Lisa Warren: 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: KildeerWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake Zurich Unit District 95 School Board (4-year Terms)Age: 47Family: Married, three childrenOccupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 1987 Masters of Business Administration, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1998Civic involvement: School District 95 Educational Foundation Ela Coalition Against Youth Substance Abuse Middle School South PTO Isaac Fox PTO Farmington Bath and Tennis Club Long Grove/Kildeer Newcomer's ClubElected offices held: Appointed to Board of Education in January 2012Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: noCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintain fiscal responsibility throughout the district. The Board needs to continue to make sound financial decisions at the district level. With the Administration, we need to ensure that sound, reasonable practices are also followed at each school.Key Issue 2 Equality of our learner's educational experiences, both actual and perceived, throughout the district.Key Issue 3 Great strides in technology have been made over the last two years throughout the district. Ensure the technology plan includes longer-term strategic goals as well as a short term tactical plan that is reviewed frequently and communicated well to all our stakeholders.Questions 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?The shift to common core standards is a re-definition of the skills our students need to be productive members in our community. As our environment changes, the skills needed to succeed change so I am in favor of this redefinition of the skills our students need to be successful. District 95 has a well qualified Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Jodi Wirt. Ms. Wirt and her staff are coordinating the curriculum changes needed throughout District 95 to align with the common core standards. The Board of Education receive regular update reports from Ms. Wirt and her staff.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?One of the advantages of being a Community Unit School District that encompasses students in Kindergarten through 12th grade is that the preparation needed can be communicated from level to level and that dialog in ongoing throughout the year. My personal experience of the transition sessions in place to prepare for the move from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school are that they are very helpful. The recent SEL survey results show that the high school students ranked their school preparing them for college as 3.19 out of 4 and their school preparing them for life after high school as 2.95 out of 4. I agree that District 95 is doing a good job preparing students for the next stage of their lives.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?The largest budget issue looming is the resolution of pension reform in the State of Illinois. The resolution will certainly result in higher costs for each district, the large unknown is the amount and timing of the increase. Another potential budget issue for District 95 is the cost of the technology plan. The Administration is still creating the technology plan but I anticipate an increase to the current technology budget line items. The District is currently in a solid financial position, therefore I do not believe cuts will result from these expenses. Tax rates are discussed each year and a decision is made based upon the current environment.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?District 95 successfully signed a teacher contract for two years last summer.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?I do not support the substantial increase in pay to boost pension benefits. I fear that this practice has been part of the reason for the current State of Illinois pension crisis.