Lenny Nieves: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: LENNY NIEVES

City: VERNON HILLS

Office sought: HAWTHORN SD73 SCHOOL BOARD

Age: 48

Family: TARA (WIFE OF 21+ YEARS), ADDISON (14, DAUGHTER), CAMERON (8, SON), KIKI (6 YEAR OLD PUG)

Occupation: FIELD SERVICE DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS FEDERATION OF TEACHERS

Education: B.A. IN HISTORY, DUKE UNIVERSITY; M.ED. IN SECONDARY EDUCATION FROM UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO; ADDITIONAL POST-MASTER'S WORK IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND AMERICAN HISTORY

Civic involvement: THIS WILL BE MY FIRST FORAY INTO PUBLIC SERVICE

Previous elected offices held: NONE

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? N/A

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nieves4D73/

Issue questions

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

Building of new facilities/renovation of existing facilities; attracting and maintaining a high quality and excellent staff; continuing to provide and even expand services, programs, and opportunities for all students of d73. I intend to address these issues as any responsible board member would, by keeping an open mind, being transparent throughout any process, and using any data and information to address any issue and make any decision in good faith based on that data and information. I believe i have the experiences in public education (24+ years) to provide valuable insight and expertise to any issue facing the district - i have extensive experiences in working with 20+ illinois public school districts on issues such as contract negotiations, district planning (facilities, curriculum, community involvement, referenda, to name a few) that would assist in making decisions for d73.

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?

Extremely satisfied. I have numerous friends and colleagues at vernon hills high school, and i know firsthand the quality of students that d73 sends to the high school. This is attributed to the hard work and dedication of the d73 staff. If curricular and/or programmatic changes need to be made, or are in consideration to be made, i would expect the teachers to be an integral part of that decision-making process.

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.

With the building of new facilities and the need to renovate existing facilities, budgetary needs of additonal staffing and/or maintaining high quality programs, services and opportunities. I believe it would be premature (and somewhat irresponsible) to enter the position with any set ideas of how to address these issues. I believe that it's the responsibility of the position to gather the appropriate information and data, review the circumstances that have led to any current situation, and to base decisions of this assessment in conjunction with all stakeholders.

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?

Have 24+ years of experience in public education - 11 years as a teacher at warren township high school in gurnee (social studies teacher - ap us history, government, economics, world history, anthropology); 13+ years of current experience with the illinois federation of teachers, working with k-8 districts, 9-12 school districts, and higher education institutions in the rockford/machesney park area and skokie/niles area in the areas of contract negotiations, contract administration and grievance handling, union and community organizing, legislative issues pertaining to public education, human resources (fmla, fsla, osha, eeoc, dcfs, ierlb).

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?

I have 13+ years of direct contract negotiations experience on behalf of school employees in both positional and interest-based bargaining. I feel the most effective relationship in contract bargaining is one in which the parties work transparently and collaboratively in identifying needs and concerns and then working to address those needs and concerns.

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?

I would be against offering such additional benefits because (1) there is generally a big discrepancy between what a superintendent and/or administrator nearing retirement makes in overall salary/benefits when compared to teachers and staff, so therefore the additional boost is not needed, and (2) such monies would be better served to attract and retain high quality and excellent staff and toward student opportunities, programs, and resources.