Meet Your District 30 School Board Candidates: Scott Margolin

Northbrook Patch sat down to ask questions of the five candidates for four open seats on the school board. Each day this week, we'll provide you with the answers from one of those candidates. Today's Q&A is with Scott Margolin, an eight-year member of the school board and 15-year Northbrook resident whose two children went to District 30 schools. He serves on the board's technology, citizen's curriculum and buildings & grounds committees as well as the Northbrook Community Relations Commission.

Editor’s Note: Despite repeated attempts, Patch was unable to reach incumbent Yasmeen Bilimoria and newcomer John Smith. We were able to reach , who served on the school board from 2005 to 2009, and current board president .

Patch: How would you assess the state of District 30's budget?

Margolin: I believe District 30 does an excellent job of being fiscally responsible. We have been able to implement many new programs while maintaining an appropriate fund balance for projected future needs. Our finance and facilities teams do an outstanding job of creating a five-year projection so that we are not only planning our current budget, but we are also looking out to the future. We also do not rely heavily on the state or federal government for funding. In these recent years of government cutbacks, our district has not felt the impact. I do believe that we need to continue to stress to the federal and state legislatures that any educational mandates they hand down should also be funded by the government so as to not be a burden on the taxpayers.

Patch: If expenses need to be reduced, exactly what would you cut?

Margolin: We continue to have a balanced budget year to year, which demonstrates the fantastic job our administration does of projecting the needs of the district. We know we may have some facilities upgrades coming in the near future and the district has been planning appropriately for those projects. If we ever did come to the point of having to reduce expenses, I would look to ensure that any reductions that would be made did not directly impact our students. We have already consolidated some of our purchasing with our neighboring districts and I would look to see if this could be done any further to help reduce costs. I would also look at any outside consulting we are using to determine if those resources are available internally.

Patch: If more revenue needs to be raised, exactly what would you propose?

Margolin: Over the next several years we will have additional funding coming into the school in several ways that will not negatively impact the taxpayers. In 2013, the Crate & Barrelabatement comes to an end. This will increase the amount of tax money District 30 receives from the Crate & Barrel corporate property. In 2014, District 30 will be finished paying off a number of current bonds. If needed, these bonds could be reissued without causing a tax increase. And finally, in 2018, the Glenview Naval Base TIF comes to an end. This will bring in significant revenue from taxes on property in the Glen that we are not currently receiving. I believe with these things on the horizon, our district should be adequately funded.

Patch: Do you feel any changes need to be made in the curriculum?

Margolin: As a member of the District 30 Citizen’s Curriculum Advisory Committee, I get to see exactly how hard our teachers and administrators work to ensure our schools have outstanding curriculum for our students. I believe our district has a very effective cycle in place to evaluate curriculum. Each year we review a different subject. In doing this, District 30 engages the administration, our teachers and outside resources to ensure we are bringing in the best curriculum for our students. We are also continually in contact with the Glenbrook high schools to ensure our students are well prepared. This approach has most recently brought about curriculum updates in our K-5 Reading Program, a new Social Studies Program, a new Wellness Program and we are currently in the middle of a World Languages Review.

Patch: How would you assess the district’s expense-per-pupil ratio? Are taxpayers getting adequate value for their dollar?

Margolin: I believe that funding our children’s education is an investment in our future. That being said, as a parent whose children have already graduated District 30, I believe we must also ensure the District continues to be fiscally responsible to the taxpayers. When looking at the operational expenditure per pupil for District 30 as compared to the other elementary school districts in Glenview and Northbrook, District 30 falls just below the average cost for all these schools. Given the fact that all three of our schools ranked in the top 11 of Chicago Magazine’s recent “Best Elementary Schools” issue above most of these same schools, I would say that District 30 is doing a great job of providing an outstanding education for our children without being one of the higher spending schools in our area. District 30 is a very desirable location for new families looking to move into the area and I believe the education we provide our children is one of the biggest reasons.

Patch: Are the district’s test scores adequate? If not, what specific measures should be taken to improve them?

Margolin: I believe District 30 does an outstanding job of preparing our children for their future education at the Glenbrook high schools and beyond. Our goal is to not compete with other schools in our township, but to ensure are children are making progress from year to year and are meeting the requirements of our high schools. Our administration is constantly monitoring the results of our test scores to ensure our children are making this progress and reviewing curriculum if needed.

Patch: What’s on your wish list for facilities and technology and how would you pay for them?

Margolin: Both of these areas are of utmost importance to me, as I am a member of both the Technology Committee and the Buildings & Grounds Committee. From a technology perspective, I would look to continue to more closely integrate the use of technology into our classrooms. On the facilities side, I was part of a team that interviewed and selected an architect to perform a facilities review for the district. I believe our facilities provide a stable and safe environment for our children to learn; however, there are a number of infrastructure improvements required to bring our aging buildings into the 21st century. We are changing the way we teach our children and our facilities need to be able to keep up with these changes. This facilities review will help the district define these requirements. As part of the Buildings and Grounds Committees, I and my colleagues have foreseen these upgrades coming and have ensured adequate fund balances to get us through the next few years.

Patch: How would you describe morale among teachers and staff? How can it be improved?

Margolin: The morale within District 30 appears to be very high. We recently negotiated a new teacher’s contract that was beneficial to both the teachers and the district. As part of the new contract we are also in the process of implementing a new teacher evaluation process, which was encouraged by our teachers. As we have rolled this out, the feedback seems to be very positive from the teachers. We have also seen a number of new teachers come into our district as we have had a number of retirements over the past several years. These new teachers have brought with them new ideas and new passions that have helped us shape many of our programs. We have worked to get these new teachers involved from day one.

Patch: Many districts have started programs for students in civil behavior and alcohol and drug prevention. Does this district need to adopt these or similar programs?

Margolin: District 30 has programs in place that cover these exact topics. CHARACTER COUNTS! teaches our students the six qualities of Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. From the first day of kindergarten, these topics are intertwined through our student’s daily curriculum. District 30 is also a very strong support of the CHARACTER COUNTS! in Glenview program so that our children not only see this in school, but also throughout the community.

In seventh grade, our students participate in Snowflake. This program provides awareness and encourages avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, while encouraging healthy decision-making in an active community of caring. Eighth graders also participate to facilitate this program and reinforce this message.

District 30 is also a strong supporter of Northbrook Citizens for Drug and Alcohol Awareness and the Just Say No program providing in-school assemblies for our students.

Patch: What else would you like voters to know about your positions on issues, point of view or qualifications?

Margolin: I am a 15-year-resident of District 30 with two children who have graduated from and schools. I have been on the District 30 school board for the past eight years and I believe there is nothing more important than providing our children with an excellent education.

As the only board member with 25 years of professional experience in the technology field, I bring a unique perspective to the board, ensuring that our children are incorporating technology in their learning and their everyday lives.  

Additionally, I have participated in local and national school board activities to broaden my knowledge on education.  I have attended events on meeting the educational needs of children, running an effective school board, technology in education and strategic planning.  For my participation in these events and others, I received the 2010 Master School Board Member award from the Illinois Association of School Boards.