Meet Your April 5 Candidates: Sean Sullivan, Maine HS District 207

"All politics is local" and "The closer to home, the greater the impact on your pocketbook" are two truisms in politics.

The candidates in local elections affect how much you pay in taxes, and what you get for your money, more than candidates in Springfield and Washington, D.C. 

So who are these folks who will impact your life and money? Find out here.

Accessibility: Citizens need to be able to contact their elected officials to voice their opinions, so Patch is noting how accessible they are. Sean O'Brien Sullivan's contact information is listed on whitepages.com.

Sean Sullivan, Candidate for the Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education

1) Last year, District 207 laid off 135 employees, and RIF notices have been sent to 24 teachers this year. What's your assessment of these actions? 
District 207 has reduced the number of academic related positions each year, until the final selection of courses has been made by the students.  The exception to this pattern was made last year, due to the extent of the anticipatory cuts that were required by the deficit budget.   This year, of the 24 teachers, three were psychologist interns and eight are part-time staff.  These categories (interns and part-timers) annually receive RIF notices. This year in addition to student course selections, changes to programs such as guided study and the attendance review board are being considered.  While the district anticipates calling back some staff, this decision can not be finalized until the impact of these potential program changes and the student course selections are known. 

The Board of Education is ultimately responsible for the fiscal condition and management of the district and any actions taken in that endeavor are considered necessary to balancing the long term fiscal health of the district with providing the absolute best possible learning environment for our students.

My assessment of the Board's actions is as follows:

 1.  While 135 employees were given RIF notices last year due to fiscal constraints of the district, in actuality a lesser number left the district.

 a.  Following the burst of the real estate bubble, governmental entities which rely heavily on property taxes for support were affected deeply, not just 207.  It should be noted though, that if one were to go back through the articles and news reports, that District 207 was one of, if not the first, local school to respond to this common local government fiscal crisis.  I would say that due to this quick response, the impact upon 207 was much less than it could have been and than that suffered by our neighboring high school districts.  Although District 207 maintains approximately an 80% reserve, these reserves were generated primarily from the sale of two substantial property assets of the district.  While these monies can and are used as the “rainy day fund” they cannot be depleted and should be focused on the area of the budget from which they were generated, facilities.

b.  When you are in a service industry and your primary expense is personnel salaries and related expenses, it is impossible to make any substantive cuts to expenditures without having some impact on personnel.

c.  Cuts were made, not only to personnel, but to programs as well. These cuts were very difficult and took a substantial amount of debate and consideration before they were approved by the Board.

 d.  Any cuts are damaging.  Nobody wants to reduce our current position, we want to grow, but the state of the global and local economies dictate such prudent measures

2) Is the board looking at the right places to cut expenses? Are there alternatives?
 

The Board has charged the Administration with reviewing and recommending areas in which expenses can be reduced.   This year, the District was able to cut expenses by: Purchasing natural gas and electricity during dips in market prices; combining a secretarial position following a retirement; replacing another secretary that retired with a part-time employee; and, are looking at workers compensation and unemployment costs to determine if further efficiencies can be found.  These areas allow the District to continue the focus on the instructional program.  The District is encouraging all our staff to bring forward alternatives on ways to reduce expenses.

 Yes, the Board is looking in the right places and yes there are alternatives, but the impact of those alternatives must be as carefully weighed as personnel cuts.  Of course there are alternatives but in reality they will not achieve the same effect without making much deeper cuts in these programs which will cause more harm to the students and our programs.  A good education is balanced.  District 207 strives to provide an excellent educational opportunity for all of our students.

3) Are there other ways to raise revenue you could suggest? Be specific.

There are a great multiple of opportunities to raise revenue, such as advertising, promote the opportunity for room rentals by outside organizations, charging more for room rentals, increasing fees for extracurricular activities to name a few.  As I have said in prior interviews, the impact such as wear and tear on facilities which have been built and maintained specifically for the intent of providing the best possible learning environments for our district's students must be measured carefully so that we can evaluate the overall cost benefits to the district and our students, of our engaging in such revenue raising ventures.

 Specifically, the Board is looking at advertising on the stadium score boards as a low impact method of raising additional revenue.  We are working on the legal requirements.  There are very few areas were additional revenue can be raised.  The Board approved the $60 activity fee last year, but recognizes that many of our families are struggling with fee increases as their incomes have been reduced.  Students must come first.

4) What is your take on the IHSA sanctions for the Maine South football program after actions taken by coaches and other adults involved in the program? Does the district need to take any action?  

Answering your last question first, Yes and the District has taken additional action, a discussion of which in an open forum such as this is not appropriate.

Now as to the former question, I must point out that I am a big fan and supporter of the Maine South football program. My son was the starting nose guard for Maine South for the 2010 season, played all four years for Maine South Football, and one of ten sophomores called up to the varsity in 2008. He has earned three state football championship rings and has qualified for state the past two years for the heavyweight state wrestling finals and finished this year as an all-state wrestler. He has five varsity letters, two in football and three in wrestling. He has signed a commitment to play football with the Western Illinois Leathernecks beginning next fall. None of this would have happened without the quality athletic programs which are offered in District 207. I must acknowledge that I therefore have a unique viewpoint and appreciation for Maine South sports that few other Board members have experienced.

