Poonam Gupta-Krishnan: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Poonam Gupta-Krishnan

City: St. Charles

Office sought: D303 School Board

Age: 51

Family: Tatai Krishnan (Husband), IT Engineer; Priyankka Krishnan (Daughter), UIUC student. IMSA High School; Vijay Krishnan (Son), a high school student in St. Charles East High. Both kids are the product of Fox Ridge Elementary, Wredling MS, and St. Charles East HS.

Occupation: Informational Technology Business Owner

Education: Masters in Chemistry, Masters in Business, Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry, Bachelor of Education.

Civic involvement: BOARDS SERVED / Programs initiated

Anita Borg Institute, Chicago: Women in technology leader groups.

Hub88: Women Tech Incubator in Lisle, IL

Diversity MBA Magazine - Honorary Chief Technology Officer- 2009 to current

Innovative surveys to improve Diversity & Inclusion in Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies.

National Minority Development Council - Formed Industry Groups for focused marketing for small and Minority owned Businesses.

Women Business Development Council - Formed Federal market focused group

Urban Broadcasting Media - Helped establish social media training and broadcasting Institute for African-American community in Hyde Park.

Government Technology Foundation - Founder. Getting technology Innovation in the Government Sector

Technology Innovation Summit - Founder. Connecting Public sector, private sector, academia, and special interest groups to promote culture of innovation in the community. Advise Technology park in four states in India.

Indian American Business Council- Founder and Global Chair- platform for connecting businesses and investors for global market reach and expansion.

Woodlawn Community Development Corporation: Affordable housing not-for-profit.

Partnered in connecting businesses in 32 Cities in 24 states in US with India through www.MentorOnRoad.com.

School for rag picker kids in Noida: helping 100+ under poverty kids with stay, sanitation, food, safety and education.

At least 10 more such social cause involvements.

Previous elected offices held: None

Incumbent: If yes, when were first elected? No

Website: www.PoonamGK.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PoonamGKD303/

Twitter: @KrishnanPoonam

Instagram: PoonamGKD303

Issue questions

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

The main issues facing D303 are slipping educational standards, increased teachers' attrition rate, and rising tax burden.

The issues are many when we look from the eyes of different stake holders. But overarching problem I see is lack of communication among stake holders, transparency, accountability, and a trusting collaborative relations are missing.

My focus would be: Academic Excellence, Fiscal Responsibility, Accountability and Transparency.

School districts' only product is excellent kids graduating with 100 percent absorption either into top colleges or earning workforce. The same applies from grade to grade. My approach would include:

Reviewing proper detailed data that breaks down to very granular level by schools, by grade level, by year, by quarter. This data would include all aspects for education, infrastructure, demography, and any trend deviations.

Establish academic goals with the superintendent to realize academic excellence for all students. Tieing superintendent's contract with evaluations that are tied with goals achievement.

Bringing professionalism and process in the board functioning.

Providing the entire system with clarity of purpose, clear direction, priorities, and desired outcome.

Making sure that the important initiatives are funded, work toward reducing manageable cost,

Most importantly building transparent and trust-based relationship with community of parents, teachers, students, associations, support staff, administration and other municipalities through engagement opportunities.

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 that we are doing an average job at best if not below average in adequately preparing students for the next stage of their lives. We need more well-rounded education that integrates job skills, soft skills, managing physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of student's growth. Some of the aspects that would have my great attention are:

Re-energize the whole system with clarity of purpose, clear direction, priorities, and desired outcome.

Drawdown goals from Superintendent to principles, to teachers, to support staff and make these goals as a basis of evaluation.

Provide each group organized voice to represent the issues, concerns, projects, and successes in every step all the way up to the board.

Work through Superintendent to recharge HR department in providing healthy, progressive, and rewarding environment to all service providers of the district. Each one should feel encouraged to do their best and feel proud of being a part of district school. Provide them with opportunities for growth through training, and collaborative programs, control the practices like pink-slipping.

Work with Superintendent to provide access to the experts in different fields like teaching and learning etc. But providing flexibility to teachers to decide teaching styles.

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.

Certainly there are budgetary issues but there are unhealthy practices or ignorance that is costing the district. For example health care cost is the primary cost driver is health care cost that is about $16-17M per year and going up at the rate of 8 percent. I would like to find out data driven visibility of what kinds of claims are driving such a high increase of health care insurance cost and if HR can do something to improve the health life of the district employees.

Another cost driver is the infrastructure cost. There is a serious lack of visibility that as a board member, I would like to get full picture on issues like, why we are closing most secure schools like Fox Ridge and exposing kids to less safer school building. Current board violated "Open Meeting Act" and not full information is available.

I do not believe that the tax increase is the only solution to increase income that funds projects. Diminishing populations there should not have more cost. We must explore alternate revenue sources like grants, and collaborative programs with corporations. Getting the quality projects does not always translate into adding cost. Many strategic partnerships with Universities, Corporations, area businesses, school districts, and special interest organizations must be looked in the light of creative programming.

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 currently or in the past have ever been employed by the school district. I taught as a middle school teacher after my B.Ed. in India.

No one from my direct family has ever been employed at the school district 303.

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?

Reducing any current benefit does not go very well in any bargaining process unless there is equal or greater direct or indirect benefit. I would prepare with the expert in the areas of staff quality of work and life improvement while going into any negotiation. Not everything can be bought with the pay only. District as a sizable employer can provide many quality services to it's employees.

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 would not increase any administrator's pay nearing retirement. Simply because it is an unhealthy practice that puts burden on the whole system.

I believe that when the bar is moved higher, most people's performance improves beyond their own expectations and they feel a lot better. This also increases longevity and quality of life.

I would put practices of rewarding extraordinary efforts and better than expectation results that are a part of their evaluation criteria.

Additional Information about me:

BOOK UNDERWAY

I am working on a book, "SHIFT: Digital transformation and changing global workplace." Talks about capitalizing changing landscape of technology, investment, and talents in today's shifting geopolitical environment.

BOOK MENTIONS

My inspirational business journey is captured as a case study in two best-selling books:

"Feel Free to Prosper" by Marilyn Janett

"Fresh Start Success: How to reinvent your work, re-imagine your life, and Reignite your passion" by Gail Z. Martin & Larry Martin.