cost of pensions; it not only burdens taxpayers but the pension fund as well.