I could not be happier to see that Dan will be running for D65 school board. Our family has known him for ten years and have seen the sort of amazing parent, friend and neighbor that he is!
Dan, thanks for your post. I’ve been asking this of each of the candidates, One of the key jobs of the board is to hire a superintendent. After decades of conducting open searches where finalists were announced to the public and the district held open meetings with finalists, the current board conducted searches entirely in the dark, without public input.
Would you vote to continue this practice? Or go back to a public-facing superintendent search for the next vacancy?
Yes, I think for finalists (of which ideally there would be more than one) there should be public meetings involving the community and teachers to get their opinions as part of the interviewing process before the Board makes the final decision.
How comfortable are you with the rhetoric in the online parent community? It’s been concerning to see the level of bullying and attacks that play out.
For instance one of your prospective board colleagues Maria was skewered online by the sheer fact their spouse is a homeland security employee. We don’t know the spouses actual position or views, but immediately Maria was deemed to be a terrible person and crucified in a parent group. Ironically this rhetoric is led by a District employees spouse.
How can we stop the extreme outbursts and attacks, and find ways to be respectful and have constructive dialogue and ask questions not just rushed judgements and outlandish attacks.
How comfortable are you with this rhetoric and how do you assure voters that you will not support this tyrannical behavior?
Thank you, Dan, for offering your depth of skill, your insight and your time to this important campaign. I hope that the voters can see what a great opportunity this is to have a highly qualified school board member help us make this next era for D65 a successful one. You have my full support!
Three part question here: Do you support a full and complete & independent financial “forensic” audit of D65, going back to when the last referendum was passed—in order to get a handle on what has happened in D65 financially? And then, importantly share the findings with the community via open house two way Q&A forums? If you support, can we get your commitment to call for this at the first BOE meeting you attend as a new BOE member?
Thanks, Dan, for your interest in serving on the school board -no doubt a very public, demanding and complex job. All Evanstonians should be thankful that so many citizens are willing to take on this position.
The primary purpose of a school is to create a safe communal environment for learning and provide a quality education preparing students for future success in both their personal and professional lives while also ideally helping them develop into informed and engaged citizens. Sorry for the run-on sentence.
Thank you, Dan, for your thoughtful reply. I realize it's an open ended question but it's very helpful to hear your and other board candidates' thinking on what I see as THE topic at the root of "all things" education.
I could not be happier to see that Dan will be running for D65 school board. Our family has known him for ten years and have seen the sort of amazing parent, friend and neighbor that he is!
Dan, thanks for your post. I’ve been asking this of each of the candidates, One of the key jobs of the board is to hire a superintendent. After decades of conducting open searches where finalists were announced to the public and the district held open meetings with finalists, the current board conducted searches entirely in the dark, without public input.
Would you vote to continue this practice? Or go back to a public-facing superintendent search for the next vacancy?
Hi Penny,
Yes, I think for finalists (of which ideally there would be more than one) there should be public meetings involving the community and teachers to get their opinions as part of the interviewing process before the Board makes the final decision.
How comfortable are you with the rhetoric in the online parent community? It’s been concerning to see the level of bullying and attacks that play out.
For instance one of your prospective board colleagues Maria was skewered online by the sheer fact their spouse is a homeland security employee. We don’t know the spouses actual position or views, but immediately Maria was deemed to be a terrible person and crucified in a parent group. Ironically this rhetoric is led by a District employees spouse.
How can we stop the extreme outbursts and attacks, and find ways to be respectful and have constructive dialogue and ask questions not just rushed judgements and outlandish attacks.
How comfortable are you with this rhetoric and how do you assure voters that you will not support this tyrannical behavior?
Thank you, Dan, for offering your depth of skill, your insight and your time to this important campaign. I hope that the voters can see what a great opportunity this is to have a highly qualified school board member help us make this next era for D65 a successful one. You have my full support!
Thank you for this series Tom! And thanks to the candidates for taking part.
Three part question here: Do you support a full and complete & independent financial “forensic” audit of D65, going back to when the last referendum was passed—in order to get a handle on what has happened in D65 financially? And then, importantly share the findings with the community via open house two way Q&A forums? If you support, can we get your commitment to call for this at the first BOE meeting you attend as a new BOE member?
Thanks, Dan, for your interest in serving on the school board -no doubt a very public, demanding and complex job. All Evanstonians should be thankful that so many citizens are willing to take on this position.
A question I have for you:
What is the purpose of a school?
The primary purpose of a school is to create a safe communal environment for learning and provide a quality education preparing students for future success in both their personal and professional lives while also ideally helping them develop into informed and engaged citizens. Sorry for the run-on sentence.
Thank you, Dan, for your thoughtful reply. I realize it's an open ended question but it's very helpful to hear your and other board candidates' thinking on what I see as THE topic at the root of "all things" education.