Consensus Candidates for School District 15: Our Goal is to 'Engage District 15'

District 15 Board of Education candidates Barb Kain, Anthony Wang, Mike Smolka, Lisa Szczupaj (Frank Annerino not pictured) speak to District 15 residents in the above picture.

Engagement in general in School District 15 has historically been something that has remained a low priority. Yes, we understand school districts are busy, much is going on and schedules are tight....but the Engage D15 team of candidates who are running for the District 15 Board of Education (Frank Annerino, Mike Smolka, Anthony Wang (WONG), Lisa Szczupaj (SHOO-pie) and Barb Kain) realize and understand that engaging with the District community at-large is an absolute necessity to properly conduct the business of the school board, and school district....

These five candidates bring unique perspectives to the school board race, and that is on purpose. If elected, there will be no more rubber stamping, no more unanimous votes without bringing the details to the community first. Below is a peek at who they are, and the unique perspectives and backgrounds these candidates bring to the taxpayers of D15.

• Frank Annerino is a former business owner and engineer, with four children of his own (all who have, or are attending D15 schools that feed into Palatine High School, in addition to several nieces and nephews who also attend D15 schools who will feed into Fremd High School). He is a long term religious teacher at St. Theresa School and a member of the Knights of Columbus.
• Anthony Wang (pronounced WONG) holds a Master's Degree in Education, work in higher educations and brings a more youthful perspective to the group. His youngest daughter will attend Lake Louise Elementary School when she is school-aged,and he is involved in Junior Achievement and recently joined the Palatine Jaycees.
• Mike Smolka is a family law attorney who has custody of his 2nd grade son that attends Lincoln Elementary in the northeast portion of Palatine. He is extremely involved in Palatine sports, including coaching for Park District basketball, Celtic Soccer and coaching/is a commissioner for Palatine Youth Baseball (PYB).
• Lisa Szczupaj is a mother of two boys, and a busy business woman who works in corporate sales, and who has been extremely involved in Cub and Boy Scouts, and has served as a team mom for Palatine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) and Palatine Penguins LaCrosse. She also was the champion for parents and children in the Early Start/Late Release debate.
• Barb Kain played a key role in the defeat of the $130 million referendum, and though she believed many of the proposals within it should be considered, she also believed that more research and study was needed to justify them, and the community needed more time to understand the goals and weigh in before moving forward. Barb is the mother of two boys and has been involved as a team mom for Celtic Soccer and works for a local high school district.

Please visit http://engaged15.com/ for the complete candidate profiles.

Though these candidates are all very different, they chose to pool their resources to run together as a group because they share three common principles and beliefs on how the school board should lead, which are to:

1. Use Tax Dollars Effectively to Provide the Highest Quality Education for Our Children.
2. Engage and Collaborate with the Community on Decisions That Affect Children, Families and Taxpayers.
3. Dedicate Ourselves to Restoring the Public's Trust Through Transparency and Accountability.

Each of these candidates vow to represent children, families and taxpayers, plain and simple. In the year 2016 alone, many, many of our citizens communicated they did not feel represented by the school board, in part through the unanimous approval of two very controversial moves by the school board (the 10-year teacher contract and the $130 million referendum) before residents even knew the details.

There will be no more, business as usual. This group of five candidates promises to debate on issues that affect all of our taxpayers - no unanimous votes until each is convinced that whatever proposal is in front of them is the best choice for the stakeholders in our school district - those who they would be elected to represent and serve.

And as far as a recent news article that derived from an opposition candidate trying to bring politics into this race? Really? To these candidates, it's hogwash, and an attempt to take the focus away from what is important - solid and thorough representation for all D15 residents. Something that at least 70-percent of our voters felt strongly about in the last election when the referendum was voted down. A proposal we want to remind you, that was approved by all seven current school board members, three of which are running again.

Everyone who believes in the three solid ideas above on how our residents should be represented on the school board are invited to support the Engage D15 team; whatever political affiliation you have, we invite you to please post upcoming events and candidate forums on your website or social media pages, and share around our website link so that voters can make their own choice...this group is all-inclusive for a reason, because that's what they would be elected to do-include everyone.

Visit the EngageD15 Facebook page or the website at www.EngageD15.com to learn more.