School candidate's knowledge unique

School candidate's knowledge unique

As Tuesday's election approaches, the local media are filled with the various positions and opinions of both the candidates and the public. In the Geneva School District 304 race, much of the debate centers on finances: the annual budget, the administrative costs of running the district, the debt load.

These are all important topics of discussion for our community to address with the newly elected school board in the coming months. We must elect fellow Genevans who are capable of confronting the needs of our schools in a fiscally responsible manner.

But, there are a number of other very important questions that aren't being asked during the current debate. For example, are the current teaching staff levels sufficient for all of our students to have the opportunity to excel? Is the current educational climate's focus on standardized testing a detriment to students' success in college and in their careers? Are we making the most of our facilities and their role in educating our students? What can our school board members do to positively affect the curriculum taught at our schools so that teachers and students have the best results?

The current board has done an exemplary job of managing the district over the past four years. It has managed the debt load brought on by construction and facility improvements, approved before the economic downturn, responsibly. And it has made difficult budget cuts while maintaining programs and academic excellence.

Kelly Nowak is a school board member running for re-election - not against any other candidate, but for the school board. She has shown over the past eight years that a school board position is ideally a full-time job that requires a unique blend of knowledge, skills, determination, understanding, and patience that not all of the current candidates may possess.

Dan Horvath

Geneva