 With that said, there were a number of allegation made by the IHSA concerning Maine South Football. Each of them with some merit and warranted an appropriate response by the IHSA. The worst of these allegations actually alleged that extra persons on the sidelines led to an advantage by Maine South. Essentially, accusing Maine South of cheating. In actuality there was no advantage to having additional persons on the sideline. My personal feeling was that in an exuberance to show their appreciation of former athletes the adults allowed these former players to stand on the sideline with the players. They were not players, they were not coaching they were not spotters. I feel that their presence actually interfered with the efficiency of the coaching duties and may have acted as a distraction to the players.  Maine South managed to win in spite of creating its own liabilities.

In reference to the incidents among students at the semi-final playoff game, I feel it is the responsibility of the home field to provide adequate security and that had such been done, as well as coordination in advance with the visiting team, many of the issues encountered would have been avoided. Essentially all that stood between the problems and the solution was advanced communication between the adults involved.

 Concerning the incidents at the state championship game between some members of the coaching staff and members of the IHSA staff there is no explanation and no excuse. Apologies were offered to and accepted by the IHSA and an incident like that should never occur again.  I repeat, the District needed to and did take additional action on these matters.

5) How would you assess the district’s expense-per-pupil ratio? Are taxpayers getting adequate value for their dollar?

District 207’s operating expense per pupil for 2009-10 was $17,084.23.  District 207's OEPP is among the lowest of the surrounding high school districts.  In addition, District 207's instructional expenditures are among the highest of the surrounding high school districts.  I think that considering the excellent quality of education and the numbers of programs that are offered throughout the 207 District, our taxpayers are getting an excellent value for their tax dollars.

6) Are the district’s test scores adequate? If not, what specific measures should be taken to improve them?

While it may be semantics, I feel it important to recognize that the district does not actually have test scores, since the district is not tested.  The students in the district are tested and to that extent, I feel that the test scores are an evaluative process which allows us the opportunity for comparative measurement, especially within the district.  I feel the test scores are adequate but even if they were “perfect” there would always be room for improvement.  The real key here is that between our faculty, departmental and school administrators and district administration, we are well positioned not only to analyze the “test scores” but to propose and implement improvements that will benefit our students.

 In this age of increasing numbers of remedial learners, it has never been more important to have such a collection of professional employees who are ready to engage improvements for the benefit of the district and our students.  Next time you see a teacher, staff member or administrator, take a moment to say thank you for all that they do.

7) What’s on your wish list for facilities and technology and how would you pay for them?

The District put together a comprehensive facilities plan several years ago that included items such as a field house for Maine West, upgrades to the foods labs throughout the District, upgrades to the cafeterias throughout the District and a new roof at Maine East.  Similarly, the District put together a vision of a 21st Century classroom encompassing a state of the art classroom.  The 21st century classroom has projectors, tablets, computers and wireless capabilities.  While our classrooms have the technology described above, the challenge will be sustaining this technology.  The Board approved a Technology budget that has slightly longer replacement cycles, but maintains the commitment to the 21st century classroom.

 Unfortunately, given the financial condition of the District and the economy as a whole, the District does not have the money to fund the facility wish list, nor the technology replacement cycle that was proposed several years ago.  

8) How is morale among teachers and staff and how can it be improved?

The reality is, in education, public or private teachers and staff are generally under paid as compared to the importance of their impact upon society.  

I think the morale of District 207 faculty and staff is better than those of other Chicago area suburban high school districts.  I think that an important measure of that satisfaction is that even with the RIF’s you pointed out in your first question, ALL THREE of the incumbent Board members who are running for re-election have been endorsed by the membership of the Maine Teachers Association.  That doesn’t just say a lot, it says it all.  The teachers understand the state of the economy.  They understand that the ‘all volunteer’ Board is doing everything they can to stabilize the district and insure its future.  We do not want to release a teacher or cut a program.  If we did, we would not have hired them or created the program in the first place.

 Think about it.  We would all love a Walden Pond scenario with 10 to 1 classroom ratios; an unlimited number of educational and extra-curricular programs, but it simply cannot be.  A high school district with a limited budget (as large as it is, it is still finite) cannot be ALL things to ALL people.  This includes students, faculty, staff and taxpayers alike.  The goal here is all about balance and I think that this Board, exactly as it is, finds and provides balance.

 I feel that the faculty and staff are looking for honesty and fairness.  I think that they know that they have that with this Board.

 9) What else would you like voters to know about your positions on issues, point of view or qualifications?

When I first ran four years ago, I said that students must always come first and with every vote I have taken in four years, I have followed that belief.  My punch number is #125.  I am last on the 207 ballot but I will always be first for students.  I would be honored and proud if the voters of this district returned me to the Board for another term.

The Taxpayers, voters, and families of 207 have been lucky for a number of year to have a highly qualified, diverse and caring Board of Education.  This election, all three incumbents have been endorsed by MTA, the Daily Herald and the Pioneer Press.  We would appreciate your support.

 Thank you for voting on April 5, 2011.