Live Coverage From Orland D-135 Candidates Forum

8:10 p.m.

Closing

Okon: I really enjoyed my first four years. I'd like to continue doing the board's work. I think I tried to be responsible to do what voters wanted.

Carmody: We have a unique group. (Mary) Bragg, is a school teacher. Ann (Gentile) is in Real Estate. Greg (Okon) is a former policeman. I have a finance background. It's a blend of talents. Sometimes it's a safety issue and we listen to Greg. Ann's talked tabour maintenance issues. And Mary talks about her experience as a teacher. Everyone's heart is in the right place. We disagree all the time, but it's as long as you disagree with respect. These last two years have been great. Tom Cunningham has been a great president and he and I will disagree. Some of the best times we've had has been when we've argued. I enjoy it. I get to serve the community and ultimately that's the reward.

LaMargo: I have three kids in 135, and another on the way. I have a degree in public policy. I have experience in tax and real estate. I served in Illinois Sec of State office. I know finances and I understand what it takes to put a budget together. We have a responsibility to the teachers to give them the resources to teach and give students the resources to learn. I'll say that until I'm blue in the face. A lot of people move to Orland Park for the schools. It's one of the reasons why I moved here. I want to look into grant programs. I'd like to add that I have attended the PFE meetings, because that's the foundation. You find out what's going on there and you don't always find that out up top. It gets lost in translation. Carmody mentioned a lot of families are double income, but that doesn't make them uninvolved in their children's education. Getting input from teachers and community, we do have great schools but we can make them better. We are challenged with doing more with less and we have to be creative.

Zekich: If elected, I'd use creativity and manpower to accomplish our goals. I have a story to share. I have 6-year old in kindergarten at Park, who has received services since 10 months old. I never thought he'd learn the ABC's. But fortunately his teachers were able to identify it. We sat down one day while reading, and he this "ah ha" moment. He said "The letters make the word." I told the teacher this, and she said "that's why I teach." And that's why I want to be on this board.  

 8 p.m. 

Would you support a national curriculum?

LaMargo: I don't know enough about the national curriculum to answer that, but we need one that provides the best education afforded to them.

Okon: I don't know enough about it, but I know in this district we have curriculum gurus. This district is curriculum.

Carmody: To me those changes are more unfunded mandates. Our kids our already achieving well – give us a break. He also tells the audience he fears it would cost the district a lot of money, and goals and achievements are all great, but to just switch everything in the curriculum brings significant expense, with a benefit that doesn't fit the bill.

Zekich: I have to agree with Carmody. It would be way too expensive to implement a program like that and it's a cost we don't need to take on.

7:55 p.m.

Would you support a longer school day or year?

Zekich: I would say take a longer year. But it would depend on expenses.

LaMargo: I don't believe a longer school day would benefit children or teachers. I've seen it happen with Chicago, the year round school. It's proven to be successful. The children retain more. I would entertain more research on longer school year.

Okon: The time we have set aside is adequate.

Carmody: Two proposals we've heard. In my heart I could never take away summer vacation. I don't know if it serves an educational need. We work for 30-40 years after college, and summer vacations are some of the greatest memories. We have before and after school programs for double income families. It could serve a purpose but it'd have to be managed correctly.

7:52 p.m.

What are your feelings about the proposed system for teacher and administrator evaluations tied to student performance and what are your feelings on reauthorize no child left behind?

Carmody: I think that education needs to change on a fundamental level. How can we keep the best and the brightest and motivate the middle ground?

Teachers are like everyone else and we should build a system to support them, not to punish them. We do already, but could do it better.

(he says he would not bring No Child Left Behind back)

 Zekich: She thinks with classrooms of such diverse children, no teacher can educate each child the same way. Teachers can be more creative with some students than they can with others and it wouldn't be a fair to evaluate them based soley on that.

Said she is not aware of the no Child Left Behind re-authorization.

LaMargo: Children test differently and perform differently in a classroom setting. Students performing poorly need a student to help them with support from the district.

I am also not familiar with No Student Left Behind, but think you should push them up a grade if they are not ready.

Okon: Says the district only takes the best, so Orland does not to have to worry as much about the assessment of our teachers. He says that No Child Left Behind is a federally mandated program and no good comes out of it.

7:50 p.m.

The board approved contract for a new hire to shadow a school administrator for a year, before taking that person's place. If the candidate is qualified why do they need a year to learn before starting the job?

Okon: We're losing an administrator in our district who's been with us many years. We made a decision that when you're dealing with special ed. needs of district, we can't allow ourselves to not get best candidate to replace Dr. (Collen) Schultz. The other candidates don't know everything she's done. She wears so many hats. And the specificity and the skills to replace a legend. It takes a long time to walk in her shoes and what this person will have to do to replace her.

