Gautam 'GB' Bhatia: Candidate profile
BIO
Name: Gautam 'GB' Bhatia
City: Aurora
Office sought: Board Member of Indian Prairie School District 204
Age: 50
Family: Married with two children
Occupation: Cyber Security Engineer
Education: Bachelor's in computer science, math and physics from Augustana College; MBA in MIS and operations from the University of Minnesota
Civic involvement: Funding member and chairman of Aurora's Indian-American Community Outreach Advisory Board; member of Aurora's Implementation Advisory & Downtown Economy Committee; member of Interfaith Aurora; member of Roots Aurora Planning Committee
Previous elected offices held: None
Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?
Website: None
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ElectGB
Issue questions
* What are the most important issues facing your district and how do you intend to address them?
Fiscal Responsibility - The City of Aurora has proposed the "Route 59 corridor development" along with long-term TIFs. The development will bring additional students to our district near the north end. The TIFs might limit future revenue from property taxes for the school district. I advocate for additional information gathering to understand the immediate and long-term economic impact of moving forward with the development and the impact of doing nothing. We then need to communicate that information and analysis to all stakeholders, solicit feedback and act in the best interest of the community and students.
Mental Health Support - Our students get stressed by the pressures of excelling in academics, sports, being teenagers and bullying. This can lead to students taking adverse actions that are preventable. With the proper mental health support, we can help our students fulfill their potential and be happy contributing members of society. As an immediate step, the school district should leverage volunteer nonprofit organizations that provide such services. In addition, the school district should ask the State of Illinois for a grant and review the budget for areas of improvement.
Teacher salaries to align with benchmark districts - Teacher retention is an issue in our district due to lower salaries than benchmark districts. As a result, we lose experienced teachers, which further impacts the quality of education. We need to increase salaries for our teacher. As a fresh set of eyes, I need an opportunity to understand the budget in depth, understand the competing priorities, listen to all stakeholders and find a solution that works long-term.
* 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?
The "Portrait of a Graduate" planning by 204 School District is an excellent program that needs to continue. As part of this program, the district asked a diverse set of stakeholders to identify the community's aspirations for all students. I believe the district should focus on reducing the achievement gap while given the program enough time to have the desired impact. The results should be periodically evaluated and adjusted as needed.
* 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.
Based on Engage 204 sessions, the district will face several budgetary issues in the next 4 years, such as Maintenance cost, Elementary school air conditioning, Additional mental health staff, Reduction of average class size.
I advocate for an open dialogue & data sharing among all stakeholders and a review of expense categories to determine if any administrative costs can be reduced and maintenance costs deferred. To hire additional mental health staff, the school district should leverage volunteer nonprofit organizations that provide such services. In addition, the school district should ask the State of Illinois for a grant and review the budget for areas of improvement.
To reduce average class size, the district could consider redistricting to move some students to the southern part of the school district, where there is some capacity to accommodate additional students.
On the income side, I do not support any property tax increases because it is already high. I might support a progressive income tax plan but need to evaluate this option with all the stakeholders.
* 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?
The school board should solicit feedback from all employees in the school district, specially teachers who received a pay raise at the last contract negotiations. Asking for concessions does not seem viable because our teachers are already under paid compared to neighboring school districts. I would like to review the details of the school districts budget and work earnestly to improve teacher compensation and/or benefits.
* 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?
I am not comfortable supporting such an increase for anyone nearing retirement, because it would take away from the compensation budget for incoming administrators and teachers, who are needed to keep our school district's education at a high level.