District 25 School Board Candidate: David Page

Name David Page

How long have you been a resident of District 25? 40+years.

Biographical Information (optional) family, profession, background, etc. 

My wife of 22 years, Katie, and I were raised in this community.  Our daughters, Amanda and Emily, are students in 8th and 5th grade in School District 25.  Katie and I are both graduates of Hersey High School.  
I’m a Financial Advisor with more than 22 years of experience. In 1998, I established Page Financial Advisors. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Northern Illinois University, 1990.  Also, I have earned the professional designations of CFP® (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™) and ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant).  Also, I have enjoyed volunteer coaching 16 seasons of soccer for my daughters’ teams.
I was elected to the volunteer position of Arlington Heights District 25 School Board in 2005, and re-elected in 2009, and I currently serve as the President of the School Board.  I have earned the designation of Master Board Member from the Illinois Association of School Boards.

Why are you running for the District 25 board? 

My top 3 issues are:

• Top Quality Education for the Students of District 25.
• Fiscally Responsible Budgeting for District 25.
• Long-Term Financial Health for District 25.

I am running to ensure that the district delivers the best education possible in a fiscally responsible way.  The district has a great record of providing excellent educational opportunities for students within a responsible budget.  A responsible school board always has to look for additional ways to save money.  I will continue to do that by working with staff to ensure their careful review of annual budgets, looking for places to save money, examining zero-based budgeting efforts, and being innovative in instituting new programs with offsetting or cost-neutral balances.  This community can be very proud of its schools.  We want our schools to continue to be the reason people move to Arlington Heights and want to buy homes here.  District 25 is one of the top districts in the State and I want to make sure that it stays that way for our children.

What is your opinion on the offering of world languages to younger students in District 25, taking into account the attached costs? 

I believe it is important for our students to learn a second (or third+) language. For the last few years, Chinese was taught in grades 4-5 as a pilot program, and funded through a Grant from the Federal Gov't. The Fed Gov't has stopped that grant. So, now the full cost is on the District.  With the budget being as tight as it is, I don't think it is fiscally responsible to continue funding a pilot program in Chinese, especially when only 6% of the students entering District 25 middle schools next year are choosing to continue with Chinese.
Our Middle Schools will continue to offer a wide array of World Language choices from 6th grade through 8th grade.  Our students can choose from Spanish, French, Chinese, Italian (South), and German (Thomas).  This gives them the solid foundation they need to continue into high school and beyond in learning a world language. 

What is your opinion of the recently introduced outside evaluation of special education offerings in the school district? 

I believe it makes sense that the district has begun the process of doing a special education program review, as it has been over 10 years since this was last done.  This outside evaluation report is the first step of the review process.  The report had some areas I disagreed with and questioned at our last meeting, but the report is just one of many tools that will be used to complete the review.  The special education review committee, which will ultimately complete the special education program review, will have that analysis as part of the information that they work with.  The committee will also have input that is being solicited, from parents and from the District 25 staff, on the outside analysis itself and on the special education program and where it needs improvement.  They will then do a thorough review of the special education program and come up with proposals on how to improve our services.  The Board will then be asked to consider the changes that the committee recommends, so we will have many future discussions on this topic.  I believe it is important to always look for ways the district can improve the services it delivers to our students, and to do it within our budget. 

In the search for a new superintendent, what are the qualities you will look for in a new leader for District 25? 

As we begin the search for a new superintendent, the Board will direct the superintendent search firm to get input from all stakeholders of the community as to the qualities that they find to be most important for a superintendent.  The search firm will get input from parents, community members, staff, and students.  The Board will have all of that information to help guide the search.  
I believe that some of the most important qualities in a superintendent are to be excellent at collaboration, communication, to be forward-thinking, and to be student-centered. 

What, if any, improvements would you like to see in the way the board is run? 

One of the most important areas that the Board and the school district can always improve on is communication.  We need to continually look for ways to improve communication with the parents, community members, and staff.  The community is an integral part of the success of our schools and the students, and we need to continue to find new and more effective ways to reach out to the community and really connect about the varied and important issues facing the schools and our children. 

Additional comments and/or information you deem important for District 25 voters to know about you. 

For additional information, please see my website at http://www.davidpage.com.