Name:
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Eric Levin, age 57, of Edwardsville.
Family Members:
Wife, Libby, and two children
Occupation, with description of job:
Retired Finance Executive from Boeing. While at Boeing responsible for various business activity over a 32+ year career there.
Position Seeking:
Edwardsville School Board (4-year term)
Campaign Facebook Page:
Eric Levin for District 7 School Board
Why are you running and why should people vote for you?
"I believe in community service and since retiring I have focused more on giving back to the community. I currently volunteer on the Boards of Advisors for both the SIUE and SEMO business schools, as well as serve on the Edwardsville Watershed Nature Preserve Board of Directors. I also serve on my subdivision’s Home Owner Association Board. Prior to retiring, I worked in various business capacities throughout my 32+ year career at Boeing and during the last 10 years I served as a divisional CFO. In this capacity I was responsible for large complex budgets, large staffs, and dealt with large organizations and difficult, complex issues. District 7 is a large organization -
$85M annual budget, has
1,000 employees, and over 7,400 students with many locations and facilities Given my roles at Boeing I believe that I have the skills and experience necessary to provide oversight and support to a large complex organization such as District 7."
What are your goals for the district/what do you want to accomplish?
"I have several, but the three at the top of my list are:
- Community engagement – In order for the district to meet the needs of the various and diverse stakeholders within the district it is essential that there be ongoing engagement with the community to ensure that balanced solutions be developed. In my experience collaboration and inclusion is essential for an organization to be successful and I believe District 7 is no different. I would also like to see this collaboration expend beyond the borders of District 7. I think we should look for opportunities to collaborate with other organizations and educational institutions in the region.
- District finances – the current financial situation is improving and this has required hard decisions and commitment by the district and the rest of the District 7 community. While it is improving, the district is still in debt and I believe that continued, strong oversight will be required to ensure that the district remains on this same path and builds a reserve. This will be particularly important in light of the financial pressures being placed on the district at the state level (e.g., the recently passed increase in the minimum wage and the state is not always timely in paying its bills). The state continues to make decisions that place financial pressures on the district while there are no additional resources to address them. This situation will require the district to remain focused on fiscal discipline. I believe that I have experience in managing large complex budgets which would be beneficial in this area.
- Career and Technical Education – Much of the education in the skilled trades was eliminated a few years ago due to District 7 resource constraints. I believe bringing this type of educational path back is important to address the needs of students who may have an interest in a skilled trades career as well as serve the community. I have spoken with several local business owners who have identified the lack of skilled trades workers as a significant issue that is impacting their ability to conduct business. I believe that reinvigorating this area of study can’t happen overnight and will require engaging with the various District 7 stakeholders and partnerships with the community, but it important to many students as well as the local businesses."
What makes you different than the others running for the position?
"I think all of the candidates are sincere, dedicated and qualified. I believe, however, that my experience in managing large staffs and large budgets and solving complex problems is unique and would serve the district well."
Professional Expertise
"My professional experience is in the business area of Boeing, which is were I spent the bulk of my career, acting in various capacities."
KATIE ROBBERSON
Name: Katie Robberson, age 39, of Edwardsville.
Family members: husband Aaron, son William, and daughters Emmie and Caroline
Position Seeking:
Edwardsville School Board (4-year term)
Occupation, with description of job: "I’m a full time instructor in the School of Business at SIUE. I teach core curricular management classes and marketing electives. In my role, I also teach workshops for our Executive Education program to coporations on topics like strategic communication, trust, conflict, and growth mindset."
Campaign Website: www.katie4d7schools.com
Campaign Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Katie-Robberson-for-District-7-School-Board-952670124930467/
Why are you running and why should people vote for you?
"Public education and public service have been paramount in my life. I grew up in a household with parents who are public educators, and I currently teach at a public state university. District 7 was a great experience for me as a student, and during my time as a student, I was very involved in numerous activities that taught me the importance of service. I currently have children in the District, and I’ve been involved in a volunteer capacity since my oldest child entered the District in 2012. A vote for me represents looking at new ways to maintain the expectations of the parents and community members that support District 7. I am experienced in building strong teams, and I feel that this skill set is of the utmost importance to build a strong District through the Board’s relationships with teachers, administrators, staff, parents, and the community at large."
What are your goals for the district/what do you want to accomplish?
"The first issue our District faces is to maintain the promises put in place with the passing of Proposition E. It is necessary that the School Board see the plan through to its finish. The plan will provide much needed debt reduction, new curriculum/textbooks, improved security, and improved technology. As a board member, I would ensure that these promises are kept by following the plan outlined during the referendum. Another vitally important issue for our District is community engagement and communication improvement. If elected to the Board, I plan to work to improve the flow of information to all audiences the District interacts with. The final major issue I see is looking for creative solutions to shortages caused by our lean financial position. I firmly believe that our community is a wealth of opportunity for partnerships, and it is time that the school board and district look for creative ways to fill gaps in the curriculum and supportive services for our students. I would like to find new revenue streams, through partnerships, grants, etc that would allow us to support the robust District our community has come to have pride in and expect."
