Hopefuls want to keep Dist. 54 on track

There are many heated battles in the Northwest suburbs this election season, but the race for Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 board is proving to be an unusually civil war.

The four candidates for the three available seats are full of praise for each other's qualifications and passion for the job.

Yet each still believes his or her own experience would provide useful insight in future board decisions.

Incumbent William Harper of Schaumburg has served on the board for 10 years, and fellow incumbent candidate Barbara Hengels of Elk Grove Village has served for 14.

Challenger Mary Kay Prusnick of Hanover Park has been a frequent volunteer in the district for more than a decade, including as the last president and current corresponding secretary of the Schaumburg Township Council of PTAs.

Challenger Thomas Manzardo of Schaumburg is a financial adviser and the founding chairman, in 1996, of the Schaumburg Township Elementary School Foundation.

Both Prusnick and Manzardo said they were inspired to run after current board member Melissa Hutchison decided not to seek re-election. They hope to represent the perspective of a current parent in the district — something they said the board today is lacking.

Despite the struggling economy and questions over state funding, the district remains in strong financial shape as a result of 15 years of balanced budgets and nine months' worth of reserve money, all agree.

Because of this, the board can make decisions based on the district's educational, not financial, needs, Hengels said.

The board next month will be mulling a plan to rethink how music, art and physical education classes are handled — with part-time instructors replacing full-time teachers.

Harper and Hengels said the new system would provide better efficiency in the delivery of the same services and won't, they believe, jeopardize the district's strong relationship with its teachers union.

Manzardo agreed the new system shouldn't hurt District 54's attractiveness as a place for teachers to work, adding that not all educators are seeking full-time jobs.

“There's a large talent pool out there, and businesses take advantage of that,” Manzardo said.

Prusnick, though, said she has some concerns about the possibility of hurting the current programs and would like to look into the plan more if she's elected.

“I do think we have excellent art, music and P.E. teachers right now,” she said.

Harper said he believes the plan will work well, but if concerns do arise it can be readjusted in the future.

One concern all four candidates share is the increasing responsibility school districts have taken for the well-being of students.

“It's tougher to decide what the role of the school district should be,” Harper said. “In the '60s and '70s, when I grew up, parents were much more involved in the process.”

Hengels said adjusting to the district's increasing diversity has been another challenge they have been meeting successfully, with white students now constituting only 48 percent of the student body.

In addition to the new field of technology literacy, she said, the district has never lost sight of basic literacy and has worked to help students from non-English-speaking backgrounds get out of bilingual programs faster, Hengels said.