Bob Brown: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Bob Brown

City: Winfield

Office sought: Community High School District 94 Board Member

Age: 54

Family: My wife, Sandra, and I have been married for 30 years. We have been blessed with four children, two of them are adults (who both graduated from Community High School), the younger two are currently attending Community High School (a Freshman and a Junior).

Occupation: I spent 33 years working at Harper College in Palatine in the IT department, most recently managing the data centers at the college. Since leaving Harper in 2016 (due to layoffs), I have been working at Donley's Wild West Town (in Union, IL) as manager. Besides working in the office, I also play Marshal Bob, an 1880's era US Marshal in the park.

Education: I have an Associate in Science and an Associate in Arts from Harper College in Palatine.

Civic involvement: Past Cubmaster with Cub Scout Pack 575 in Winfield. Past Assistant Scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop 575 in Winfield.

Previous elected offices held: Winfield Public Library Board (since 1995-Treasurer since 1996). Winfield School District 34 Board of Education since 1999 (Board President since 2013). (my term on District 34 is ending this spring and I am not seeking re-election to District 34).

Incumbent? No.

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Issue questions

What are the most important issues facing your district and how do you intend to address them?

I believe that our district faces major issues in the areas of Trust, Openness and Transparency. Our district came within hours of a teachers strike last year. This was following many months of negotiations. A lot of the struggles with those negotiations stem from a lack of trust between the board and administration and the teachers. There is a lot of concern in the community that the district isn't very open and transparent in how business is conducted and how decisions are made. There is a lack of trust both internally (between the board and administration and the teachers and staff) and externally, between the district and the community. In every decision that the board faces, I will be guided by the principles of building trust and being as open and transparent, both internally and externally, as possible. I also believe that while our district has been doing well at providing opportunities for high achieving students, we need to focus more attention on the students who face more challenges in their education.

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 believe that our school is doing well for a lot of our students. There have been more opportunities offered for AP classes and dual credit (earning college credit while taking High School classes). This greatly helps high achieving students. There has also been more emphasis on providing opportunities for students who don't plan on attending college and wish to go directly into a trade. I feel that we, as a district, do need to focus some additional resources on our students that struggle with challenges in their education. We need to be sure that all students are given the best possible opportunity to be successful in school and in their life beyond high school.

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? Be specific.

I believe that our district's finances are on a solid footing at the moment. There are certainly issues and unknowns going forward, with a lot of concern about decisions made in Springfield and how they affect local school districts. For example, if pension cost shifting ever becomes a reality, it will have an impact on all districts and we must prepare for that potential impact. I do not believe that program cuts or tax increases are likely to be needed in our district for the foreseeable future. We should take a hard look at the budget however, especially as it relates to administration costs and insure that our communities tax dollars are being wisely spent in that area of our district.

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?

Because I had enough years of service at Harper College when they laid me off in 2016, I am officially listed as retired from Harper College in Palatine. That is the only school that I have ever been employed by, and no one else in my family has been employed by a school.

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?

I am passionate about Trust, Openness and Transparency. The board, administrators, teachers and staff are all part of the same organization. Steps should be taken to open up communication between all groups. Everyone should have access to the same financial reports and projections. That way everyone is looking at the same set of numbers. If all groups have a level of trust, then we can enter negotiations in a collaborative way and come up with a solution that everyone can live with. Everyone faces challenges. The tax cap limits increases in local property taxes and there's always questions about the level of state funding. Both the district and its employees grapple with unknowns about health care costs as well as inflation and cost of living. It is important that we can attract and retain quality teachers and staff, as they are the heart of our school. I think that it would be unwise to take a position on increases or concessions until everyone can sit down together and work to understand the challenges that all sides are facing. With open dialog and a climate of trust, I believe that negotiations can happen in a productive and collaborative manner.

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?

No. I do not believe that this practice, known as pension spiking, is fair to the rest of the organization or to the community. Everyone that is a part of the district is important. To give this kind of benefit to administrators seems to imply that they are somehow more important to the district than our teachers and staff. If we are to serve our students and community well, then everyone who is a part of the district must be treated in a fair and equitable manner. This practice also puts undue burden on the state's pension systems. A pension is designed to replace the income from a career. By artificially increasing an administrator's salary just before retirement, the pension amount becomes greatly inflated and isn't a fair representation of the pension benefit that the individual is supposed to receive according to the design of the pension system.