John Kenwood: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: John Kenwood

City: Glen Ellyn

Office sought: Board of Education Glenbard D87

Age:

Family: I have been a resident of Illinois for the past 29 years, and a resident of D87 for the past 23 years. I am married and have three children that graduated from D87.

Occupation: Management Consultant VP Capgemini Consulting LLC. 1992-Present. North America Retail Portfolio Lead

Education: BA University of Texas at Austin, MBA Finance University of Illinois

Civic involvement:

Previous elected offices held:

D41 Board of Education for 10 years 2005-2015. Roles included the following:

• President, Vice President, and Board Member

• Served as Board Liaison for District Vision

• Served as Board representative for Finance Committee

• Served as Board representative for Curriculum Committee

• Served as Board Liaison for boundaries committee

• Helped negotiate two teacher contracts as well as two ACSME contracts

• Volunteered on the facilities task force committee

• Helped recruit and hire superintendent

• Part of the team that developed the facilities plan to eliminate the portables

• Understand the tax levy process

Trustee Village of Glen Ellyn 2015-2019. Scope: Police, Fire, Public Works, Links, Finance/Taxes, Glenbard Waste Water Authority, and Planning and Development. Roles include:

• Board liaison for Capital Improvements Commission (CIC)

• Board liaison for Recreational Commission

• Board Liaison for Architectural Review Commission

• Board Liaison for Police Pension Board

Incumbent: If yes, when were first elected? No, but have 14 years of board experience covering a wide range of responsibilities. As a new board member, I would bring a new perspective to a board that already has board members that have served 2 or 3 terms.

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Issue questions

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

D87 is a high achieving district that prepares students for college, and provides students lots of opportunities to explore new areas. The district plans well and is financially strong. I don't see significant issues, but see a need to continue to grow in three key areas:

• Provide a road to work for technical career paths by providing additional curricular opportunities in each of the schools

• Providing special education students with an education that allows them to have a successful career

• Developing succession plans for key upcoming retirements to ensure the district continues to have the necessary leadership and resources to execute the strategic plan.

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 think D87 prepares students for the next stage in their lives from a curriculum perspective. I would like to explore some more experiential learning and preparing the students with life skills that will help them be better prepared social emotionally for their careers.

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.

D87 is very strong financially, and plans appropriately. The key budgetary issue will be the upcoming teacher contract. The board should continue to explore opportunities to reduce expenses without sacrificing the quality of education.

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?

No

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?

Contract talks between the school employee groups and the school board should be based on interest based bargaining. The negotiations should be done collaboratively, with an understanding of the economic environment, and each lever should be dealt with to align providing a good package to employees and balancing the impacts to the tax payer. I have negotiated two teacher contracts as well as other employee group contracts while on D41 board of Education

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?

A substantial increase in the last years of service to boost the pension is not aligned with being fiscally responsible to taxpayers and only worsens the pension obligations for the state of Illinois. I would not support substantial increases.