Ron Kellum

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Sue Maurer

Personal/family information

I have been a Spring Grove resident since 1995.  Married for 19 years, I have four children (grades K,2,5,& 9).  I obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in  Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting from University of Northern Colorado

Past/Current Community Service

I co chaired the Nippersink referendum committee last March.  As a result of hearing the concerns within our community and in search for solutions, I initiated the Nippersink Expense Task Force.  The task force goal was to look for increased potential cost efficiency in Nippersink School District expenses.  I facilitated the task force and actively participated in this joint effort with seven other business savvy community members. As a follow up to this task force, I have continued to educate myself on the specifics of school funding along with the associated expenses and revenues, seeking positive change in our education and community environment

I was one of the founding members of the CARES group that focused on Nippersink School District parent issues from May to October 2004.

For the past 8 years, I have been a Girl Scout leader and volunteer in various capacities, and a PTO volunteer.

What is your work experience?

I have 5 years of financial work experience with Citicorp Diners Club that directly corresponds to school financials in the realm of budgeting, forecasting, and expense analysis, along with looking for financial opportunitiies within specific financial streams.  My duties there also included creating profit and loss statements.  Previous to that, I have 2 1/2 years experience creating profit and loss statements for specific Sears and Roebuck stores.

What are the major issues in this election?

The main issues that I perceive are fiscal responsibility/accountability, communication and confidence in the community, and quality education.

What ideas do you have to solve any problems in the school district?

Some expenses are increasing in excess of 10% annually in the Nippersink District budget.  A tax=capped budget can't absorb these types of increases.  I feel that we need to further analyze these expenses looking for cost efficient changes and strategies.   For example, special education costs have risen from $1million to $2 million since the year ended June 2002. If we can't find ways to reduce these costs without compromising the education of these students (which is law), we clearly need to seek changes in special education funding and reimbursement levels from the state and federal governments.  Nippersink School District also needs to continually assess the current and future profile of our communities to ensure that we are realistically meeting the needs of our students.

I feel that clear communication in the form of a two-way dialog with the community is needed.  I would like to see public forums where opportunities are given to ask   questions and get answers along with providing input to the school board.  I would like to initiate a volunteer effort of expertise in the community to utilize a wider knowledge base for the best possible solutions to the challenges at hand.

The increase in class sizes also needs to be addressed to ensure the continuance of a quality education.  Our students need class sizes of under 30 students to realistically meet their needs.  A global strategy in our funding needs to recognize this need. 

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Dr. James A. Hasken

Personal / Family Information: My wife and I have lived in the district for fifteen years. I have two daughters that attend Nippersink Middle School. I am a taxpayer in the district.

Past / Current Community Service: I have seven years of school board experience. I served as vice-president in District 13. I was the first president in District 2 from March 2000 until March 2002 and currently serve as the District 2 vice-president. I have served on the policy committee, long-range planning committee, communication council, and currently on the finance and negotiation committees.

What is your work experience? I am a general dentist in McHenry. I have experience building and operating within a budget. As an employer, I have hired and developed employees and managed payrolls. All of these functions have related to activities on the board at various times. I am in contact daily with the public an am aware of the financial difficulties of people on fixed incomes and an unstable economy of recent years. I realize the impact that some of the decisions of the board have had on financially stressed residents.

What ideas do you have to solve any problems? Through the current negotiations process with the teachers, we are looking at ways to reduce class sizes without additional costs. It will be important to protect the district from rising healthcare costs and uncertainties as to how the state will address retirement contributions in the future. Labor costs in the district are about 75% of the entire budget. Specifics of negotiations cannot be discussed as negotiations are ongoing at this time. Whatever solutions that will be developed have to begin with a functional board and teachers that are able to work together with trust and respect for differences of opinion while moving forward for the betterment of the district and the children.

We have to shift some priorities in the district to make sure that the basics such as up to date textbooks are being purchased and building maintenance is being done. The district has to look for ways to reduce costs. I would like to see as many avenues explored to share services and expenses with District 157, Richmond - Burton High School as possible.

The district has to look for any possible new sources of funds such as corporate donations, foundations, and grants. The district should reexamine district and corporate partnerships. As citizens, we have to make the state of Illinois accountable for funding of public schools without adding to the burden already on local property tax payers.

