Rosemary I. Swanson: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: WheatonWebsite: http://swansonforschoolboard.comOffice sought: Wheaton-Warrenville Unit D200Age: 59Family: Married, with three children who went completely through CUSD 200.Occupation: Business Manager, Questions Galore, WheatonEducation: B.A., Psychology/Religion, North Central College, 1973Civic involvement: Lincoln PTALeague of Women VotersCollege ChurchElected offices held: 1999-present: CUSD 200 Board Member 2001-present: CUSD 200 Vice President2009-present: Board of Directors, Illinois Association of School BoardsHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To provide a steady hand to continue moving CUSD 200 students forward despite economically challenging times. In the past five years, our meet/exceed high school test scores have risen from 76% to 81%, and our average ACT has gone from 23.2 to 24.4. State aid dropped $3M over that same period, with state payments in arrears at the time of this writing. Some future initiatives I would pursue include: increased AP classes and enrollment; dual credit with COD; and the option of ""A"" level credit for doing extra work in what are now ""I"" level electives, such as the fine arts. I believe I bring the discernment and experience necessary to continue improving the academic program while maximizing operating efficiencies.Key Issue 2 To help lead CUSD 200 through the educationnal changes that are surely coming down the road through state and federal mandates. I would be proactive in working with our teahers to think about issues such as performance pay and tenure, so that our district can remain at the cutting edge of such change rather than in the center of an earthquake. I would increase accountability to stakeholders by developing a ""dashboard"" that tracks key measures of student success beyond test scores, in line with the higher expectations of our community. I have advocated and will continue to work toward our financials being reported and posted in a way that is more accessible and easier to understand.Key Issue 3 To ensure the redevelopment of the former Hubble Middle School property in a way that creates the greatest future value to the district and the community. While it is important to maximize the sale price, the real value of the property is its potential to increase overall community EAV, which is the basis of CUSD 200's operating budget. Although the city controls the final development, I would do what I can to work toward that end.Questions Answers How would you like to see the former Hubble Middle School property in downtown Wheaton redeveloped?Location, location, location is what drives real estate value, and there is no better location than the corner of Roosevelt Road in an upscale community like Wheaton! Putting the property back on the tax rolls in a way that creates a gateway to maximize downtown development would be the ideal. Something that brings people downtown and that keeps the green space for both active and passive recreation is my personal vision. However, whoever buys the property will ultimately have to get development approval from the City of Wheaton.What are you thoughts about some wanting the Hubble property to become a Wheaton Park District facility?The park district does an excellent job of developing its properties, so I can understand the attraction to that idea. However, there has not been a calculation of the taxpayer cost for such redevelopment nor the lost opportunity cost from revenue that could be generated if the property were developed commercially. I believe the community passed the Hubble referendum with the assumption the property would be put back on the tax rolls, so I would favor pursuing that option, assuming it was done in a way to create a downtown gateway.What is your view of the federal No Child Left Behind standards?Both the Board and staff believe that all children can learn at high levels and that we can make that happen. NCLB has worked well to ensure that high performing districts like ours don't overlook students who need extra help. However, the accountability would be better if students were tested on their own growth, rather than comparing one year's class to the next year's class, which is an apples to oranges comparison. Also, the test for students with learning disabilities and limited English proficiency currently is the same test given to mainstream students; the accountability would be better with more appropriate tests.If elected to the school board, how would you address District 200's ongoing budgetary issues?That process is already in place through the steps we took to balance the budget this year. We sought and received concessions from teachers and administrators on both pay and benefits that will take us through next year. Our administrative costs will reduce even further next year through retirement and planned reorganization. We went through the budget line-by-line with input from teachers and stakeholders. We decreased energy consumption and increased user fees. There are no areas left untouched to make an easy, significant difference. Going forward will require fine-tuning to maximize efficiencies without hurting the classroom, which is why I believe my years in the community and on the Board will be helpful in making such decisions.Considering the problems that the state has had providing funding for school districts, should District 200 consider asking local voters to approve a property tax increase to raise additional money for the education fund?This community has always supported its schools if the need is real and funds are being spent wisely. We have not had an operating fund referendum since the 1980s; we balanced our budget this year despite the state and the economy; and we avoided large impacts to the classroom. But if the state continues to default, there may come a time when our community would prefer to increase taxes rather than decrease the quality of the program. I do not believe taxpayers have the resources to even consider such an increase at this time; in the meantime, we need to continue to seek efficiencies where we can, while we see how the state funding unfolds.