John O'Neill: Candidate Profile

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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: McHenryWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry District 15 School Board Age: 48Family: Wife: Barbara Children: Joseph John Catherine Cecilia James Jeremiah JustinOccupation: Stay at Home DadEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: McHenry District #15 School Board since 2007 McHenry Public Library District Board of Trustees since 2009 Sunday School Teacher at The Church of Holy Apostles 1999-2011 Bass Guitar player at The Church of Holy Apostles since 2011Elected offices held: McHenry District #15 School Board since 2007 McHenry Public Library District Board of Trustees since 2009Questions 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?Our district has done a fine job preparing our elementary school students for middle school and our middle school students for high school. I am especially proud of the work which has been done to help non-English speaking students to learn English while continuing to be taught in their native languages so they do not fall behind. After achieving English language proficiency, they are typically at grade level in the rest of their subjects. It is important to me that all of our students learn to speak the English language.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.Before I was elected in 2007, the district sought a tax hike referendum - this is one reason I decided to run at that time. Our district held to its carefully worded promise relating to annual tax levy increases for the specified time period, after which the district has sought to take the maximum tax levy increase every year. I do not agree with the mindset of taking the maximum tax hike every year, especially when taxpayers are suffering pay cuts, losing their jobs, and losing their homes to foreclosure. School districts will point to the PTELL or Tax Cap Law as the reason why they "must" seek the maximum and even ask for much more, sometimes a double-digit percentage increase, in order to maximize the increase as allowed by law. For the past several years the district has been putting away money for future expansion plans; please understand that this is taxpayer money that the district has been putting into savings, while the taxpayers themselves may not have been able to put their own money into savings due to this economy and the ever-increasing tax burden. This year we have been able to get enough momentum among the board members to begin working on expansion projects such as building more classrooms in order to get our students out of mobile classrooms and to implement full-day Kindergarten. These are two plans which have been on the books since the tax hike and we are finally able to meet these commitments.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?I am not now, nor have I ever been employed by any school district. No member of my direct family - spouse, child or child-in-law are employed by the district where I am seeking a school board seat.As 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?Given our fiduciary relationship to the taxpayers, school boards need to be accountable to the taxpayers. Certainly our business is to educate our children in the district and this will incur costs but we can no longer treat the taxpayers funding of education as a bottomless pit. Despite the rosy picture which has been painted describing our nation's economy with words such as "resilient," "robust," and "growing" - the truth of the matter is that our once-great State of Illinois is losing residents at an alarming rate while states such as Texas are booming due to sound fiscal policies implemented by responsible leaders who put their residents' interests above those of the special interests. In our last round of collective bargaining, our district sought a number of concessions in order to balance a contact which was fair to all parties. I believe the amount of new money spent in that contract was less than 1%.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?District 15's superintendent is not nearing retirement. As a matter of principle I do not support, "substantial increases" in salary prior to retirement. This is not the practice in the private sector where most of the taxpayers' income is earned and it is, in my opinion, an unethical practice in the public sector.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?As a school board member, I take a great deal in pride in the efforts that our teachers, administrators, and staff put forth to bring out the best in our students - and those efforts pay off. Many of my childrens' friends and most of my friends' children attend schools in District 15 and I want to ensure that we provide our children with the best education our community can afford. I must also say that I have serious misgivings about the new Common Core standards which are being forced upon districts nationwide. While it is true that the Department of Education is prohibited by law from requiring any particular curriculum, the administration has tied adoption of the Common Core standards with eligibility to receive a piece of the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" funding. Despite the talking points, Common Core is not a state sponsored curriculum initiative; it is a governmental intrusion into education in which the Federal Government and a number of private corporations are dictating how and what our students should be taught. I have tried to be optimistic with these new national standards, but from what I have seen, they are typically less effective than the locally implemented curricula in a number of districts across the country. I would like our new governor and our state legislature to revisit the Common Core standards to determine whether they are a positive or negative impact upon our students.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has my attention these days.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Picking yourself up after a defeat or failure and working hard can help your reach your goals.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?If I had it to do over again, I would further my own education.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Drama class was my favorite and, as a Sales Representative, I have been able to incorporate many principles I learned in class into my profession.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Discover what you enjoy doing in life and figure out how to earn a living doing that.