Jennifer Shilakis Wiesner: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Jennifer Shilakis Wiesner

City: West Chicago

Office sought: District 94 School Board Member

Age: 44

Family: Son: John, age 26, a Mechanical Engineer lives in Chicago, Valerie age 18 (1st year at COD), Luke (Junior at St. Francis) and J.R. (Freshman at WCCHS)

Occupation: Attorney for 16 years and Adjunct Professor at College of DuPage for 7 years

Education: BA in Criminal Justice from UIC and JD from DePaul University College of Law

Civic involvement: Former School Board Member St. Mary's Catholic School, West Chicago; Former Parish Council Member St. Mary's Catholic Church West Chicago, Past Parent Volunteer Coordinator for West Chicago Sharks Club swim team

Previous elected offices held: none

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?

Website: None

Facebook: None

Twitter: None

ISSUE QUESTIONS

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

The most important issue currently is the level of trust between the community, the faculty and staff and the School Board. I believe these issues can be addressed by increasing transparency between these individual groups, regularly updating the financial information on our public website and moving the school board meetings back into the actual high school building.

* 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?

My experience is that the teachers are fantastic. They are dedicated, caring, and challenging the students to prepare them for life after high school. I feel confidant in the options given to students who are on the track for college but also encouraged by the relationship WCCHS students have with TCD and the opportunities afforded to those students not intending to go to college. I believe there is always room for improving challenging the highly successful students by making more advanced placement classes available or re-instituting the partnership with College of DuPage to allow for some college credits to be earned while still in 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.

The district may have to incur costs related to a more formal superintendent search which allows us to interview more than one candidate for the position in the near future. The district may also need to have funds to maintain and properly compensate our teachers or facilitators and coaches of extra curricular programs. I support funding sports programs and see the benefit to giving the students an opportunity to grow academically as well as socially, which these type of programs provide, and there is an inherent value in that which to me is worth supporting financially. Additionally, I believe our teachers and staff should be compensated commiserate with their experience and competitively with other school districts that are similarly situated demographically. As we make our financial health more transparent to the community, I believe the way to financially support these ideas will be something that can be achieved and supported by community members. A strong school district goes hand in hand with healthy property values. While I don't believe tax increases are necessary to continue to fund the existing programs, and that grants and partnerships with organizations, labor unions and even College of DuPage may be able to help with some of these ideas, I believe this is something homeowners, business owner and tax payers want and will benefit from without taxes necessarily going up.

* 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, not a school district employee, although I am an Adjunct Professor at College of DuPage

* 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?

As stated above, the posture should be striving to maintain excellence in academics and extra curricular activities and opportunities for our students first and foremost, with an understanding that the (hands on) people in those programs guiding our students are the teachers, support staff and employees who deserve to see the financial health of the district with increased transparency. The Board's position should be to work hand in hand as partners to make certain they are respected financially for their experience and expertise while maintaining a healthy financial relationship with the taxpayers to keep residents living and purchasing homes in the D94 district.

* 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 not support boosting pay simply because someone was nearing retirement and simply "boost" pension benefits. I would not do that because I don't think it is "fair" to increase anyone's pay solely for the purpose of setting up an increased pension benefit.