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Bojana Ozegovic Carey: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Bojana Ozegovic Carey

City: Elmhurst

Office sought: District 205 Board of Education

Age: 46

Family: Married, 3 sons ages 9, 7, and 5 (3rd grade Edison Elementary, 1st grade Edison, Pre-K Madison Early Childhood Center)

Occupation: Mechanical Engineer, Program Manager, Business Owner, Inventor (12 US, 1 EU patent)

1999-2011 Honeywell

2011-2013 Life Fitness

2013 - Present Gawden LLC

Education: Bradley University - BS Mechanical Engineering, Graduated Magna Cum Laude 1999

University of Illinois at Chicago - MBA with Concentration in Management 2008

Civic involvement:

Elmhurst Running Club (ERC) member and volunteer

Edison Elementary Volunteer (REACH Representative, Chess Club, Running Club)

Previous elected offices held: N/A

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

Website: CAREYfor205.com

Facebook: N/A

Twitter: N/A

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

Class Size - We need to hire enough teachers to keep class sizes at 24 students maximum. Small class size is a BASIC NEED and a catalyst for success for our kids. With current larger class sizes, we are wasting our kids potential by under-developing them, and wasting our teachers' talents by under-utilizing them.

2018 Referendum Implementation / Fiscal Responsibility -We have to accomplish the Referendum goals under the $168 million budget. My goal would be to help reduce costs wherever possible without compromising the quality of the results.

All-Day Kindergarten early implementation/pilot - Per the latest Referendum timeline, it is now known that full implementation is estimated for 2024. This is much later than what the voters were led to believe. Therefore, we need to offer early implementation wherever possible.

Equity - We need an Equity Committee that would make sure donations are shared with the whole District.

Communication - I will strive to make our future surveys clear. They have to include enough information for people to make informed decisions.

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 we have fantastic teachers and excellent programs available, we need more of both.

Students and teachers need time and space which small class sizes allow, to achieve the maximum potential of learning and teaching. Anything less is simply wasteful.

I would fully support more elective classes at the middle school and high school level. Also, music, arts, and foreign languages should be made more available starting as early as elementary level.

I would like to see programs like REACH expanded and available to more students, especially at the elementary school level. Early participation is vital to keep young brains engaged.

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.

Educational Fund

The class size issue deals with the 2006 Referendum Educational Fund that we are currently paying for and will be paying for 7 more years (until 2025).

Quoted from the 2006 Referendum:

"A $0.30 increase in the educational fund tax rate will:

Provide funds to hire staff and provide supplies for maximum of 24 students per K-5 classroom.

Provide funds to hire staff and provide supplies to maintain middle school core curriculum (language arts, reading, mathematics, science, and social science) class size of less than 27."

These are the top two items promised to the taxpayers and are currently not delivered.

Instead of 24 maximum in K-5, our administration is using target class sizes of 24 in K-2 and 27 in grades 3-5 with maximum of 29. I am aware of two third grade classrooms of 27 at Edison (my son's) and three third grade classrooms of 29 at Hawthorne. The latest facility estimation study commissioned by 205 showed that both of these schools are UNDER CAPACITY. Space is not an issue.

Referendum Bonds

We have to keep in mind that 4 out 10 Elmhurst residents voted NO on the 2018 Referendum. As we work on delivering on the promises of the Referendum, we have to make every effort to minimize costs so that the unused money goes back to the taxpayers.

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?

I believe the school board should advocate for competitive pay and benefits for teachers and support staff so that we retain the most talented professionals.

Our teachers are excellent and we need to make sure their compensation is compatible with high performing districts. We need to make sure their work environment is adequate (class sizes, teaching materials and supplies, etc.) so they can deliver best results for our kids.

We also need to communicate better with our teachers and find out what they need and what ideas they have to improve the learning environment. Not all benefits are related to money, some of the most important ones are directly related to freedom to improve, create, communicate, etc.

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.

I believe pay benefits should be based on merit and should not be used to manipulate any future benefits.

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