Eileen Maloney: 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: Lake ZurichWebsite: eileenmaloney.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake Zurich Unit District 95 School Board Age: 52Family: Bill Pemstein, HusbandBrady Pemstein, sonRiley Pemstein, sonNolan Pemstein, sonOccupation: AttorneyEducation: JDBACPCUARMCivic involvement: I am very involved with the American Heart Association including being the Employee Co-Chair for AHA at work. I have volunteered with the March of Dimes and the American Red Cross as well as Feed My Starving Children and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. I have volunteered for the LZBSA and the Flames football organization. I am a member of the Indoor Air Quality Committee at several schools in the district.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What do you see as priorities for facility upgrades in the district?Over the past four years the District 95 has put a great deal of sweat equity into the facilities maintenance and life safety matters. The Board of Education engaged DLA Architects to conduct a facilities assessment of all District 95 buildings in 2015. DLA looked at overall building conditions, identified and made recommendations for what we should plan and budget for in the next 10 years. The Facilities Committee, with the assistance of DLA, developed ideas for capital improvements that would improve and align our buildings with 21st Century teaching practices. The facilities committee investigated and suggested funding options to the Board of Education. Concurrently DLA performed a Life Safety Inspection of all schools with the exception of the High School. The facilities committee developed a list of criteria to evaluate capital improvement projects. They are as follows: Impact on creating a culture of learning; Immediate need; Mandated/code required; Security; Form follows function; Parity/equity; Community value. The facilities committee determined future decisions will be evaluated on a cost/benefit analysis. I agree with the assessments made by the facilities committee and believe we should prioritize our facilities projects using their guidelines. On our most recent Health/Life Safety Annual Inspection report all of District 95 school buildings received a finding of in full compliance. This is a distinction that we have never achieved before. We are in good fiscal shape to pursue improvements in our facilities. This is an exciting time for District 95.There has been talk of seeking voter permission for a funding mechanism to pay for building projects without raising taxes. Is this something you support or should the district seek more money through a tax increase referendum to address building needs faster?District 95 is in excellent financial condition and in fact, our Financial Profile Score is Recognition in all categories, which is the highest possible score. We have achieved this score for several years in a row. We have come a long way since we had to borrow money to make payroll. We have the opportunity to continue an aggressive facilities maintenance program and determine what improvements/upgrades the district needs through our facilities committee and through our forward 95 initiative. We have the opportunity for access to approximately 4 million dollars a year without raising our taxes at all. We have been able to accomplish this through hard work and fiscally smart practices over the last several years. We need to continue to be diligent with our facilities maintenance schedule and look to adapt our learning spaces so that we can offer cutting edge classrooms for our students. We were fortunate to improve unused space in the High School this past summer and we now have a beautiful collaborative learning environment in our new Studio C. I absolutely support the reissuing of a portion of our expiring debt so that we have additional money in our working cash fund without the need to raise taxes for District 95 taxpayers.Has the district done a good job in conveying information to parents on the Lake Zurich High School football team hazing situation? Please elaborate and explain if you have ideas on what could have been done differently?With respect to communication to the parents of football players after the football matter, the Administration's hands are tied with respect to matters of student discipline and personnel. They simply cannot talk about them or reveal any information. I certainly understand how frustrating it must be to parents and other members of the public to want more information about this important matter and not get it. I know the administration did their best to complete their analysis with our attorneys and in cooperation with other investigative bodies thoroughly and as quickly as possible.What should the district do in an effort to prevent a similar hazing problem in the future?District 95 engaged our counsel to conduct the investigation of this matter and give us recommendations to prevent a similar problem in the future. The District has implemented several of the suggestions already.1.Give Careful Consideration to the Culture2.Place an Emphasis on Supervision for the Protection of Students3.Make the District's Anti-Hazing Policy a Point of Emphasis for All Athletic and Extra-Curricular Activities4.Consider the Scope of Corrective Measures5.Implement an Anonymous Tip Line to Report Bullying, Harassment and Hazing with Defined Response Protocols6.Identify Areas Outside Of Locker Room Where Students Could Potentially Be Left Unsupervised (Buses, Hotel Rooms, Camps.)7.Assess the Value of Off-Site Team Activities (not including contests) and, if Continued, Clarify Supervision Responsibilities and Protocols for Adults8.Review Placement of Video Surveillance Cameras9.Review the Student Handbook, Codes of Conduct and Board Policies10.Develop an Understanding with Per Mar (Third Party Security Provider) Regarding Reporting and Security Protocols, Mandated Reporter Status11.Develop an In-service with the Lake Zurich Police Department to Review Constitutional Issues and Protocols for Action12.Review and Update School Resource Officer Agreement13.Review and Update Reciprocal Reporting AgreementWhat role can and should school choice play in your district? If Congress or the state approves a voucher system or other means giving students broader choices among public and private schools, how will that affect your district? What is the appropriate response for the board of education of a public school system?District 95 is an outstanding school district and would likely continue to be a high performing school district even in the event of a voucher system. District 95 would be well positioned to compete with any private school. The appropriate response for the Board of Education would be to fiscally support the district to maintain our high quality instruction, curriculum and facilities so that we could continue to compete. The Board of Education would of course comply with any law or regulation passed by an appropriate governing body.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?In addition to facilities priorities and 21st century classrooms, school funding in Illinois without a budget is a huge issue facing all school districts. Legislation that is pending in Springfield now includes provisions to increase the state income tax rates, expand the sales tax base, impose a property tax freeze, reform pension plans, increase the minimum wage, expand gaming, and more. Lawmakers are proceeding slowly with this load of weighty issues and the proposed budget deal's fate is not clear. The uncertainty in Springfield is plaguing School Boards throughout the state. This will remain an issue for us.Another issue that is driving some concern is teacher engagement. Our Forward 95 initiative revealed that many participants identified the following weakness: "Staff morale feeling overwhelmed with too many initiatives at one time without adequate time, training and follow"â#128;~up support for successful implementation". The administration is taking active steps to address this concern, but given the amount of forward 95 participants that identified it as a weakness, it certainly warrants attention.I would also like to pay attention to communication and collaboration among teams and departments, from grade to grade, and from school to school which was another issue identified in the Forward 95 Initiative.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Jeanne Ponsetto, the Athletic Director at DePaul University. She was one of the first women to be an Athletic Director at a Division I school.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The only place where success comes before sweat is in the dictionary. I learned that hard work will always pay offIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I believe that mistakes are part of achieving greatness, having said that, I would have been nicer to my parents as a teenager.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?My favorite class in high school was debate. I learned to organize a good argument and respond cohesively to all issues raisedIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Relentlessly pursue your passion, but do so with compassion, respect and gratitude for the people and resources that are necessary to reach your goal.