Jason Janczak: Candidate For District 26 School Board

CARY, IL — Four candidates are running for three open seats on the Cary District 26 school board this election.

Patch.com reached out to District 26 candidates to get their responses to candidate questionnaires. Here are the responses we got from Jason Janczak:

Your name: Jason Janczak

Age (as of election day): 46

Town/city of residence: Cary

School district: District 26

Family. Names, ages and any pertinent details you wish to share.

Wife and two children who are students in District 26

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

I am a high school Social Studies teacher at Grayslake HS District 127

Education:

BA - Michigan State University, MA - Boise State University, Ed. S - National Louis University

Occupation. Please include years of experience.

High School Social Studies Teacher - 22 years including the last 9 as Social Studies Department Chair

Campaign website:

https://www.facebook.com/Jason...

Previous or current elected or appointed office

Cary School District #26 School Board Member 2019-Current

The most pressing issues facing our (board, district, etc.) are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

Teacher recruitment and retention - Cary 26 needs to continue to find avenues to recruit highly effective teachers - including those from diverse backgrounds. Once they are a part of the D26 family, we need to find ways to keep these highly effective teachers in our district. Pay is one incentive, but the district needs to find other ways - from giving them additional prep and collaboration time, to finding new ways to support their professional growth. We have great teachers in D26 - we need to find ways they make sure they stay.

Continued academic and social emotional recovery from COVID - the district has done a good job getting our students back on track academically but we have some more work to do. Additionally, we need to make sure our students' social emotional needs are addressed and supported. We have taken steps to do that with the Panorama and Second Step, but we need to continue our work in supporting and growing our students.

A growing politically motivated attack on public education and educators - our teachers are doing amazing things for our students and continuing to grow them as learners and as people. We need to do a better job telling that story.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I am a proud product of public education and I believe that every student should be afforded the same great education as students in Cary District 26. Yes, we definitely have room for improvement, but the difference between me and some of my opponents, is that I am running to continue to grow and protect the quality public education that is happening in Cary District 26 - and I have ideas for solutions to the problems we face.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community or district?

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

The teacher shortage is looming, and when it comes to recruiting and retaining teachers I would like to see Cary District 26 and D155 form a partnership that allows for D155 students who are interested in becoming teachers to intern with Cary District 26 teachers 1-2 days a week. The Career Pathways curriculum is growing in D155, and I think a partnership with them allowing interns into our schools will not only help grow the number of students who are interested in becoming teachers, but also grow the number of applicants Cary District 26 would see in the future. I would encourage the districts to follow the model that District 214 is currently using for the teaching intern partnership.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

**Increased School Performance: each building is now designated as ‘Commendable’ or ‘Exemplary’ by the State.
**Provided Sound Financial Oversight: approving only balanced budgets year over year & have D26 on track to be debt free by 2025.
**Smaller Class Sizes: increasing a teacher's ability to meet each student where they are & attending to each student's individual needs.
**Increased Communication & Supports: encouraged parent workshops, providing support for interpreting testing results, communicating changes during pandemic learning & increasing engagement among our community of diverse families with translated district communications.
**Improved STEM Instruction: this popular program is preparing students with critical skills for the future & teaching digital citizenship.
**Increased Transparency: live streaming Board of Education meetings, making them available to view online at your convenience & increasing accessibility to those unable to attend live meetings.
**Successful Contract Negotiations: new collective bargaining agreements with CESPA and CEA Union were negotiated & approved without any delay to services or the start of the school year.
**Reduced Fees: approving a reduction in registration fees for K-8 families with the goal of helping offset the increased cost of school supplies & a 1x food service balance forgiveness.
**Renovation and Building Improvements: Three Oaks School rennovation, Oak Knoll ECC roof replaced, Cary Junior High track resurfaced, modern multifunctional student desks replaced old & security upgrades made to each building.
**Returned Money Back To Taxpayers: passing tax levy abatements provided relief to taxpayers, reducing the tax burden by $300k.

Why should voters trust you?

I am a dad, a taxpayer in the district, and an educator by trade. I want what is best for my children, their friends, and all the other students in our district, while making sure the district remains in solid financial shape and are good stewards of taxpayer monies. I see the decisions we make on the Board through all lenses - as a taxpayer, as a father, and as an educator.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

A successful transition to a new Superintendent, continue growth of our students' performance, a Dual Language program that is thriving, and lower turnover among our teaching staff.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

The Village of Cary needs to do a better job of recruiting businesses to our community to that the taxpayers do not have to carry the large majority of the tax burden for our schools, libraries and park districts. Now the Village would like to set up another TIF over a large part of Cary, which would only require our residents to shoulder more of the burden of supporting schools, libraries and our park district. Having earned awards for fiscal responsibility, I am proud of the way our district is a good steward of taxpayer money. My hope is that the Village would reconsider the TIF and do more to recruit businesses to make their home in Cary so that the taxpayers are not responsible for carrying a large amount of the tax burden.

What are your thoughts on how the district handled the COVID-19 pandemic?

I am incredibly proud of the work that the Board, the administration, the teachers and students did to keep our schools open and safe last year. In the 2021-2022 school year, not a single classroom, grade level, or building was forced to go to remote learning due to an outbreak - even throughout all the surges - in Cary District 26.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some school boards saw extremely heated disagreements during public meetings. If elected, what changes, if any, need to be made to ensure meetings are run efficiently while still allowing open discussions?

While some meetings did get heated, we have improved transparency for our meetings here in the district by livestreaming them and storing them to be viewed later should members of the public wish to watch them.

How do you feel about sex education being taught in school? Should an LGBTQ component be included, and why or why not?

We revisited this issue earlier this school year and the Board decided that the Cary 26 curriculum was sufficient, relevant, and appropriate for our K-8 students and therefore we would not be moving forward with the state program. I do believe that parents should always have the option to opt out of this type of curriculum.

What are your views on critical race theory and whether it should be taught in the district?

It is a framework that was developed by scholars in the legal arena back in the 1980s and 1990s and is no way taught in a K-8 district.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

I am proud of the work the district has done from an inclusion standpoint in regards to our students with exceptional needs, however when it comes to race and ethnicity we still have work to do. In reviewing our test scores we have made great strides in closing achievement gaps among ethnicities but we can continue to grow in this area. I am proud of the work the district has done thus far in identifying needs of groups of students that need support and I look forward to seeing their work pay off for our students in the future.

I am proud of the focus our district has placed on exposing our students to different cultures throughout the curriculum and teaching students to accept peers from all walks of life.

I would like to see the District continue to develop and implement professional development around the new Illinois State Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading Standards moving forward. Additionally I would like to see a greater effort for the district to reach out to all families to make sure they are included in their child's educational process.

When it comes to student achievement, what are schools within this district doing well and what needs to be improved? How can those improvements be made?

We are doing a good job of discovering each student's strengths and areas of need and are developing targeted interventions that will allow each student to grow in those areas of need. The result was an overall improvement in our test scores last year. We also lowered class sizes for next year (average class size is less than 21) which will allow for teachers to be able to work closer with students in growing them academically.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No.

The best advice ever shared with me was ____________

Do what is right, not what is easy.