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Jeff S. Thirtyacre

Personal/family information:

I am 39 yrs old, and a Southern Baptist.  Married for 13 yrs to my wife Stephanie.  Have 2 children:  Ashley 9 at Spring Grove Elem. and Ryan 5 will be at Spring Grove next school yr. Kinder.  Have lived in Spring Grove since 1991.  I like Fishing,Hunting,Camping and anything to do with nature. My Family is originally from Eliza, IL in Mercer County down South.  I was born in Florida and grew up in  Michigan.  I grew up in Thoroughbred horse business my Father is a Owner and Trainer in Florida.  Most of my family are farmers from Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.    My wife grew up in Arlington Heights, IL

Past/Current Community Service:

I was a board member for the Fox Lake youth commission 1993 to 1995

With the nature of my Job I don't have the chance to Volunteer.

What is your work experience?  

I joined the Army when I graduated High school in 1984.  Was injured on active duty and received an Honorable discharge for my injuries.  I have a 10% disability from the VA.

I have experience in several different trades but have worked for the IL. Dept.  of Transportation as a Highway Maintainer since 1992.  I worked for Firestone for 3 yrs as an auto technician.   I've driven a truck over the road for JB Hunt and Schneider National.  18 yrs in Thoroughbred horse business. 

What are the major issues in this election? 

The Referendum and Restoring the Faith of the Community in its school board to take care of their children's education.  With out causing a financial burden on the community.

Restoration of our school districts Finances.  Restoration of our Teachers.  Getting our school district back on track with future expectations of the parents and students and taxpayers.

What ideas do you have to solve any problems in the school district?

I would first look into refinancing the outstanding debt in order to get a lower rate.  Check into Grants and funding for the many of programs that the school board has cut.  And check into new Laws that have been passed that might be helpful in off setting some cost in funds that are lacking cash.  Setup a liaison between the board and the Community so to better utilize the ideas of the community.  Look into Metra expanding their train line out to our community so that we can acquire tax dollars from people riding the train into our villages

to spend their money and possibly buy homes out here.  Setup a night in which the school board will meet with the different groups of the Community to address the problems of the community.  Make the board more accessible to the Community.  And also find out why the transportation committee chooses not to save the community money but recommends it still spend money it doesn't have!  Review contracts that need renegotiating.  Look for alternative raise options.  And benefit packages.

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Glenn W. Samuel

PERSONAL/ FAMILY INFORMATION:

I am running for the School Board for District 2.  I have owned property in Spring Grove for apx 15 years and reside with my wife and two children in our home.  My children attend school in District 2.

PAST/CURRENT COMMUNITY SERVICE:

I have assisted in several political campaign elections.  Thru my children, I have been in involved with various school, sporting and church related activities.

WORK EXPERIENCE:

I have worked in the HVAC industry for over twenty years (primarily commercial/industrial projects).  I design and build systems in addition to writing contracts and engineering reports.  I have been self-employed for the past 15 years.

MAJOR ISSUES:

The major issue currently facing the school board is school spending.  The taxpayers spoke last year.  They do not want their taxes raised.   The citizens in this district feel they cannot afford a tax increase.  The school board needs to revise the budget and be very careful not to spend beyond its means.

IDEAS TO SOLVE SCHOOL DISTRICT PROBLEMS:

The school board must adhere to a strict budget.  We cannot spend more money than we have.  It will need to reevaluate overall spending.   The school board needs to listen to what all (school aged-families, retired people, and single people) citizens want and can afford.

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Nancy Koenig

Personal/Family Information:

- MBA in operations management - University of Cincinnati
- BS degree in industrial engineering - University of Illinois – Champaign
- Married 17 years.  2 children - 3^rd grade at RGS, 6^th grade at NMS, Richmond resident since 1998

Past/Current Community Service:

- Former President, Board of Directors, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Richmond, Indiana
- Former Big Sister for 8 years
- Former Board of Directors, Richmond Civic Theater, Richmond, Indiana
- Girl Scout Troop Leader, Assistant Soccer Coach – MASF
- Volunteer RGS PTO, Community Church of Richmond, NSD2 Expense Task Force

What is your work experience?

