2013 Election: Mark Franceschini

Name: Mark Franceschini

Position Sought: Mokena District 159 School Board Member

Campaign Contact Information: None as yet.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

To uphold our high-standards and continue to improve our children's educational experience wherever technically and financially possible. As a district we are headed in the right direction - our students are thriving and we are getting out of financial deficit - we need to keep going this direction.

Home Address: 11754 w. 194th Street Mokena IL 60448

Family Members:

Julie Franceschini, spouse, 47
Dana Franceschini, daughter, 17
Jennifer Franceschini, daughter, 15
Lauren Franceschini, daughter, 13

Education: 

College of St. Francis 1987 BS Management Information Systems

Current Occupation and Employer:

Senior Business Systems Analyst - Southern Wine and Spirits of IL

Political Party Affiliation: Non-partisan election

Why are you seeking office?

To continue providing the children attending our schools with the best educational experience possible in a fiscally prudent manner. In a nutshell, I want to give our students everything we can with the resources that have been provided. The current board has done a lot of good work in keeping our standards high and doing so within budget. My running mate, Bob Swale, and I want to help the board and district keep doing this.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

I am an incumbent board member (1 of the only 2 among the candidates), and I have participated in many of the current boards’ successful initiatives (balanced budget, anti-bullying etc.). My running mate Bob Swale and I are committed to working with the current board to uphold the districts high standards, promote new and innovative technology and ideas, and to do it all within budget and without referendum.

In your opinion, what are the primary challenges facing this district?

Some of the major challenges I see affecting the district are the decreasing school enrollment (which adds to the problem of decreased funding from the state) and the general poor condition of the economy, which also impacts funding. I also see some challenges in the form of additional state requirements due to the new type of standardized testing and some organizational challenges caused by the impending departure of New Lenox school district from S.D. 843

How will you address those challenges?

I think that the way we handle these problems will be just a variation of the way the board has been doing things so far. Some out-of-the box thinking and brain-storming combined with smart and targeted spending. A good example of this would be how the board worked with the teachers union to produce the current contract agreement – The teachers needs were met, the boards budgetary concerns were addressed – A win/win for both sides.

If elected, what will be your philosophy as a board member?

My philosophy I think is simple - To provide the best academic experience possible using the resources that we have been entrusted with.