Politics & Government
Meet Your Candidates: Samina Hussain, Golf School District 67, Board of Education
Hussain is one of four candidates running for the Golf School District 67 board.
Your local school board debates important questions for your community, such as budget questions, policy ideas or referendums, ultimately issuing great impact on your community's reputuation and local tax rate. So listen up!
Golf School District 67 has three open spots with four-year terms on its school board. Four people are running for the seven-member school board.
Robert Clark, Samina Hussain, Donald India (write-in candidate), and Louise Karlin have all served prior terms on the board.
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A Niles Township native, Hussain earned her BA from Loyala University and MA from University of Illinois. The certified teacher (who now substitutes occasionally) devotes her time to raising her family, working on the Community Relations Committee in Morton Grove, and volunteering at the MCC in Morton Grove. Hussain served on the board for the past four years.
Morton Grove Patch collects the local candidates' beliefs and opinions with same Q&As for each candidate, publishes them in alphabetical order, and does not change submitted answers in major punctuation, style or content ways.
Find out what's happening in Niles-Morton Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Morton Grove Patch collects the local candidates' beliefs and opinions with same Q&As for each candidate, publishes them in alphabetical order, and makes minimal changes to submitted answers in major punctuation, style or content ways.
Patch: How would you assess the state of the school district's budget?
Hussain: The gap between expenses and revenue grows closer and closer, and down the line, revenue cannot keep up with expenses and the district will need to find a solution to pay its bills. The state hasn’t been timely with payments which puts schools under tremendous pressure. An option to consolidate into one facility was researched, but due to several factors, it was not feasible at this time. Other alternatives are being discussed, including a potential question on the ballot for spring of 2012, which was communicated to the public in a very preliminary manner during forums. The district has not gone out for a referendum in over 30 years, whereas most area schools have already approached the taxpayers. So it’s apparent that District 67 has managed its finances exceptionally well for a long time. However, it will face hardships if no action is taken to increase revenue in some way.
Patch: If expenses need to be reduced, exactly what would you cut? Be specific.
Hussain: Cuts with the least impact on students have been made: economizing staff positions, reducing supplies, and restricting field trips. Concessions were made by teachers this past school year. There will be a reduction of a part-time administrative assistant and the bookkeeper will be retiring, replaced by a business office clerk with significant savings. Costs/savings analysis of current staffing and programs in collaboration with the entire board and administration should drive our decisions. The Finance Committee also brings recommendations to the Board. We must honor contracts and agreements made by previous Boards and administrators. Staffing being the largest expense, reductions in programs and increases in class size are areas where districts normally reap the largest savings, but would definitely impact students. We hope the community will support our fiscal needs to maintain our programs and low student-teacher ratio as they contribute to our district’s high performance.
Patch: If more revenue needs to be raised, exactly what would you propose? Be specific.
Hussain: Again this relates to your first question. The district is looking into various ways to raise revenue and meet its budget and it will to explore all options that come its way as that would be the responsible thing to do. As explained earlier, the district even considered possibly consolidating its facilities. Now that that is no longer an option, it will look into other alternatives. We have refinanced bonds and are looking into the possibility of a debt certificate bond option moving forward.
Patch: Do you feel any changes need to be made in the curriculum?
Hussain: Currently, the school has a program for Continuous Improvement to the Curriculum. The curriculum is reviewed in cycles and must be updated to align between the grade levels, the two schools, and between the middle school and high school. State standards continuously change and curriculum is updated according to the requirements by the State of Illinois and we must also follow federal directives, such as No Child Left Behind which will eventually be replaced by Race to the Top. This duty falls into the hands of our superintendent and administrators, and our test scores prove that we are keeping our curriculum current. Testing puts undue strain on the staff, but they do their best to add some creativity to the required curriculum with supplemental and/or enrichment lesson plans.
Patch: How would you assess the district’s expense-per-pupil ratio? Are taxpayers getting adequate value for their dollar?
Hussain: Our expense per pupil is approximately $15,000. Yes, taxpayers are getting adequate value for their dollar as more than 90% of our students meet and exceed state standards. We are making adequate yearly progress and have won several awards and recognitions. Our all-day kindergarten better prepares students for first grade and beyond because students spend more time learning and individual challenges are dealt with as early as possible. The addition of the preschool programs reinforces social and academic readiness and early intervention. I spoke to some new families who saw our schools’ report card on-line and decided to move here. Obviously, our district’s strong performance is attracting families. We have an outstanding staff dedicated to our children. Our low student-teacher ratio allows teachers to provide students with extra care and attention. These are qualities that make our district shine and I would like to make sure we maintain those standards.
Patch: Are the district’s test scores adequate? If not, what specific measures should be taken to improve them?
Hussain: Yes (see answer to question #5). The goal now is to move as many students from the “Meets” category to the “Exceeds” category, and to pay particular attention to those very few students who are performing below the “Meets” category.
Patch: What’s on your wish list for facilities and technology and how would you pay for them?
Hussain: Our objective is to keep current with technology and streamline with the high school’s goals so students are equipped to function in a highly technical world. Our current Project Lead the Way (partially funded through a grant) and Technology programs prepare students for STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) programs once they enter high school. There are several technology grants out there along with money our district budgets. We hope to eventually acquire new materials as technology has changed teaching and learning styles. Our facilities are in much needed repair as the buildings are aging. The option to consolidate would have offered a solution but is no longer on the table. Now we must make sure our buildings are safe and well-maintained. Along those lines, I hope we find ways to make our buildings more efficient and update systems that repeatedly need repair or replacement, thus costing more to keep them functioning properly.
Patch: How is morale among teachers and staff and how can it be improved?
Hussain: Our teachers have maintained their professionalism and morale despite the several changes in administration these past 4 years. It has not been easy for them, and yet they stayed committed to the students by making sure they kept up their academic performance. They have made concessions to help our district stay financially afloat, and they continue to perform their best given mandate after mandate required by the state with no funding to back them. I am encouraged by our new superintendent’s strengths in curriculum and focus on the students and I am confident she, with the support of a strong Board and her staff, will help bring stability back into our schools.
Patch: Many districts have started programs for students in civil behavior and alcohol and drug prevention. Does this district need to adopt these or similar programs?
Hussain: Our health curriculum covers alcohol and drug prevention and both Hynes and Golf focus on Character Development, where responsibility, respect, compassion along with various other positive traits are emphasized, reinforced and rewarded. The nationwide awareness of bullying and its negative, sometimes devastating, effects have impacted all schools as technology has created a wider audience for the bullies and victims. Social network sites have also created a new forum for individuals to express themselves in a very public manner. Some adults, let alone children who have access to these sites, are making very poor choices as far as how much information they divulge about themselves. Child predators also lurk the Internet, using this technology to prey on our children. Our schools hope to tackle these issues as they try to educate students about the potential consequences to their health, safety, and reputations if they make the wrong choices.
Patch: What else would you like voters to know about your positions on issues, point of view or qualifications?
Hussain: Our schools must recruit teachers who reflect diversity and immigrant patterns in the suburbs. Needs can be met if we have teachers who grew up in similar environments and/or can speak the language of ELL learners and parents. All students need diverse role models early in their lives. Our high schools are developing this, and our elementary schools should too. Second, foreign language education at the elementary level is needed. Studies show language acquisition is most effective during childhood when speech development emerges. Third, early detection of high performers is as important as identifying low performers because both face the same dangers: boredom and lack of motivation. Due to testing mandates and zero funding for gifted education, emphasis goes to students who need to meet standards. Hopefully, we can create a program for students who need extra challenge. Support and funding for foreign language and gifted/enrichment programs would be needed.
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