Orland School Board Candidates Sound Off On Dist. 135 Budget Cuts

ORLAND PARK, IL — The candidates running for the District 135 school board were clear about two things: they would not fix the budget deficit by cutting programs that affect school quality and the would never arm teachers as a way to keep students safe.

The candidates made these remarks at forum moderated by The League of Women Voters of Palos-Orland Wednesday night at Orland Junior High's gymnasium. The remarks by incumbents Gregory Okon and Linda Peckham-Dodge, former board member Dave Shalabi and accountant Tara Schreiber, came as responses to questions members of the audience wrote that were delivered by the league's moderator.

The questions, paraphrased, included:

• How would you describe an ideally functioning board of education and community?
• The school district implemented a new grading system this year and parents and teachers are unhappy with it. Would you return to original grading system?
• What has been your involvement on the PFE and other functions within District 135?
• Do you believe the school district and its security do enough to protect students and staff and do you support arming teachers in schools?
• Would you be willing to evaluate the curriculum to see if it is the cause of declining scores?
• Would you be in favor of reinstating enrichment programs?
• How do you plan to balance the budget without impacting the classroom?

Note before I go on: I had difficulty hearing Shalabi and asked for clarifications about a few of his remarks. After I get his response, I'll update the story and remove this note.

No candidate had a concrete plan for budget cuts, which was the pressing issue of the night. The race comes at a time when the district has been troubled by deficit spending and is seeking to cut more than $2.5 million from its budget. Recent cuts approved by the current board were overwhelmingly unpopular with parents and voters, and the board rolled back its decisions to look for new solutions to the budget crunch.

Peckham-Dodge said she wanted a closer look at positions and salaries to see which efficiencies could be made there, and said she's interested in looking at "a kind of salary freeze." Each candidate supported looking into applying for more grants. Both Peckham-Dodge and Okon mentioned how the current and former boards handled the tax levy. The current members levied the full value the past two years, Peckham-Dodge said. However, Okon said, others "left money on the table." He was referring to how the district decided not to capture the CPI rate for four years in each of the fiscal years from 2013 to 2016, which cost the district $14 million. Neither mentioned what they'd recommend going forward.

As for school safety, all four candidates were adamant that they do not support arming teachers with guns to keep children safe. They all said the district did a good job handling modern-day protocols, no matter how distasteful, such as holding active shooter drills. But, they added, they would work to keep students as safe as possible.

Those questions elicited the clearest and strongest answers from the panel. The others were much less focused. Here's a roundup of what was said.

Peckham-Dodge
Peckham-Dodge is an Orland mom who attended public schools in her youth, and a longtime PFE member, she said. An ideally run district would have a vision and mission, she said, and she looks forward to opening a dialogue with the community about that. She also said she sees education in a broader context: They don't compete with each other in the same classroom, but with peers around the world. Peckham-Dodge said she liked the district's new grading system because it worked for children who have IEPs and hoped it would work for all students. However, she said, she understands that may not be the case so while she would like to give the system more time, she is open to conversations about switching back. The board has come a long way with its communications, but she said she would like a redesigned website so information is easier to find. In terms of technology, the district -- like so many others across the country -- "jumped on the bandwagon" and it's time now to figure out the right balance of tech in schools and learning. She is willing to evaluate the district's curriculum to see whether it is a contributing factor to declining test scores. "Kids need to be the center of what we do," she said.

Okon
Okon, a father of four adult children, has served on the board for 10 years. He acknowledged -- repeatedly -- that the district "had had some shortcomings recently," but said that the members took parents' criticism to heart and they wanted to "do better." He said he thought standards-based grading would be a good thing to try, and that the board tried to be "open-minded" about trying new things. If it doesn't work, he said, he'd be willing to try something new or go back to the old grading system. When the question about PFE membership came up, he gently reminded the audience that he had been on the school board for years and tried to attend other meetings as he could. It is difficult to divide his time, he said. Communication with parents can be improved, and he said the board is listening and willing to improve. One new improvement, he added, is the live-streaming of board meetings. Okon added that he was willing to do everything he could to hold people accountable in the district. He would also like to see teachers have the resources they need to help improve test scores. For the enrichment question -- the board recently rescinded the decision to cut some enrichment classes -- he said: "It is always a challenge to be fiscally responsible, but if you cut off nose to spite your face, you get called on the carpet.

Shalabi
Shalabi served on the school board in 2015 for two years. He is a father of three and an Orland realtor. He also serves on the village's planning commission. An ideal district cooperates fully "across the board." Shalabi said he has concerns about how the new grading system aligns with feeder schools and that such changes need full buy-in from parents. "Standards-based grading is broken and does not work," he said. "People do not like it." He said his highest motivation for running for the board was his children. Shalabi, like Peckham-Dodge, said he was concerned about students' overexposure to technology, and he's more than willing to also evaluate the district's curriculum to see whether it affects scores on state tests. He fully supports reinstating enrichment courses. Please note: I am checking on a few, other responses to ensure I didn't make a mistake-- in the interest of fairness -- and will update after I hear from him.

Schreiber
Schreiber is an accountant who holds a commercial pilot's license, and she has a son in the system, she said. She has never run for office before. She said her son's crying over "Common Core math" at night motivated her to run for the school board seat. "I wish I had been there for conversations about Common Core and I am sure there is a really good explanation for it and why we need Common Core -- I would like to know what it was." For the new grading system, she said: "I think the first thing we need to look at would be the cost benefit of switching." She said she is a member of PFE, but hasn't attended meetings. Schreiber said she believes she received timely and adequate updates from the district. "I am happy the board is streaming things online," she added. Students do need to learn how to use technology to be successful, she said, but she wonders at what point a device's use hurts students. She is open to evaluating the curriculum in light of standardized test scores, and to keeping enrichment classes. "Kids need to learn at their own rate," she said.