Politics & Government

District 113A Candidates Square Off During Forum

Eight of the school board hopefuls talked budget remedies, transparency during Wednesday's forum.

During the March 9 forum hosted by Lemont Patch and the Lemont Junior Woman's Club, the majority of Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A Board of Education candidates said they will support the .

Candidate Cynthia Kelly said approving the referendum slated to appear on the April 5 ballot is necessary.

“It will restore financial stability to the district and end the need of short-term loans,” she said.

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Candidate Mike Aurelio said “as a fiscal conservative” he would normally oppose tax increases, but will vote "yes" to the referendum question.

“Unfortunately because the board has so mismanaged finances we need a cash infusion,” he said to the more than 150 people in attendance at the forum.

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Candidates who said they will not support April’s referendum include Duane Bradley, Janet Hughes and Laura Reigle.

Hughes, a current board member running as a write-in candidate in April’s election, said now is not the time to raise taxes.

“We are experiencing income tax increases in our state," she said. "Jobs are being lost. Paychecks are being cut. I think we need to explore other solutions that can solve this problem."

If April’s referendum is voted down, candidates were asked what the district’s first step should be to attain financial stability.

Some suggestions offered included borrowing tax anticipation warrants, eliminating bus routes which no longer qualify for reimbursement from the state, and closing Central School.

Though Kelly said the latter option would be difficult, she added, “It’s something I would approve because I would rather close Central School than lose the employees in it.”

“As a board member I would do what I can to keep as many staff members,” she said. “Any cuts we can make that do not cut any more teachers I’m going to be all for.”

One solution Hughes offered is looking at administrative salaries and “start cutting at the top.”

“In the business sector, if the president of the company is not performing they are no longer with the company,” she said.

When it comes to the possibility of a state takeover, candidates are divided. Some said the action could attach a stigma to Lemont, possibly driving down property values.

“We don’t know what they’re going to do when they come in,” said candidate David Molitor. “The community should be concerned. There is no guarantee (the state) is not going to ask for more money. With state takeover there are no known things.”

Candidate and District 113A Board Secretary Andy Taylor said district officials need to fix the problem themselves rather than relying on the state.

“I’d be embarrassed if the state took over,” he said. “This community does not need a state takeover to fix our problems. We need to pull together.”

However, other candidates said a takeover could propel the district out of its financial crisis.

“If it takes the state to come in and straighten out the mess then perhaps that’s what we need,” Hughes said. “There is a lot of misinformation about state takeovers intended to make us all worried and vote for the referendum. I think we can look at the potential state takeover as motivation to get involved and turn this around and make Lemont a great place to live.”

Candidate Al Malley said while a potential takeover “wouldn’t be the worst thing,” he would rather see district officials solve the financial problems themselves.

“I think we can do it on our own,” he said.

District finances aside, candidates also expressed what they felt are other challenges facing the district, namely class sizes and school curriculum.

“We need to make sure our children stay competitive, not only locally, but statewide, nationally and internationally,” Kelly said.

“I believe curriculum is an issue,” Reigle said.

She cited an email sent from a Lemont High School teacher to parents referencing some students have to use calculators to do simple multiplication.

“For the past two years I’ve been attending school board meetings and from what I’ve seen there hasn’t been any discussion regarding curriculum,” Reigle said. “I know our teachers and staff are capable of doing more with our students.”

Malley said larger class sizes means some students could get lost in the shuffle.

“Teachers are doing more work and they don’t have enough time to spend with students,” he said.

Taylor agreed.

“It’s tough for a teacher to give individual attention to students when they have to deal with 30 students in a class,” he said.

Other school board candidates said a lack of trust exists between the community and the school board and administration.

Hughes said that could be remedied by putting the district’s checkbook online for the community to view.

“Let’s start opening the books to the taxpayers,” she said. “Have them watch and see exactly what’s going on with our money.”

Aurelio echoed Hughes’ request.

“We’re up here putting a $20 million referendum on the ballot and we do not have our checkbook online,” he said. “That’s the first step.”

When it comes to the district’s greatest assets aside from teachers and students, most candidates agreed those are the parents and community members.

“Parents make a big difference,” Taylor said. “And I’ve seen the community get together and rally for the school.”

“I know we have problems, but we really are a blessed community,” Aurelio added. “I don’t want to lose track of how blessed and lucky we are.”

Kelly also lauded the local businesses.

“They never fail to step up,” she said.

Candidate Sue Murphy, a current board member, was unable to attend the forum due to her responsibilities to the district's negotiating team.


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