CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Candidate:  Chris Zimmerman          Position Sought:  School Board - Pekin School District 108

1.  Why are you seeking this office?

I feel that I have contributed to the quality of our children's education serving this community to the best of my ability over the last sixteen years.  I feel that I can still make a contribution to this process.  There are more challenges for the district in the next four years.  Our schools will be required to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements.  The challenge will be to meet those requirements within the current resources provided by the federal, state and local revenues.  I want to continue to support the staff of this district to meet those challenges.

2.  What are your qualifications for this office?

I have served on the District 108 board of education for the last sixteen years - serving as president for four of those years and vice president for five years.  Before my time on the board, I was a member of the local PTA and several School Improvement Leadership Teams.  I have also attended several workshops related to board leadership and finance.

3.  Have you ever owned or managed a business?  If yes, please explain.

No. I do not own or manage a business.

4.  Do you have any experience with labor relations?  If so, please explain.

Yes. I have been active in negotiating the contracts with our staff during my tenure on the board.  These experience have been very positive and rewarding.

5.  What role, if any, do you believe the school district should play in the attraction of new residents to Pekin?

When people are considering moving to a community, one of the top three items on their list is the quality of schools.  I have had several people comment about the quality of our website - it provides a great deal of information to allow parents to make an evaluation of the district.  The website also provides information regarding test scores, technology and curriculum.  District 108 is one of the jewels of this community and attracts parents every day.  This is why it is important for the community to continue to support our schools.

6.  Given that one of the critical elements in business retention and attraction is the quality of the local educational system, what would you do to develop the relationship between the education and business communities?

Our superintendent is a member of the Pekin Chamber of Commerce.  He has provided presentations to inform businesses of the latest developments in our district.  We have encouraged businesses to provide personnel to be members of our district leadership teams to brainstorm ideas to improve our district processes.  Businesses are welcome to take tours of our facilities and participate in some school activities.  These types of activities help to develop relationships between the district and businesses.

7.  What do you see as the role of the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations in local education?

Today's role of the Pekin Chamber of Commerce currently supports District 108 by promoting the district thru their website and their promotion material.  Businesses need to continue to promote the district by supporting our local PTA's and participating in school events.  It is important that the relationship between education and business be seen as a team effort.

8.  What are your thoughts on school district consolidation?

Consolidation has been one of the hot topics of the last year.  After a great amount of research and discussion, it appears that the law has not been changed to allow District 108 and 303 to consolidate on their own.  The feeder districts still need to be a part of the decision.  Also, consolidation does not seem to provide any financial or program benefit to this community at this time.

9.  What are your thoughts about James Field?

The James Field issue was the other hot topic during the last year.  I originally supported selling the property because I did not feel that it belonged in the educational picture of District 108.  I also believed that it had become an eyesore of downtown and served little value.  The district had the limited opportunity to gain a premium price for this property which would have benefited the children.  We could have used this money to improve the environment of some of our buildings - specifically air conditioning.  When the outcry of citizens against the selling the property happened, it was apparent that the board needed to look at alternatives.  Now that the sale of the property is not going to happen, I support the agreement that District 108 will lease the property to the Park District along with the planned improvements the committee intends to make.  I support the plan to make this property a park forever.  This is what the citizens that contacted the board clearly wanted.

10.  What are your thoughts about the school district's current finances?  Are there opportunities to cut expenses?  Specifically, where are those opportunities?  Are there areas where spending needs to be increased?  Specifically, where does spending need to increase and where would that money come from?

The district is very sound financially.  Our central office staff continues to evaluate programs and looks for resources to provide the best programs to meet the educational needs of the children of this community.  The board has had the philosophy to cut "things" before people.  So far, this philosophy has served the children very well.

11.  What do see as the role of a school board member?

The role of the school board member is specifically two fold - to hire the superintendent and make policy.  These are the two most important tasks of the district.  We also oversee the well being of the district and support our staff with the tools to get the job done.  We are not involved in the day-to-day decision making activities - we hire leaders to perform those tasks.

12.  If elected, what would be your top three priorities?

My top three priorities are as follows:
1) Provide the best education for our children
2) Maintain our current leadership and staff
3) Maintain current programs and buildings

13.  At the end of your term in office, how will you know if you've been successful?

I know I will be successful if our district is able to maintain programs and continue to be financially sound.  I know I will be successful if our community is talking about the successes of the district and that their children are receiving the best education possible.