Schools
Geneva School Board Candidates Rank Priorities—Now, You Can Rank the Candidates
Election 2013: What are your top priorities for School Board members in the coming four years? Ask yourself that question, then see which candidates priorities line up with yours.
I asked some strange and difficult questions of School Board candidates during the March 20 TaxFACTS/Patch forum. Several of those questions were flat-out failures, but there was one I liked a lot.
It's the following—and I hope you take a minute to answer it yourself before you scroll down to see what the candidates said.
Please rank these issues in order of priority to your campaign and your concept of your role as School Board member:
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- Tax Levy
- Curriculum
- Teacher Contract Negotiations
- Staff Development
- Test Scores and Student Achievement
- Debt
One of the candidates referred to the question as an "absolutely" false dichotomy. "We can walk and chew gum at the same time," he said.
True. And we expect Geneva School Board members to do that. But we also have to decide which four of the eight candidates to vote for come April 9.
Find out what's happening in Genevafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
I hope the answers to these questions will help. See how they align with your priorities as a voter. I highlighted the No. 1 priorities in boldface and with an asterisk. Further explanation of each candidate's position is presented below the chart.
—Rick Nagel, Geneva Patch Editor
March 28, 2013
Mark Grosso David Lamb Bill Wilson Dan Garrett Robert Cabeen Jeff DiOrio Fred Dresser Leslie Juby Tax Levy 4 5 3 1* 4 4 1* 6 Curriculum 2 2 4 6 3 1* 2 1* Teacher Contract Negotiations 6 6 6 4 6 5 6 5 Staff Development 5 3 5 5 3 6 4 1* Test Scores and Student Achievement 2 4 1* 3 1* 2 5 1* Debt 1* 1* 2 2 2 3 3 4
EXPLANATIONS
- Editor's Note: I did my best to transcribe and summarize based on the TaxFACTS video from the forum. Please view the video to hear the full answers and inflections.
Leslie Juby
No. 1: Curriculum, Student Achievement/Test Scores, and Staff Development
“I grouped curriculum, student achievement and staff development, (because) they all are tied together. To me, they’re interrelated. I’m not a fan of test scores, never have been, so I just pushed that aside when I answered the question."
No. 6: Tax Levy
"The budget process drives the tax levy, so when you talk about the tax levy, you should have gone into detail during budget discussions."
Fred Dresser
No. 1: Tax Levy
"No. 1’s the tax levy and (we should be) looking at a zero percent tax levy increase or a reduction. There’s too much of a burden on the taxpayer right now. When I walk the neighborhoods, that's one of the most prominent questions."
No. 6: Contract Negotiations
"They were bad contract negotiations (for the community); there were hurt feelings all around."
Jeff DiOrio
No. 1: Curriculum and Student Achievement/Test Scores
"I chose curriculum and test scores as my 1 and 2. I think that’s the reason we have a school board—to provide the best education for our kids. (The Geneva School Board has done a great job.) I would like to continue that in the future."
No. 6: Contract Negotiations
"I think in the next two to three years, we can improve those relationships again (to a point) where teachers and the School Board have that wonderful relationship."
Robert Cabeen
No. 1: Student Achievement/Test Scores
"I put student achievement and test scores (first)—if test scores reflect achievement, that’s a good thing. (I chose this because) we’re a school board, and that’s (the responsibility) for a school board."
No. 6: Tax Levy
"It’s very appealing to say zero tax levy. But in fact, (a zero-percent tax levy increase) causes us to lose the assessment from new construction—and there actually is new construction in Geneva. So I’m not in favor of a zero tax levy, and I realize in this crowd, that’s tough to say."
Dan Garrett
No. 1: Tax Levy and Debt
"That’s where the board can give direction to the superintendent, (Dr.) Kent (Mutchler), and he can implement it. That’s where we can make the most impact, on those two things."
No. 6: Curriculum
"I think we’re doing a pretty good job there. The School Board can give direction on that, but the superintendent and his staff are going to have to lead that charge."
Bill Wilson
No. 1: Student Achievement/Test Scores
"I can lump any of these six items into sustainability. During my time on the School Board, we have demonstrated that we can improve education."
No. 6: Teacher Contract Negotiations
"One thing I think I said over and over and over again (is that sustainability is) the most important thing we have to achieve in the teacher negotiations: It’s all about sustainability."
David Lamb
No. 1: Debt
"Debt restructuring is the No. 1 priority. We need to pay down debt aggressively. If we don’t, the increase in debt service is going to hinder the long-term health of our district."
No. 6: Teacher Contract Negotiations
"Last is teacher contract negotiations (because a four-year contract recently was signed.)"
Mark Grosso
No. 1: Debt
"Debt was my No. 1, because it’s going to drive everything we do in the district. When we have opportunities to make repurchases, when bonds become callable, I think we need to take advantage of that. We have in the past to the tune of almost $2 million, and we have some additional coming due shortly."
No. 6: Teacher Contract Negotiations
"Teacher contract is last (on this list of six issues.) Depending on all the rest, that takes care of itself."
- Editor's note: For this election-related article, Patch will screen comments with the intent to publish as many as possible. However, there may be some delay between the time the comment is posted and when it shows on the Geneva Patch homepage. Comments will be rejected if they attack a candidate or use inappropriate language.