What makes you different than the others running for the position?
"Having co-chaired the Prop E committee, I have very significant understanding of the District’s financial and curricular positions. As a parent of young children in the district, I’m vested in the District’s success and am willing to work to look for creative avenues to give all students the best outcomes. I’ve worked for many years to help build successful teams, and I plan to utilize this skill set to establish a collaborative culture between the board, administration, teachers, and the community at large."
Professional Expertise:
Full-time Instructor SIUE School of Business
Small business owner
Former corporate trainer and manager
Name: John McDole, age 40, of Edwardsville.
John is a mortgage lender at TheBANK of Edwardsville
Campaign website:www.d7matters.com
Why are you running and why should people vote for you? "Public education is incredibly important to the future of our community’s children and, frankly, the future of our community. I want to be part of building on District 7’s tradition of excellence and enhancing that incredible tradition for generations. My wife, Karla (Carroll), and I were both born and raised in this community, and we’re both products of the District 7 system. We have a son in second grade at Nelson Elementary, and our daughter will start kindergarten there next year. Currently, I have the privilege of working with parents, teachers and administrators in my role as PTO Treasurer at Nelson, and I’m on the Citizens Advisory Council for the School District. It’s clear to me that the relationship between the success of the school district and the success of our community is symbiotic. So, I’ve also made it a priority to be involved in the work of our city. I’m on the Plan Commission and Land Use Committee for the City of Edwardsville, working alongside elected officials and staff to make sure that the future is strong for our city."
What are the most important issues the school district faces, and how would you approach them? "1) New superintendent — Our new board will need to work with Mr. Jason Henderson and his staff to determine what our core values are as a district and then communicate these values to the faculty and staff of the district and taxpayers of District 7 as well. 2) Financial recovery — The District is in a fiscal recovery process, which began with the passage of Proposition E in April of 2017. It will be up to our board to make sure that this recovery continues to the point where District 7 is off the financial watch list of the state, and to see to it that a dire situation like the one we were in leading up to 2016 never happens again. 3) Technology — One of the byproducts of the aforementioned financial difficulties was a lack of innovation within the district. Not only is the district behind when it comes to providing students access to adequate technology resources, but more importantly our teachers are in need of advancements in technology in their classrooms."
Under what circumstances would you vote to raise property taxes? "With the recent passage of Proposition E in 2017, it would require a worst-case situation for me to get behind raising property taxes again. For the last 12 years , I’ve worked as a home mortgage lender at TheBANK of Edwardsville, so I’ve dealt with the property taxes of District 7 residents just about every day over that time. I’ve seen firsthand how property taxes affect the cost of living, and I’ve seen how they affect people’s ability to purchase homes in District 7. I’ve also seen firsthand that because of the quality of our schools there is higher-than-normal demand to live in our communities, which also results in growth and development. There is a balance to this, and I believe I have the knowledge and experience to see the big picture when it comes to property taxes — both in how they fund schools and how they affect the residents of the school district."
What are your goals for the district/what do you want to accomplish? "1) Implementing career and technical education — With the size and diversity of our student population, I feel like we are doing a disservice to our youth by not offering these types of programs. There is currently a great need for employees with these skill sets in the workforce and that will only continue into the future. 2) Improved resources to deal with mental health issues and designing programs for behaviorally/emotionally disturbed students — This is greater than a student being diagnosed as having a behavioral or emotional disorder, which is becoming increasingly common. It’s also non-diagnosed students not being able to communicate their feelings and emotions effectively that can lead to outbursts or negative behaviors. 3) Improve communication within and outside of the district — Communication in an organization of any kind is a function of the overall culture of the group. Employees want to feel valued for their work and contributions. The same approach needs to be taken with taxpayers and our elected officials in Springfield. Open lines of communication must be in place to determine what we value as communities and what we value in education."
What is your position on the proposed increase in minimum wage for teachers in Illinois? "We need to support our teachers. With that in mind , I am in support of an increase in the minimum salary for teachers in our state. A district’s ability to hire and retain quality teachers is the key driver in having a successful school district and children who go on to great things in life. If we want an educated, functional, thriving group of communities, we need good teachers who are fairly compensated and know they are valued. All teachers in the state have had to sacrifice because of how education has been funded. I feel that our faculty and staff have paid a huge price for the financial hardships of District 7, and to their credit, a vast majority have stayed with the district despite these issues."