David W. Seiffert: 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: PalatineWebsite: http://PendingOffice sought: Palatine Twp. Elementary D15Age: 48Family: I have been married 14 years to my wife Beth, we have two children Grace 10 and Luke 8. Have lived in Palatine for going on 13 years.Occupation: I am Regional Sales Manager for Hudsonville Ice Cream Co. in Holland MI. Started with them in October of 2010. Prior to that I was employed by Unilever Foods for 24 years.Education: Bachelor of Science from Western Illinois University in Business Management, Graduated in 1984Civic involvement: -Currently VP of Fundraising of Jane Addams PTA-Palatine Planning Commission-Actively on Palatine Youth Baseball Board as Asst. Sponsorship Director-Serving as Trustee of District 15 Educational Foundation since 2005. Chairperson 2008-2009Elected offices held: Have not held Elected OfficeHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To make sure the Children of District 15 get the best, safest and most comprehensive education that we can give them. To look at issues openly and independently and give my best recommendations to our Superentendent and Administration.Key Issue 2 To insure the District runs with the best fiscal practices possible. Listen to recommendations from Administration and make the best decisions possible after listening to all the facts.Key Issue 3 To work with the entire board on each issue, give the best recommendation to the Superintendent and Administration and then move on to other issues that will affect the district.Questions Answers Would you support reductions in staff, specifically classroom teachers, in order to reduce projected deficit spending? If not, what specific budget cuts do you propose?I would try not to have staff reductions, we need to insure the children the best possible education and need staff to insure that. Would listen to the Administration and evaluate their recommendations and work with the entire board to try and resolve issues of spending.How would you prioritize capital projects? Is the board's direction to budget $2 million annually on capital projects enough? And would you tap into reserves to fund those projects?We would have to listen to Administration and architects as to the most dire cases and not just do patch work to keep things in proper order, but finish complete project. On the $2 million capital budget, I think we need to listen to Administration and may have to adjust budget up or down on their recommendations. No I don't think we should tap in to reserves. we need to insure we have a capital on hand and be prepared if there are slow payments from the state or any other delays. We need to have this in our hands and need to be able to react if needed.How do you attempt to create equity in District 15, a large elementary district with diverse demographics? What further steps can the schools that have struggled with No Child Left Behind standards take?I don't think we can create equity throughout the district, different children and different schools have needs and we need to be able to adjust to those circumstances. Listening to the Administration to give their recommendations to do things a fairly as possible would be the best course. If there are struggling schools on No Child Left Behind we should take the recommendations of the Administration and work together as a board to work towards those recommendations. The Administration is in the education business the board is not, need to listen carefully to the Administration.What impact do you think the Navigate15 process will have on Dist. 15, and what can be done to ensure the community is engaged in the process? How should the board incorporate community input into future initiatives?I think Navigate 15 will have a great impact on the District. Although we do need more participation by the commmunity as it is their chance to get involved and have their say on what the District will look like for years to come. We have the chance to get in on conversations like what the class sizes should look like, what cirrculum should start to change, how we financially care for District 15. There is no guarantee to get the community out for this, but I believe there needs to be assistance from PTA, Principals and Teachers to get this out to parents. We have done many back pack mailers in the past, I think we need to start there right away to encourage the community to come out. Maybe some type of communication in conjunction with a Village endorsed mailing. This is a critical time in the direction of District 15, we have a top quality District right now and we should do everything possible to drive the community to these meetings. Maybe an acknowledgement on our Community Channel 6.Would you support another tax increase referendum? Why or why not?Right now I would not support an tax increase referendum. We need to find ways to look at the spending side of the ledger. Let's bring the spending side of things back in to grips and see what we can do. There may need to be some difficult decisions, but we need to communicate those to the constiuents that are represented and get a feel from them.