Blanca Jessen: Candidate Profile

Back to DuPage High School District 88 School Board (4-year Terms

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: Villa ParkWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: DuPage High School District 88 School Board (4-year Terms Age: 46Family: Husband Dennis Son Jack Daughter EmmaOccupation: SalesEducation: Bachelors degree in Marking from ISUCivic involvement: NoneElected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers How satisfied are you that your school district is adequately 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?I feel like they are doing a great job! I would like to see programs provided for students who do not want to go to college. Provided them with vocational options and I would like to see mentoring programs provided for students.What budgetary issues will your district have to confront during the next four years and what measures do you support to address them? If you believe cuts are necessary, be specific about programs and expenses that should be considered for reduction or elimination. On the income side, do you support any tax increases for local schools? Again, be specific.I would work with the board around any budget constraints that they may have but I would ask that they take a look at programs that might affect the students.I do believe that providing students with extracurricular activities such as sports programs or academic programs are important to them and help them be well-rounded.Are you currently employed by or retired from a school district, if so, which one? Is any member of your direct family - spouse, child or child-in-law - employed by the school district where you are seeking a school board seat?NoAs contract talks come up with various school employee groups -- teachers, support staff, etc. -- what posture should the school board take? 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?I do believe the teachers should be paid accordingly. I do believe they should get increases as long as students are performing. Teachers should have a voice and should be heard when it comes to their pay and benefits.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 would work with the board to help put in place the correct benefit plan for anyone nearing retirement.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?As a candidate I would like to making sure any students with special needs get the proper assistance they may need once they graduate high school, students with learning disabilities get the support they need early on and making sure lower income families get the assistance that they may need.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Always believing in yourself, work hard and nothing is impossible if you're willing to work for it!If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Getting my Masters right after college.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Marketing, it's hot me how to market myself later in life for business and how to reinvent yourself when needed.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?If people are not laughing at your dreams then your dreams aren't big enough, dare to dream big!