For the past ten years, I have held management positions of increasing responsibility.  In my last position, as an operations manager, I was accountable for creating and managing an $18,000,000 budget, had 5 managers reporting to me and was responsible for the performance of 135 employees.  This has given me experience in many areas that I believe a good school board member needs – balancing and managing budgets, employee performance management and team leader facilitation and collaboration.

Previous to my management experience, I spent ten years in various engineering positions.  These positions required me to analyze and improve systems for both quality improvement and cost reduction.  To be successful, I had to be an out of the box, solution oriented thinker.  It is these skills that I plan to employ as a school board member.

What are the major issues in this election?

Two issues are apparent in this election: balancing the need to provide a high-quality education for our children while keeping expenses down and improving the trust the community has with both the school board and the administrators.

 What ideas do you have to solve any problems in the school district?

Having many years of experience in problem solving and management, I have learned that the single most critical action one can take is to break up the problem into manageable pieces and then lead and focus the right, competent people on those pieces.  I have gotten input from many community members who are willing to volunteer their time to help.  This is why I believe the board’s structure needs to be expanded to take advantage of these talented community members, who can, working together, improve this situation.  We need a VERY ACTIVE finance committee with financial experts who can focus their attention on the costs, to provide financial analysis beyond what the current line item budget provides and to create and implement cost reduction ideas.  We need communications experts to help improve and swell the lines of communication between the board and the community.  Community members need to be able to ask questions and not depend on the rumor mill to get the answer.  We also need a group of experts who can lead and wield political strength in the state of Illinois to improve education funding. 

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 Paul R. Offerman

I am a Fire Fighter/Paramedic with the Village of Glenview Fire Department where I have been employed for 17years.  Previously, I was Director of Fire Prevention at the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant in Elwood IL. My primary responsibility was fire prevention at the plant and EMS training. I also maintained a budget for these activities. I was a Law Enforcement Specialist in the United States Air Force. I am a member of St. Peter’s Church in Spring Grove, a member of the Knights of Columbus, The American Legion Post in Richmond, and a Hunter Safety Instructor through the IDNR. I am presently finishing my Associate degree in Fire Science at MCC.

1)     1)       Why do you believe that people should vote for you?

I feel that my 25 years as a government employee has given me the foresight to see and find where the waste of tax payer money lies. I also have 3 children in the school system and I see how hard the teaching staff works with the little that the present board gives them. I am conservative in nature and feel that the education that our children are receiving is excellent and I want to see it continue without taxing the elderly or anybody else out of their home.

2)     2)       Almost anything can be done better. Cite two specific examples of what you would improve while serving on your board.

1. I see the waste of money as the biggest issue at this time. We have a “tax and spend” mentality on our current Board and we have to change that to get the budget under control without a loss to the children.  When speaking of money, people need to understand that teachers and books are the 2 greatest assets/necessities that we have and we cannot afford to lose either.

2. We have to get the community more involved with the education system itself. I believe that I have some good ideas but I am only 1 person. We need to have community committees that can guide the board in the decision making process. I would hope that even after the election, all the candidates would offer to head-up committees dealing with core education, sports, extra curricular activities, financing, budgeting, and long-term planning. We see these committees work in municipal government, so why not at the school level also. It is up to us to ensure the leaders of tomorrow are properly educated today.

3)     3)       Just the same, many things are done well. Cite two specific examples of what your board does well.

1.     1.       This board has done a good job educating citizen volunteers in an effort to help the schools.

2.     2.       This board has also had to handle the difficult challenge of working with disabled children in a changing environment when it is getting harder and harder to find the appropriate funding for them to receive a proper education.

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Patty Anderson

Personal/Family Information

My name is Patty Anderson, and I have been a Spring Grove resident since 1994.  I have been married for 21 years and have two sons.  Andy is a sophomore at RBCHS, and Michael is an eighth grader at NMS.  Both of my children began their public school education in kindergarten at Spring Grove Elementary School and will complete their high school years at RBCHS.  My husband, Neil, is an attorney here in Spring Grove. 

