Experience Matters in District 15

We read the same headlines in the 2011 election when a slate of candidates ran on change. Their top priority was to eliminate deficit spending, which they projected would deplete reserves from $55.5 million today to $5.2 million in 2015-16. Well that didn’t happen and not by accident.

Today there are healthy reserves and balanced budgets. New curricula has and continues to be introduced and there is workforce stability with a forward looking teachers’ contract with average annual increases over the ten year period of less than 1%. The six-year average increase for health care is under 2%. Despite all state uncertainty, fund balances remained the same over the last five years. The Daily Herald itself in an article in December 2016 compared districts with the highest paid teachers. No surprise, D15 wasn’t in the top 10 or the bottom 5 listed. That indicates D15 teacher salaries are somewhere in the middle due to fiscally responsible contracts.

The current Board put a referendum question on the November ballot. It failed, as most do on the first try. However the necessary discussions on the state of our district have finally caught the attention of the entire community, prompting even the opposition candidates to acknowledge real issues facing D15.

The PTRO slate of Wang, Annerino, Smolka, Szczupaj and Kain (click here to see the official endorsement: http://palatinerepublicans.org...) have many suggestions for the future. But simply running for the D15 Board doesn’t make you an educational expert. They have been hitting low while the incumbents have gone high. Trust their experience and dedication to the community they serve.

Vote for Ekeberg, Babcock and Chapman.

For a complete sample ballot visit http://d15d211.org/

photo via Patch archive