Election 2013: Fred A. Dresser, Geneva School Board

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FRED A. DRESSER — GENEVA SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE
(8 candidates, four seats)

Name: Fred A. Dresser    

Position Sought: Board member for Geneva Community Unit School District 304

Campaign Contact Information: dresserf@yahoo.com; 630-845-0405

Family Members: Married to Deanne for 42 years. Two grown children, David and Amy.

Education: A.A. Degree – Marketing 1974, Macomb County Community College, Warren, MI

Current Occupation and Employer: Retired from the auto and truck industry after 40-plus years. Currently own a consulting company focusing on auto and truck dealers.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

Review of budgets to determine where changes can be made without sacrificing educational integrity or placing additional burden on the taxpayer.

Why Are You Seeking Office?     

To ensure that the tradition of providing a quality education to the children in the Geneva School District continues. Review new educational programs that would benefit the children in the district.
  
What sets you apart from the other candidates?   

Having worked in the automotive industry for 40-plus years and being transferred across the country, you gain a keen insight on what it takes to work with individuals from all walks of life. You realize that it takes cooperation and agreement from many individuals to build a team that focuses on common goals.
    
What is your top accomplishment of the past four years?     

Prior to retirement I was assigned to improve dealer automotive sales in the Chicago market. By working closely with the dealers, we were able to double sales in the Chicago market.
  
Describe your leadership style and how it will apply to your term in office.

A school district is no different (than the auto industry.) You have administrators, teachers, support staff and a board. Four different groups all striving to provide a quality education to those that they serve. Having been involved with school districts in Michigan, Texas, California and Illinois, I found that regardless of the school district that our children attended, the focus was always the same: How do we provide a positive educational environment for the children?

What do you think are the top three challenges facing School District 304 today?   

Current school district debt; how to provide the assistance needed in working with children that have social-economic issues; implementation of new standards and curriculum.
    
If elected, how would you address those top three challenges?    

Review outstanding debt issue with qualified financial professionals to determine if the debt can be restructured without placing a burden on the taxpayer. 

Determine the best use of school psychologists and counselors to address the social-economic issues that children may have. This may require the addition of staff.

Conference with the “front Line” educators … the teachers and school administrators to determine if sufficient time is allotted to ensure that new standards and curriculum are able to be implemented correctly.

      
Issue 1: What will you do to address School District 304 debt?        

Review outstanding debt issue with qualified financial professionals to determine if the debt can be restructured without placing additional burden on the taxpayer.

Issue 2: What will you do to hold the line on property tax increases?        
Review expenditures and determine where budget changes or reductions in spending can be made without compromising the educational integrity of the district.

Issue 3: How would you approach collective bargaining in the next teachers union negotiations?

This would depend on the state of the economy at that point in time.

Issue 4: Outline what you think should be done with the Coultrap property during the next four years. Please be specific.

The Coultrap property holds a special place in the memories of many Geneva residents. What to do with the property should be discussed with the community prior to any modifications or work being started. One option that has been discussed is turning the property into a green space for residents to enjoy. Should the high school require additional space in the future, the Coultrap property should be developed in a way to keep the memories alive. Ideas provided by interested parties include bricks from the Coultrap facility, as well as the cornerstone, to be incorporated in the construction of the high school expansion should be given serious consideration. A monument could also be placed on the site. The monument would reflect what this facility meant to so many Geneva residents.
       
Issue 5: What do you think should be done with the Fourth Street property during the next four years? Please be specific.  

As with the Coultrap facility, a study would need to be done to determine 1) what costs will be required to maintain the facility on a yearly basis; 2) is the property marketable in its current state, should the decision be made to sell the property? Input from the community should be solicited prior to any decisions being made. (Editor's note: This questionnaire was filled out prior to the vote to demolish Coultrap.)
     
Issue 6: What would you do to address the issue of enrollment bubbles in School District 304?

This is like trying to predict the weather! Residents move out for various reasons. Did these residents have children in the district? Residents move in and do these residents have any children of school age? How many children would be added to the district rolls should housing development increase?
  
Issue 7: Is School District 304 as transparent as it should be? Why or why not?

The district along with the board has been as transparent as they can possibly be. The district has held open forum meetings on various topics throughout the year to solicit input from the community. Attendance at these meetings has been fair. The same can be said for the regular board meetings. Catching the meetings on television or reading about the meetings in the paper is not the same as actually being there. As a taxpayer, your comments, concerns and ideas cannot be as well expressed through a television screen or a newspaper editorial!
      
Issue 8: What do you think of the so-called "Enrollmentgate" issue? Should it be further investigated?        

This issue, much like the hanging chads, is now history and as we all know you can’t change history. The 2007 referendum was passed based on future district growth forecasts. No one could have foreseen what was coming in the first quarter of 2008. Schools were built to handle an influx of children that never materialized. While the new schools are not at capacity, should the housing developments forecast back in 2007 come to be, the district is well prepared to handle the increase in student enrollments.

Issue 9: What do you think of the TaxFACTS citizens group? Has it been a help or hindrance to progress?  

The Tax FACTS organization brought to the surface how the district conducts its business with taxpayer dollars. It simplified to the taxpayers where their tax dollars go and provided the taxpayer the opportunity to voice their opinions to the School District as to how the dollars should be spent.
     
Issue 10: How would you rate the performance of District 304 Superintendent Kent Mutchler?       

I would have to say that over the past few years, Superintendent Mutchler has had a good grasp on what it takes for a school district to succeed in the ever-changing educational environment.

Issue 11: Would you be willing to spend more money on technology in schools? Why or why not?    

Keeping up with the changing technology is important for the district. Preparing students for the jobs technology will produce in the future is vital. Once menial tasks, as in manufacturing, now require that the individual has an understanding of the technology that is required to perform those job functions. 
   
Issue 12: Do you think educators and administrators in School District 304 are appropriately compensated? Why or why not?        

In reviewing the most recent salary sheet for the district, it does appear that the educators and administrators are being compensated fairly, given the current state of the economy.

Issue 13: What does School District 304 need to do to improve academic performance?

Continue to focus on the subjects that are the foundation of basic knowledge and expand upon it. Expansion of current technology should also be part of the overall education program.

Issue 14: What are your thoughts on the Common Core curriculum and upcoming changes in ISAT evaluations?       

The Common Core Curriculum, along with changes in ISAT evaluations, is intended to bring attention to the core subjects that are the basic building blocks of knowledge. Today’s students will need a strong foundation if they are to succeed in the ever-changing job market. Today, Geneva students outperform St. Charles, Batavia, Barrington, Naperville and New Trier school districts based on AYP 2011-2012 performances in meeting reading and mathematics performance!

Issue 15: Do you think sports or extracurricular activities should be on the table as possible budget cuts?

Geneva has a long history of providing extracurricular and sports activities for the students. If these activities are cut, what options would the students have to express themselves in an area that is outside academia?

Please add any other information pertinent to your campaign.

As mentioned earlier, my career in the automotive and truck industry spanned 40-plus years. During that time I held various management and administration across the country. Some of the activities that I was involved in are as follows:

• Budget forecasting and monitoring of National Service Department and Regional office budgets for an international automotive manufacturer.
• Reduced operating expenditures without compromising corporate performance and goals.
• Involved with UAW grievance and contract issues
• Participated in arbitration hearings
• Resolved consumer issues that were fair to the parties involved
• Planned and conducted Regional and National meetings
• Liaison with corporate and outside legal counsel on matters relevant to corporate policies
• Negotiated vendor contracts

Additionally, I was recently elected to the home owner’s association board for the Villas at Fisher Farms as well as a board member for the Fisher Farms Master Association.