Zekich: I was not a part of this decision, but I trust it since it involves special needs.

LaMargo: You don't want someone to jump in, but you can never replace historical knowledge. When doing a search for any candidate, they should have qualifications and fresh ideas to the table. A year is excessive. I tell my children to say never say I don't know without I'll find out.

Carmody: She is without peer. And the person right below her, is strong, but that person is retiring too. She's fantastic. If we were lucky enough and fortunate enough for her to jump into that role, that would be ideal. It's a tough spot. The other side is special needs. These things are difficult to manage. You can run into difficult legal situations, and expensive instructional situations. The expenses can go up for years.

What district expenses that should be cut?

LaMargo: Being creative with new ways of getting funding, such as different funding sources, but it's difficult to answer the question without seeing the budget line for line, but I think cutting staff is the last ditch effort to cut any staff or programs. Said new funding sources did not include raising taxes.

Okon: I think the important thing is that we are in unprecedented times and moving forward it's bleaker than it is today. We don't need to send a bleak message to teachers that it's doom and gloom, but it will be need versus want.

Carmody: I agree with Greg, as a district we are very conscious of what we spend and take advantage of federal money.

Zekich: I haven't had the opportunity to go through the budget, but we've been responsible in the past and I think they spend a lot of time in research and think we need to stay on that right track.

 7:40 p.m.

Why pass a higher tax levy hen there's money in district's accounts?

Zekich: I am not on the board now so I don't know.

LaMargo: I also am not on the board, but I if elected I will look read the budget line item by line item.

Okon: We had the legal authority to do so. I think about what information is brought forth, and when it was provided, we decided to take advantage of it.

Carmody: Wal-Mart is coming off of a TIF, and to capture that revenue, we had to adjust the tax levy to make sure we could capture those extra funds. Also a number of other properties coming on line. That aspect of the tax levy had no effect on home owners.

7:39 p.m.

 Are you currently a dues paying memberof the district PFE?

 Okon: No

LaMargo: No

Zekich: Yes

Carmody: No

7:33 p.m.

Top three priorities if elected?

Okon: I know teachers want to hear that they will get a good contract. We have to take seriously the collective bargaining going on with teachers. I know it will be paramount and one of the most important issues.

We have to look at staffing as our enrollment continues to dwindle and how to change it.

Carmody: There's a hierarchy of needs in our budget process. We want to make sure that we are funding the most critical things first, such as the maintenance and safety of the buildings. Second, we should maintain our educational excellence, such as our high standardized test scores. Third, use funds where they can be best be served for education, and fourth is extracurricular activities.

Zekich: Stay on track with funds we have and keep lines of communication with community open and reduce negative impact on children with new contracts.

LaMargo: Looking at the finances, we need to look at changing our spending habits. We need a fund balance policy so we know how much money we are looking at and develop a plan for performance based budgeting – not for teachers, but for money spent on new projects.

7:20 p.m.

How do you feel about proposed legislation for school district consolidation?

Zekich: She thinks it would affect the district negatively. The children receive the best education possible and that won't happen afterwards, it is just a change that will alter funding. She says it will likely just bring the funding problems that other districts are already experiencing.

LaMargo: Says we will take away the decision-making process from the local tax payers who already support the Orland district.

Okon: Says the district is one of largest and best run school district in the area. The current economic situation might lend itself to consolidation, but he says Orland has a strong district with strong economic responsibility and it will be unfair to take on the responsibility of under-funded and perhaps mis-managed districts.

Carmody: It's a question of experience and they are growing faster than taxes can keep up with them. The state can't keep up the funding level for schools that aren't supported by their tax base and educational funding is dire straights. He said it won't be an answer for Orland and just a short term patch for other districts statewide.

6:55 p.m.

The forum is about ready to begin and each candidate will start with a five minute introduction speech. Following that, the moderator, Joann Berg of the Palos/Orland LWV will ask questions supplied by the audience and each candidate will have two minutes to address the questions. Berg stressed that tonight's question and answer session is just that – a questions and answer session – and not a debate.

With five minutes to go before the forum starts, attendance is moderate, but growing. As for the candidates, all have arrived and most are engaged in conversation with either press or parents.

6:35 p.m.

The Orland School District 135 Parents for Education are holding a candidate forum tonight for the April 5 consolidated election for the Board of Education. There are four candidates running for three open seats, with two incumbents ( and ) seeking re-election and new comers and looking to bring a fresh face or two to the board.

The candidate forum is kicking off with a meet and greet at 6:30 p.m., followed by a question and answer session led by the League of Women Voters at 7 p.m.

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