Christopher Dargis: 2023 candidate for Palatine School District 15 School Board

Bio

Town: Palatine

Age on Election Day: 51

Occupation: Businessman

Employer: Self-employed

Previous offices held: None

Q&A

Q: Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

A: I am running to join the CCSD 15 school board for three reasons: First, to ensure that we continue to provide our children with a top-notch, apolitical, age-appropriate and transparent education. Proper curriculum oversight from the board can ensure that we maintain and improve excellent educational outcomes for our children. Second, we need to ensure that CCSD 15 maintains a safe and nurturing environment in our schools for our children, as well as for faculty and administrators. The transition back to in-person learning has been difficult for many of our students and staff, and both need support from the board. Lastly, we need to ensure that CCSD 15 is fiscally responsible and accomplishes our educational mission without increasing property taxes or other levies. Our community just approved over 90 million dollars in expenditures to improve our schools. Strong oversight from the board is needed to ensure that we achieve our objectives without cost overruns or excessive delays.

Q: What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring curriculum?

A: The school board's oversight of the curriculum in our schools, in partnership with parents and staff, is one of its most important functions. First and foremost the board must ensure that the curriculum is set to help students achieve their maximum academic potential, including remedial education opportunities, academic opportunities for English language learners, and opportunities for children to engage in accelerated academics. The curriculum must also be transparent, with parents having clear visibility to both the courses and content that their children are being taught. Lastly, the curriculum in CCSD 15 should be age-appropriate, with an apolitical approach and a focus on academic achievement. As CCSD 15 transitions from a junior high model to a middle school model, the curriculum will need to be adjusted accordingly. Oversight from the b oard, along with input from parents and staff, will be critical in

order to achieve these goals.

Q: Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

A: Academic achievement in our district is in need of improvement. CCSD 15 achievement lags our neighboring districts for every single demographic group and grade level, but particularly for many immigrant and minority children in our community. We need to ensure that these children have a supportive curriculum and other resources available to boost and enable their academic achievement. While doing this we must also ensure that accelerated academic opportunities remain available and are expanded where appropriate for the high-achieving learners in our community. Supporting our accelerated learners provides inspiration and motivation throughout the academic environment. Lastly, we must ensure that we do not introduce topics into our curriculum that are not age-appropriate, or that inappropriately intrude on the prerogatives of parents in our community. These are significant challenges, but through sustained engagement with parents and staff the Board can help overcome them.

Q: How do you view your role in confronting policy or curriculum controversies: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents - even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

A: Being a member of the school board is an honor and a privilege, but it requires leadership and accountability. I will not shy away from making difficult decisions where necessary, always keeping the interests of students, parents and taxpayers at heart. These decisions should always be made with robust communication, engagement, and transparency. As a member of the board I will be accessible and accountable to parents, and will ensure that their voices are heard. I will also be a partner to district staff, both faculty and administrators, who are responsible for the implementation of any policies or curriculum the board might promulgate or influence. It is by giving parents a voice and listening to both them and our educators that we can come to an informed agreement about the right decision, the right policies, and the right curriculum for our community. Just as important, the board should always be willing to revisit a decision if it doesn't produce a positive outcome

Q: Concerns are growing regarding a new resurgence of the pandemic. If another massive outbreak of infectious disease occurs, what have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that will guide your decision making?

A: The past years of the COVID pandemic have been difficult, but we have learned much about the efficacy of various medical interventions and their impacts on the physical and mental health and academic development of our children. As a guiding principle, communication, transparency and flexibility of any policy decisions are key. Our goal in any pandemic situation should be to minimize the disruption to our children's education and social development, while protecting health and safety. Mandates should be minimized while flexibility should be maximized to allow families and households to accommodate individual medical situations (for example, through flexible learn-from-home arrangements) without disrupting the community and student body at large.

Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions of your school board.

A: My entire career has been spent working in a group setting, whether in my service as a naval officer or in my business career. These experiences have taught me that communication, transparency and a focus on outcomes are the best way to make decisions in a group setting. I will always listen to our parents, students and staff, and ensure that they have a voice. We live in an incredible and diverse community, and it is important for multiple perspectives to be heard so the board can make informed decisions and understand the potential impacts of those decisions. We need to be transparent when we make decisions, especially difficult ones, and be accountable even to those who disagree. Lastly, an outcome-oriented approach will ensure that the board keeps personalities and politics to a minimum, while focusing on what is best for our children, parents, and educators. It will also ensure that we recognize when a decision needs to be revisited should we not produce a positive outcome.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: As someone who grew up here and whose three children all attended CCSD 15 schools, my wife Victoria and I know how academically strong our district can be and how important parental engagement is. As members of immigrant families, Victoria and I also know the unique challenges faced by so many of our students. We live in an incredibly warm, welcoming, and diverse community with one thing in common: we want the best for our children. At the same time, the diversity of our community means that our children have an incredible range of needs and abilities. My roots in the community, my ability to engage and relate to so many of the families in the district, and my willingness to work tirelessly with, and on behalf of, students, parents, and staff in the district set me apart. If I am on the board, parents will always have a voice and the academic success of our children will always be my top priority.

Q: What's one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

A: The voters in our district just approved over 90 million dollars in funding to improve our schools. Developing a plan and getting approval was just the first step; the board needs to remain vigilant in its oversight of those taxpayer dollars, with ongoing transparency and communication to the community about how those funds are being spent. Additionally, student academics and safety are two of the highest priorities we have. The board should ensure that regular updates are provided to parents on academic outcomes and school safety. Lastly, curriculum transparency is very important. Parents should have digital access not only to course outlines, but to the specific course content that our children are engaging with. These are all simple best-practice opportunities that will improve accountability, parental engagement and educational outcomes for our children.