Robert Hattenhauer: 2021 candidate for Mount Prospect District 57 school board

Six candidates for four, four-year seats

Bio

City: Mount Prospect

Age: 34

Occupation: Director of building and grounds at Franklin Park School District 84

Civic involvement: Volunteer youth baseball coach and member of the youth baseball advisory committee for the Mount Prospect Park District

Q&A

Q: Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what is it?

A: Like most other parents, I want to see the best for my children and I understand that the quality of their education will play a significant role in the people that they will become. Mount Prospect School District 57 has a great reputation however, the current school board is failing to advance the vision of the district. With the announcement of the new superintendent I have faith that the ship is no longer destined to sink. However, we need a school board that is capable of providing clear direction to our administration team. If elected, my engineering and facilities management experience as well as my training in continuous improvement would make me a valuable asset to this board and our community as a whole. I am a creative problem solver, known for my out of the box solutions to problems big and small. I am not a “yes-man” and the saying “that's the way it has always been” does not fly with me. Finally, I have a genuine interest in the often overlooked yet critical role that the classroom and school facilities environment plays in the overall quality of a student's education.

Q: How would you grade the current school board on its response to the pandemic? Why?

A: I would assign the grade of “D” for disappointing to the existing school board (with the exception of a few) for the lack of urgency and ingenuity in tasking the administration team to provide a return to learning plan that accounted for all students. Furthermore I assign the grade of “F” to District 57 Superintendent Dr. Aumiller for failure to recognize her responsibility to develop a clear plan (following ISBE guidelines) early on and to encourage the school board to adopt it. In fact she did just the opposite during the July 16, 2020 board meeting when she gave credit to a rumor by stating that she heard from reliable sources that Gov. Pritzker would be making an announcement that all schools would be required to remain remote during the fall. After that statement, what reason would the board have had to move forward with any of the plans that were presented that evening? Her “reliable source” turned out to be wrong, the 2020 fall learning plan was further delayed, and the divide among the community grew.

Q: How do you view your role in confronting the pandemic: provide leadership even if unpopular, give a voice to constituents — even ones with whom you disagree, or defer to state authorities?

A: At the start of the pandemic I was working in the manufacturing industry, which was deemed an essential business. From day one I was proactive and made it my priority to learn the regulations on our business and make sure that we did everything in our power to continue our operations without contributing to community spread. I am proud to say that throughout the pandemic there were 0 cases spread in our 150,000 square-foot facility. In November of 2020, I left manufacturing and accepted the position of director of buildings and grounds at a nearby school district. Through this position, I have seen firsthand what it takes to provide a safe learning environment for our children. If elected to the school board I promise to take the same proactive leadership approach and make an effort toward uniting the community from the divide left by the pandemic.

Q: Did your district continue to adequately serve students during the disruptions caused by the pandemic? If so, please cite an example of how it successfully adjusted to continue providing services. If not, please cite a specific example of what could have been done better.

A: No — It was clear in the spring that the remote learning plan was not working, yet it continued the remainder of the school year without improvement. There was significant improvement in remote learning for the fall however many students, especially our youngest most vulnerable learners, continued to struggle. Once a hybrid option was finally offered, it was flawed in that actual instruction hours were significantly reduced and the asynchronous curriculum was inferior. While surrounding school boards put their trust in district administrators to work diligently developing the proper safety protocols to allow students to return to in person learning, D57 school board President Kowalczyk continued to emphasize that the state should have provided more specific guidelines for returning to school rather than only making recommendations. Our board president's failure to recognize that these ISBE guidelines were put in place to allow each district to develop and carryout a plan that fit their unique circumstances contributed significantly to community divide. The uncertainty of our children's education and the board member's lack of timely decisions failed our children and our community.

Q: Do you have a plan on how to safely and effectively conduct classes in the spring? What have you learned from the fall semester that you would change in the spring?

A: During the February 2021 board meeting, our school board finally challenged the administration team to develop a plan to return students to full-time in person learning. At this time I support the plan that was presented at the March 4 board meeting. I trust that our administration team will be successful in providing in person learning while not jeopardizing the education of those that remain remote. Based on the lack of the district to offer any hybrid option this fall, it is clear that we need board members that are proactive and understand that they are representing our community as a whole while putting our students' needs first.

Q: What is your position on allowing high school sports to continue during the pandemic? Be specific.

A: I am not running for a high school board position therefore this question is not applicable to my candidacy. I will say however that I was the head coach of several youth (ages 5 to 7) baseball teams from July through October and that by following the guidelines we had a safe season.