James Batson: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: James (Jim) Batson

City: Mundelein

Office sought: Board of Education, Community High School District 128

Age: 61

Family: Married, 3 children - one graduate of Libertyville High School and two graduates of Vernon Hills High School.

Occupation: Director of Technology

Education: BA, Western Illinois University; MA, Webster University, St. Louis; Illinois Educator License with Superintendent Endorsement, Western Illinois University; Doctoral Candidate, Western Illinois University, Educational Leadership.

Civic involvement: Volunteer and/or board member for numerous education, technology, performing arts and other philanthropic organizations.

Previous elected offices held: Currently completing 2nd term on the D128 school board. Previously served 2 terms on Hawthorn District 73 school board.

Incumbent? Yes. If yes, when were you first elected? First elected to D128 board in April 2011.

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

Batson: From my perspective, one of our most important issues involves maintaining our two world class schools. Once a school or district experiences a significant amount of success, it becomes easy to sit back, assuming status quo will continue to produce great results. It takes great vision, leadership and hard work to continue providing excellent programs that meet the ever evolving needs of our students.

Another significant issue is the uncertainty of resources and changing demands coming from the state and federal levels. Our district leadership, including board members, continue important dialogue with state and local officials, advocating for the needs of our students and our community. I'm proud to have contributed to this ongoing dialogue.

Lastly, a current critical issue that the district is dealing with relates to facility needs at our two high schools. This is especially true of the student enrollment growth that Vernon Hills is, and will continue to experience in the coming years. Expansion of the Vernon Hills campus is important in order to support the student population growth that is coming based both on projections and actual increased enrollment already experienced at Hawthorn District 73 where the majority of the VHHS students come from.

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?

Batson: I am extremely proud of District 128 and our two world class high schools. Our district and both high schools are consistently ranked as some of the top schools both state wide and nationally. Both schools prepare students for life beyond high school extremely well as exemplified by the successes our alumni experience at many of the colleges, universities and other postsecondary opportunities our they pursue. While I can't recommend any additional changes, I'm confident the district's new "DARING" mission sets the tone and the direction to take this already successful district to the next level.

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.

Batson: The D128 board places significant focus on its fiscal responsibilities. For as long as I can remember, the board has successfully made great strides in long range financial planning toward the goal of district financial stability. As a board member, my goal is to support our two world class schools as effectively as possible while remaining fiscally responsible with our financial resources and respectful of the district's taxpayers. While we are always concerned that changes at the state level may have a negative impact on our district and tax payers, I fully understand the pressure that high property taxes have on our community. I have no interest in any plans to ask taxpayers for additional increases in taxes and I'm confident that with our continued focus on conserving district resources, we will be able to maintain the quality programs at both schools within the current tax increase limitations.

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?

Batson: I am currently employed as an administrator for Fenton Community High School District 100 in Bensenville. While my wife, oldest daughter and son-in-law are all educators, none of them are employed by District 128. As a point of clarification, while I'm currently working in the public school sector and have significant experience as an educator, the majority of my career has been in technology leadership roles in both private and public corporations and nonprofit organizations.

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?

Batson: I can offer no public comment on this question at this time due to current, ongoing contract negotiations.

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?

Batson: As a board member, I would support whatever terms are currently in any employee's contract. However, I personally do not feel that there is a need to artificially increase an already appropriately paid administrator's salary for the sole purpose of boosting retirement benefits. It's important to note that the D128 district administration and school board have eliminated retirement related increases for recent, new administrator contracts.