Election 2013: Mary Bragg

Campaign Info

• Position Sought: Orland School District 135 Board of Education
• Website:
• Email:  mbragg2359@aol.com
• Phone:
• Hometown: Orland Hills

Personal Info

• Family: Lawrence, husband; Patrick, son; Mary Kate, daughter
• Education: Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education with a double minor in Biology and Psychology 2004, and a Master of Arts in Educational Administration 2009, both degrees are from Governors State University.
• Occupation: Teacher, Crete-Monee Middle School
• Political Party Affiliation: Democrat

Candidate Questions

Why are you seeking office?

I am seeking re-election to bring stability back to all aspects of the district and to ensure that the quality education we are known for remains intact for all of our children.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

The most important priority is to maintain a quality education for all of our children with all of the mandates required with Common Core, and the new state and federal mandates.

What sets you apart from other candidates? 

What sets me apart from the other candidates is the fact that I have been an active volunteer in the district for the past 18 years. Knowing the history of the district, having worked in management in the private sector and then eventually changing my career to education, along with understanding educational administration and school law, is an important factor when it comes to making decisions.

Over the last two years there have been a few sudden staffing changes, including the demotion of Melanie Walsh and putting in an interim superintendent while paying the former superintendent’s salary. Given legal and salary costs involved, should the board consider other means of addressing employee issues, and if so what would you do if elected or re-elected to do so?

One of the ways to address employee issues is to make sure hiring practices are clear, in place and followed. The next piece would be to make sure that evaluation goals are clear, measureable and followed by all staff members. Reviewing all policies and procedures for the hiring process would address this issue.

How do you propose the school district better communicate the importance of, and better prepare students and parents for, pilots of new educational programs, especially ones geared toward the Common Core standards?

Stability of staff is an important factor in ensuring that proper communication is shared with all of the district stakeholders and that community committees are reassembled to help with the vision and mission of the district.

Concerns have been brought up about communication between board members outside of quorum and in violation of board policy. If elected or re-elected, what will you do to rectify these concerns, and do you recommend any new policies to be adopted? 

Policies are in place to address these violations. Unfortunately when violations are brought to the offender’s attention they are ignored and the board president doesn’t address them.

Do you think the school district should consider a fund balance policy, and why? If so at what amount should it be set?

The district needs to put a fund balance policy into place to make sure that we can meet our obligations. It has previously been discussed and has not been completed as of yet. Due to the history of the county not making payments on time we need to make sure we have the funds available to make sure we can pay our bills without having to borrow funds, this along with the loss of revenue has made it difficult to set a balance level but we should be funded at least 45%.

Revenue from the state continues to dry up, while residents are also dealing with rising costs. Please rank the following in the order you feel the district should be focused on for meeting the district’s costs in light of these issues. 1) Staff Cuts 2) Contract Renegotiations 3) Operating Expense Cuts 4) Tax Increases 5) Other Funding Sources. Please also explain your reasoning.

3) Operating Expense Cuts – should be one of the first areas to focus on for reducing costs so that we will not directly impact the classroom.

5) Other funding sources – should be actively pursued to help alleviate the rising costs in the district, corporate partnerships need to be carefully addressed.

2) Contract Renegotiations will need to be considered with the continuation of the current funding issues at both the state and federal levels.

4) Tax increases – to maintain a quality education are necessary until both the state and federal government seriously address school funding and fix it across the country.

1) Staff cuts in the classroom would be the last way to address the rising costs, impacting the classroom impacts the quality of the educational experience and losses in test scores results, which could result in losses in funding.

Do you think board members, or potential board members, should have to submit for background checks? Why or why not?

Yes, we are the educational leaders in the district and should lead by example.

What can schools do to increase safety?

Schools need to continuously practice safety procedures at an increased level than required by law, work closely with law enforcement and look for advances to improve safety.

The possibility of buying Tax Anticipated Warrants to then loan money out to other school districts and accumulate interest on the return has been discussed in the past. If the district has enough money to be able to loan out to other schools, should the district still be requesting the maximum tax levy possible? Why or why not? 

The district needs to consider the possibility of any revenue generating business that could be of benefit to us. To be able to help out another district on a short-term basis and increase our revenue should be considered depending on the terms that can be agreed upon. Does it mean that the district should not request the maximum tax levy possible would depend on the length of the TAW.

Have you ever been charged with a crime? Were you convicted? If yes, please say what the charge was, and what was the case's outcome as it stands.

No.

Are there any candidates in other races you would like to endorse here? 

Kyle Hastings for Orland Hills mayor.

Read about the other D135 candidates in the April 2013 election.