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"The past several months have prompted me to make a frank and honest assessment of where we are as a school district, and what I can personally contribute to the future and success of the district. A number of factors, including the encouragement of my family, motivated me to run."

Fulfill Strategic Plan

As a longstanding Board member, I was involved with the 2010-2020 Strategic Plan since its inception and helped to develop Framework 220, which was adopted in June 2023. The Administration, Board and Community came together to define the six objectives of Framework 220, which included

  • Personalized Learning

  • Future Readiness

  • Inclusive Education

  • Health & Well-Being

  • Community Partnerships and Communication

  • Stewardship

 

The Learner Profile is focused on the District’s mission to “Empower Personal Excellence in Every Learner", rigorous academics and our Core Beliefs.

 

The Board has also agreed to a new three year e-learning waiver starting in Fall 2025.  The prior waiver allowed us to pivot quickly when e-learning was required daily. However, the Administration, Staff, Board, and engaged community again came together to review and improve the plan in order to best serve our students, staff and community.

 

My 16+ years of experience serving the district-wide community will bring invaluable perspective and continuity as a board member. I am well positioned to efficiently and effectively serve without a steep learning curve on complicated periodic business items such as teacher and transportation contracts. I have an in-depth understanding of what a full contract or plan cycle looks like and will provide important context about what has and has not worked in the past. I am extraordinarily qualified to meet the urgent needs of the moment and I am fully committed to upholding a high standard of excellence in the district. If elected, I will continue to be accessible to our community and to act in both a proactive and fiscally responsible manner for the benefit of our children, families and community.

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Implement Referendum Projects

Transform 220, the community-approved $64 million bond referendum, needs to be implemented to bring our Fine Arts and STEM facilities in line with desired safety and educational expectations.  This board will have direct influence on how these referendum dollars are spent. The crowded and out of date facilities in District 220 were one of my primary motivations to get involved at the district level more than a decade ago. Facilities planning is important to ensure we are best utilizing the space available and can plan for the needs of the future. 

 

In January 2025, the Board reviewed the first-ever district-wide long-term facility plan to enable improved stewardship over the district’s 1.4M square feet, which includes 12 schools, a transition facility and an administration office. This plan has enabled the district to better understand and inventory the upcoming needs of our facilities. For over a decade, the district has set aside approximately $3 million annually for capital projects. However, rising construction costs and inflation no longer allow sufficiently sized projects to be completed. To best enable the district’s long-range facility plan, the Board is working to increase the annual capital budget while minimizing programming to better plan for annual projects over the coming decades.

 

Provide Continuity and Expertise to the Board 

During the current board’s tenure, we have accomplished many things. For example, Framework 220  has been put in motion, Full-Day Kindergarten was implemented with less than a year’s focus and Transform 220, a $64 million STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math) referendum, was passed by our outstanding and engaged community. I am confident that my experience leading the Board was a factor in this success. If reelected, I intend to work together with the existing and new board members as well as the community to fulfill the strategic goals and priorities of the district, with a particular emphasis on rigorous academics. 

The current board has worked hard to develop collaborative relationships with each other and the community. I work well with the current board members and look forward to new energy and enthusiasm. I believe that my extensive experience will offer invaluable insight, historical grounding, continuity, and operational context for the board. In the coming years, the board will continue to confront complex operational issues and will need an experienced steward. I intend to prioritize open communication, compromise, cooperation and unity amongst board members so that we can more effectively work together to achieve excellence in the district. 

 

As of this year’s election, I will have served on the Board for nearly 16 years. During my tenure, I have held the positions of President, Vice President, and Secretary and served six years on the Policy Committee and six years on the Finance Committee. I have also served on the Labor Management, Insurance and Resource Allocation Committees. As a member of the Board, I have been involved in hiring three Superintendents and negotiating several Barrington Education Association (BEA) and Barrington School Employees Organization (BSEO) contracts, one of which  will need to be renewed in 2026. During my tenure on the Finance Committee, we contributed to the now 28 consecutive years of a balanced budget and began DSEB borrowing from ourselves. We also engaged in an energy savings program, saving thousands of dollars annually. When I served on the Policy Committee, I had the opportunity to review each and every board policy. This was a necessary step when we migrated to a new software platform, which we implemented specifically to enhance transparency and to be more user-friendly for members of our community. If re-elected, I would utilize my in-depth knowledge of board policy to ensure the smooth operations of the board while introducing creative ways to optimize information throughout the district. 

 

At the end of the day, I would like to continue to serve on the Board because I love Barrington schools and I truly believe that I have made and will continue to make a positive impact on our district. I am driven every day to make our schools the best they can be, and I feel an important sense of responsibility to continue doing so. I am committed to making decisions that are in the best interest of the students, staff, and the community. I take seriously the input of our families and I understand the measurable impact that the Board’s decisions have on our children and our community. As a result, I would welcome the opportunity to continue my service to the community and mentor board members so that we can consistently and seamlessly lead the district toward a brighter future. 

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