Past/Current Community Service

I began volunteering with the Spring Grove Elementary School PTO when my oldest son was in kindergarten.  I was one of the founding members of the Spring Grove School Dinner Dance and Auction committee, which I eventually co-chaired for two years.  I also chaired the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon for several years, and volunteered to work for almost every other PTO event during my sons’ elementary school years.  I served as the NMS PTO Treasurer for one year. I was a volunteer with the Spring Grove 4^th of July Committee for two years, and a volunteer with the very first Spring Grove Christmas Tree Lighting committee.    I have served as a trainer with the RSG United Soccer Club, and I am a religious education teacher at St. Peter Church in Spring Grove. 

Work Experience

Prior to my children being born, I was employed as an associate with Hewitt Associates in the Employee Benefits and Employee Compensation Group in Lincolnshire, IL, and with the Hospital Supply Division at Baxter in McGaw Park, IL, as a Senior Business Systems Consultant.  After my children were born, I continued working as an independent consultant in the systems areas at multiple divisions at Baxter.  Eventually, I made the switch to providing PC based business systems solutions to smaller corporations, including Woodstock Harley-Davison in Woodstock, IL.   During this time, I also did the billing and kept the financials for my husband’s law firm.  For the last 5 years, I have worked at my husband’s law firm handling both the books and assisting with the real estate portion of the business.

The Major Issues in This Election

There are several major issues that both the candidates and the school board members face in the coming years.  First, how are we going to continue to provide a quality education on a severely restricted budget?  From a personal perspective, I am extremely pleased with the education that my children have received in D-2, but I am sincerely concerned for the younger children of this community, who are facing far larger class sizes (especially in the younger grades) than in the past, and the elimination of programs that my children were fortunate to experience.  Second, how are we as a school board going to earn the confidence of the community?  Third, how are we as a school board going to impact our local and state governments? 

My Ideas

The problems we are facing are not unique to our district.  While the problems require local decision-making and control by the school board, they demand the utmost attention by local and statewide elected officials.  We are facing a funding problem that requires constant and relentless communication with both our local (village and township) and state governments.  I am genuinely excited about the prospect of tirelessly working with these two bodies of government to expedite solutions to the crisis in funding quality education.  In past and current positions of employment, I have always had to boil technical problems and jargon into something that could be understood by the person looking for a solution, and I am confident that I will be able fulfill this need for our communities in the area of educational funding.  In all honesty, I know that the long-term solution to the current crisis in education funding is neither obvious nor imminent, and in the interim I am determined to examine every single line item of the budget to effectuate frugal spending.  If larger class sizes are necessary until a long-term solution is effectuated, then I want to keep class sizes smaller in the lower grades, where it is most important. On top of it all, I truly want to earn your confidence.  Call me.  I ask you as a community to meet me half way by attending school board meetings and keeping abreast of local and state funding issues.  The long-term solution to this funding crisis is going to take effort from every single person in our district, starting with this election, and the candidates you choose to fill this school board for these next four critical years.  

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Pierre Langlois

Personal/Family Information?

My wife Cathryn (a bank Examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) and I, along with our two children Emma and Jack, moved to Spring Grove from Hingham, Massachusetts in May of 2003.  Emma is currently in kindergarten at Richmond Grade School and Jack will begin kindergarten within the next year.  I graduated with a BA in Business Administration from Northeastern University in Boston.

Past/Current Community Service? None

What is your work experience?

I worked as Audit Manager for a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firm in Boston, Massachusetts for 11 years planning and performing a variety of services, including audits, reviews, compilations, management advisory and consultation services for private corporations, partnerships, trusts, and not for profit corporations.  I am currently licensed as a CPA in Illinois and Wisconsin and work as a Supervisor at James Hamlin & Co P.C., a CPA firm in Antioch, IL.  

What are the major issues in this election? 

There is increasing disparity in the community between what is perceived as a mismanagement of school funds and the reality of running a successful and effective school district in a time of increasing governmental requirements and constricting federal and state funding.  Many people in the community with whom I have spoken feel they have large real estate tax bills, increasing fees, and continued referendums without an end in sight.  People need to believe that the district is providing the very best education for their children without any waste of the communities’ resources.

What ideas do you have to solve any problems?

Given that detailed information regarding the financial picture within the district is not currently available to the community, the first task to be completed is a thorough review of actual revenues and expenses to gain an understanding of the true financing needs of the district.  Secondly, it is important to disseminate this information to the community so that an effective dialog can be held between the board and the community to come up with a plan to resolve the district’s issues.