About James P. Conro

Name: James P. Conro

Position sought: Seat on the St Charles D-303 Board of Education

Campaign contact information: www.electjimconro.com

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

My first priority would be to continue investigating ways to ensure the safety of our students and staff from any type of threat from the time they leave for school until the time they return. More is learned with each of these unfortunate attacks on our school systems. We need to look at programs that would insure safety but not intrude upon the learning process.

Home address: St Charles IL 60175

Family members: Elizabeth, spouse

Laura, daughter, 35

Daniel, son, 25

Kevin, son, 23

Kathleen, daughter, 19

No one in my family works for any government entity

Education: Aurora University 05-07 classes leading to an administrative degree

Aurora University 96-98 Masters Degree in Education

Northern Illinois University 67-72 Bachelors Degree in Education

Central High School 63-67 College Prep Classes

Current occupation and employer: Retired high school mathematics teacher

Math teacher at Central high School

Political party affiliation: none

Why Are You Seeking Office?

Educating students has been my passion for the last thirty-nine years, and in retirement I miss that challenge. I want to be involved, just like I was as an active teacher, with helping students become productive adults in our American society. I would like to give this experience to the students in District 303. i believe that I have the education, experience and time to make a productive member of the St Charles School Board.

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

I am a retired public school teacher with 39 years of classroom experience at both middle school and high school levels. I have a Masters Degree in Education, and hours of educational classes beyond my masters. In those years I believe that I have experienced just about anything that may happen in schools. I believe that these lifetime experiences sets me apart from others running for the school board.

Issue 1: What steps will you take to maintain/improve the quality of education in District 303 schools?

The State of Illinois mandates that our students be tested at different levels. Our District also tests our students to gather information for placement in various programs. This data should give us feedback as to how well our students are performing with the curriculum being offered. This data would then be instrumental for locating changes that need to be made or holes which may need to be filled within our curriculum.

Issue 2: What will you do to keep the district within its budget?

School District 303 must file a budget each year with the State of Illinois. As each of these district budgets is drafted care must be taken to be sure that our students will continue to receive an excellent education while being careful not to be overly extravagant. As each budget is prepared line items need to be carefully examined to make sure all funds are spent wisely.

Issue 3: The state of Illinois is grappling with a pension crisis that some blame on the practice of pension spiking. What is your stance on pension spiking and How do you propose to address the issue during contract negotiations?

About five years ago the State Legislature changed the law on limits permitted educational emplyees salaries as they near retirement. This law was intended to limit salary spikes of educational employees, and therefore putting less stress on the pension systems. The parameters of this law must be followed, or the employer will pay penalties to the pension system. These same laws do not necessarily apply to other governmental workers.

Please add any other information pertinent to your campaign.

As a school district we need to keep investigating ways to ensure that our students are college and career ready for employment that awaits them in the twenty-first century. The job market is constantly changing and we must be sure our most precious resource, our children, will be prepared to follow whatever pathway their lives lead them.

For more information on my experience and education I would inviteyou to visit my website at www.electjimconro.com