Michael A. Lovatt: 2023 candidate for Carol Stream Elementary District 93 board, 4-year term

Bio

Town: Carol Stream

Age on Election Day: 35

Occupation: Calibration and electrical test equipment repair

Employer: Not given

Previous offices held: None

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?

A: I am a parent to two children that have attended multiple schools within the district between them; I am also the spouse of a district employee (second-grade Dual language teacher) and feel I have a unique insight into my children's education and the challenges that come with administering it.

With that being said I strongly feel that the current board has never amounted to anything more than an extension of administration; on almost every contentious issue that's popped up over the last four years (of which there have been too many) they have consistently and unanimously voted in line with administration; despite feedback from both staff and community expressing dissatisfaction, sentiments that always go unaddressed.

Especially in regard to the incumbent members running for reelection, we've seen how they do the job, to think that they are suddenly going to start addressing let alone taking into consideration some of the different opinions presented to them seems nonsensible to me.

Q: What is the role of the school board in setting and monitoring curriculum?

A: IMO the board is the communities seat at the table. Its job isn't to set curriculum, but to review what the district wants to become curriculum. When the administration says "this is what we believe to be the best way to help our children find success in and contribute back to society" the board has the authority to demand that any language or claims being used to support said plan that don't already come backed by or reference any kind of reputable source (of which there a many arguments made in that vein) need to be justified.

Just like collective bargaining is a cornerstone to protecting the working class, collective knowledge is a cornerstone of human advancement. When deciding how to move forward, it is easy to look to and reference someone else who has already done just that, we just need to utilize it in our decision making!

Q: Are there curriculum issues within the district that you feel need particular attention from the board?

A: As a parent, I am happy with our current curriculum, but I am concerned for what it will look like in the future. From relying on teachers to donate their time over the summer building out and evolving said curriculum with nothing more than a paltry commission from the district, and their genuine desire to want the best for the children around them as motivation.

To not taking or at least making a genuine effort to consider or address the recommendations made by those very teachers at best, to advocating for and then instating changes to established curriculum that in my opinion can only seriously be seen as an exercise in cost cutting; especially when the language they use to advocate these changes never source any actual evidence for their claims and the current board still seemingly railroads it all through regardless.

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

A: As an elected official popularity is the only requirement to serve on the board, this is in contrast to the actual staff beholden to the board's decisions who not only have all received higher learning accreditation, but are required to keep up-to-date and continually advance that education. Thus, I feel it is my responsibility, the board's responsibility, to confront any controversy with collective evidence that supports whatever proposal is being made.

Which in today's world is easier than ever, as the stark truth is few places actually try truly new approaches or strategies; that coupled with the fact that fewer roadblocks than ever now exist when it comes to referencing the effects of how said controversy or strategy has already played out elsewhere in other communities. It pains me to say it as I truly do believe it to be cliché … but I do recognize that in today's world, including my tiny nondescript corner of suburban America, raw emotion carries more weight than hard evidence.

Q: Concerns are growing regarding a new resurgence of the pandemic. If another massive outbreak of infectious disease occurs, what have we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that will guide your decision making?

A: The optimist in me says now that we, as a community, have observed the effects of catering to the raw emotion of people, who while they themselves are just trying to struggle through all of this like the rest of us, have misdirected their frustration into advocating for action that is in complete contradiction to the advice/instruction being given to them by people that just a few years ago they would have had no issue recognizing as experts due to their earned credentials.

For example, a parent fears losing their income let alone being able to afford a sitter to accommodate remote learning, instead class returns to in-person earlier than recommended by the state, this then results in more kids and their families getting sick and being stuck at home not receiving any instruction at all.

Again, it's cliché, but we need to get back to having faith in our institutions and the people they produce.

Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage school district policy? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions of your school board.

A: My experience throughout life has been lots of people carry differing opinions, but invariably the best way to reach/work toward a common goal is to break the problem down to its constituent parts and identify/make visible whatever it is that made them a reality.

By first clearly defining those things for everybody involved, it is easier to successfully collaborate in evolving and expanding on them. I understand that it is a challenge to communicate such impactful decision-making to a community as a whole, let alone try and provide for their equal involvement in participating in it.

I don't have enough space on this document to coherently list how I would improve the above, but I will reiterate that communication/collaboration between the three "branches" (board/community/administration) is woefully inadequate and that has led to uninformed decision-making. It is also important to me that I point out the fact that I consider staff to be included in the community branch.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: I am unable to bring myself to say I am the best candidate for the job, but the reality is that there are six people contesting three, 4-year seats. I and two other candidates make up three of them, the other three candidates are incumbents who have failed in their role to advocate for the community's behalf. I believe that strengthening the relationship between the board (ergo, the communities elected representation), the administration, and the staff should be the foremost consideration of the incoming board. Once some semblance of unity is achieved, we can then get back to moving forwards, as opposed to spending the majority of our energy to keep from regressing backward.

Q: What's one good idea you have to better your district that no one is talking about yet?

A: It's a fact that more and more families are facing food insecurity, and as such I would like a transparent evaluation of the district's costs in regard to feeding its children. I want a breakdown of how much money is being spent to license the software that maintains and tracks each of the students accounts, and the balances/debts associated with it as their incurred in real time; and in my experience a seemingly universal truth is that corporate/database software is exorbitantly expensive.

I want to know if eliminating THOSE costs could help facilitate the feeding of all the district's children in an adequate and healthy manner. Furthermore, I have heard of other districts being able to offer free in school meals to all its children largely in part because they did just that, and it makes inherent sense to me that we should be able to achieve the same for our children.

The least we can do however is do it the justice of looking into it in earnest.