Shane Nowak: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Shane Nowak

City: Elgin

Office sought: Elgin Community College trustee

Age: 38

Family: Parents Jerry Nowak and Renee Nowak, siblings Scott and Stacy.

Occupation: Patient Advocate

Education: Masters in Political Science, American Public University; Bachelor of Science, Northern Illinois University; Associate in Arts, Elgin Community College

Civic involvement: NA

Previous elected offices held: None

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? No

Issue questions

Describe your vision for the primary role of a community college.

As trustees, we must balance the long term vision for the college against the short term vision. It is not helpful to any stakeholder to put one of those over the other. In the short term, we must find ways to continue to make college affordable, while we continue to offer many different educational opportunities. To do so we must address how to combat declining enrollment. As enrollment declines, the college will see less revenue which could impact tuition and limit the programs we offer. The long term vision is to make Elgin Community College nationally known for its educational excellence. Elgin Community College is already making great strides in doing this. We have partnered with many different community organizations and business to help our students pursue their passions after graduation.

How well is your community college fulfilling that role? What changes, if any, need to be made?

I would like to see our college move further into the 21st century by offering more online courses. This could be a good first step in addressing declining enrollment before it becomes a financial or educational crisis. Blue collar jobs and trades make up a major part of our local economy. Currently, there are many positions which are going unfilled because of the lack of skilled labor applying to those jobs. It would be beneficial for our students and local economy to prepare students for these jobs by offering classes which could help them become certified in their respective fields.

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, nor any member of my immediate family, are or have been employed by any school district.

Is a tax rate increase needed and, if so, how do you justify it?

I would have a very hard time increasing the tax burden on our local taxpayers. Illinois taxpayers are some of the most overburdened taxpayers in the nation. There are many different things we could look at which would help us avoid a tax increase. I would be a strong advocate for working with my colleagues toward a fiscally responsible budget.

Community colleges provide many services to a diverse population. Is there a service your college should be providing that it is not, or reaching a segment of the population that it is not?

Elgin Community College is making great strides to reach out to all segments of our community. We have become nationally known in improvements for our Hispanic population. So much so, that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation came to the college to see what we are doing right. However, we have other segments of our student population that are struggling as a group. I am open to analyzing the data, while listening to the students and faculty to find ways that we could improve educational outcomes.