Debra McAtee: District 21 School Board Candidate

Name: Debra McAtee

Age: 49

Family: Married, 2 children in District 21 schools

Education: Bachelor of Science, Business Administration

Occupation: Stay at Home Parent

Previous Elected or Appointed Offices: Appointed District 21 School Board, April 2012

Other community involvement: Leader, Girl Scout Troops 41470 & 41670; District 21 Girl Scout Community Partner; Past 4-term PTA President Tarkington PTA.

Position sought: School Board Member

Campaign E-mail address: debbi.mcatee@ccsd21.org

Campaign committee: None

Campaign Website: None

Campaign Facebook: None

Campaign Twitter: None

Why are you running?

I am running because the parents in our district need to have a voice. While I am a parent of two children in the district, I am active in attending events at all of the district schools, not just their own. When parents have a question, they may not be able to attend board meetings, or they may feel intimidated being in a formal setting, but being visible within the community I feel that they are more comfortable bringing their issues to me there. I may not be able to get them the answer right away, but I can direct them to the person that can. 

In what ways would the school district benefit from your service?

Again, my visibility within the district. Even in my short tenure on the board I have seen many issues come to our attention only after they are at the point where parents are furious. As a face in the community, I am able to address some of their fears, explain decisions, and if I can’t give them an answer immediately, I can direct them to the person that will be able to do so. 

What is the biggest challenge the school district faces and what should be done to address it?

All districts in Illinois are confronting budget issues. The administrative staff of District 21 is constantly looking for ways to reduce expenses; they have saved us millions of dollars over the past several years, savings that continue. Many of our budgetary issues arise out of unfunded mandates from the State and Federal governments, these we can do nothing about. Most of our budget is for personnel and labor expenses; we want to maintain our high caliber of teachers within our district along with reasonable class sizes. 

District 21 is fortunate to operate with a partnership between the teachers and the administration and the Board. I am confident that this relationship will not change and that we will continue to work together in this challenging financial climate. If program cuts are necessary, I will look at each of them on an individual basis to determine which has the least impact upon the children of our district.

On the income side, the last tax increase that the district asked for has lasted many years past what had been promised. While individual tax bills may have gone up, others have gone down; it is all dependent on the individual’s portion of the entire levy. As a School Board we will continue to monitor the changing financial landscape and work with our finance committee and the community to exam the need for a referendum in the coming years. 

What do you think the district does well?  

Simply put, we educate our children very well. If you simply look at the publicized test scores, then you would not think that. Standardized test scores do not accurately reflect the diverse nature of our district. 

What should be some of the school district’s priorities over the next four years?  

Fiscal responsibility is always one of the top priorities we have. As evidenced by the fact that we have not had to ask for a tax increase even many years after what the public had been told, our district has been quite responsible fiscally. I wish to see us maintain that responsibility and to see if there are further ways in which we can reduce spending without also reducing the quality of the education that our students receive. 

Additionally, communications. While we currently have numerous ways of communicating our mission, goals, triumphs and strengths to the public I feel that there are ways that we can improve in this area. Having gone to board meetings for the past seven years, I was aware of things as they were happening within the district and I was able to that information on to the parents at my school. Emphasis needs to be placed on using our current methods as well as developing new ones and even reinstating old ones to be certain that our information is getting out to our residents.

Finally, technology. Our world is ever changing, and our technology is changing with it. We need to be certain that our students are prepared to work in a world where technology is everywhere. But we also need to use this technology to keep our residents informed. Most of our teachers use blogs and Wikis to help their students with assignments, this could be expanded to our principals for school and district-wide functions. Twitter could be used to remind parents of board meetings and events-even school closings in case of inclement weather; a Facebook page set up with notifications of events. Technology is not just putting a device in the hands of every student; it is also about using what is available to us effectively.

What else would you like voters to know? 

Growing up in Arlington Heights, the schools in District 21 did not have the greatest reputation. That has changed. We are now a district to be proud of; teachers, administration and the School Board all work together to do the very best for our children while remaining accountable to the taxpayers of the district.