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Raymond Kubalewski: Candidate Profile

Lake Park High School District 108 School Board (4-year Terms) (Republican)

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:BioQA Bio City: MedinahWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake Park High School District 108 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 47Family: Married with three children.Occupation: Truck DriverEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoQuestions Answers What do you think about the shift to the common core standards? How big a role do you think the board of education should play in setting the curriculum for students and what ideas do you have for changes to the current curriculum?It's my understanding that the use of Common Core Standards provide a clear understanding of what students are expected to learn. It's designed to help teachers and parents know what they need to do to help students succeed, both academically and in their future endeavors. The Board should mandate the use of the CCS. However, teachers are the frontline and should take over ownership, be held accountable for setting up a course curriculum that best suits the needs of our students to meet the necessary requirements.How satisfied are you that your district is preparing students for the next stage in their lives, whether it be from elementary into high school or high school into college or full-time employment? What changes, if any, do you think need to be made?School as is life, you get out of it what you put into it. Parents and teachers need to take a more active approach in preparing our children for what lies ahead of them in the real world as the responsibility lies on both sides.What budget issues will your district have to confront and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, what programs and expenses should be reduced or eliminated? On the income side, do you support any tax increases?I am sure that our issues are no different than any other district's issues during these trying times. I would only be speculating on upcoming budget issues at this point and would rather not comment. I am sure that some very tough decisions would need to be made and I look forward to the opportunity to being a voice involved in that process. No one wants any tax increases, but the reality is everything needs to be looked at. Let's face it, the future is our children and if we didn't exhaust all avenues to get the best education for them then we fail them as parents and as a community.As contract talks come up with various school employee groups, do you believe the district should ask for concessions from its employees, expect employee costs to stay about the same as they are now or provide increases in pay or benefits?The obvious answer is yes I like to see concessions from the various employee groups however, negotiations are full of gives and takes from both sides. So the reality is we need to make decisions based upon the best interest of the students and community. Hopefully a common ground is found before the students suffer. The big thing with negotiations is open-mindedness; it needs to be there on both sides.If your district had a superintendent or other administrator nearing retirement, would you support a substantial increase in his or her pay to help boost pension benefits? Why or why not?Absolutely not! I would not support a substantial increase in pay to boost pension benefits for anyone. Salary adjustments for superintendents or other administrators that are based on anything other than merit/performance are not in the best interest of the district.