Election 2013: Mark Grosso, Geneva School Board

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MARK GROSSO — GENEVA SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE
(8 candidates, four seats)

Name: Mark Grosso

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

Campaign Contact Information: 630-208-1283

Address: 7 Bridgeport Lane, Geneva

Family Members: Pamela Grosso, wife

Education: Attended University of Wisconsin

Current Occupation and Employer: Worked for Chicago Northwestern Railroad and Union Pacific Railroad for 38 years

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

Manage the district's debt while continuing to provide a quality education for our students.

Why are you seeking office?     

I would like to continue my service to the community. I feel the experience and knowledge I have gained in the last four years will help me to further my effectiveness as a member on the Board of Education.


What sets you apart from the other candidates?   

I have four years' experience on the board. I have served as president and vice president. I have also worked on a number of committees and task forces including the negotiations of most employee group contracts. The current knowledge and recent experience I have gained allow me to be an effective board member.

What is your top accomplishment of the past four years?     

Successfully achieving working agreements with all employee groups, most recently the teachers. I believe that I participated in all these negotiations in a collaborative manner. Recognizing the important role all employee groups play in the success of the school district and mindful of the economic conditions affecting our taxpayers.
  
Describe your leadership style and how it will apply to your term in office.        

I like to listen to our stakeholders whether they are a taxpayer, teacher, student, parent or someone speaking at a board meeting. I take that feedback and apply it to my decision making process. I believe we need to be fair with everyone and try to balance our decisions as they affect our entire community.

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

1. Manage our debt
2. Balance our budget while maintaining current curriculum.
3. Increase educational opportunities within the constraints of our budget.    

If elected, how would you address those top three challenges?     

1. Repurchase bonds when available and continue tax abatement.
2. Find opportunities for further cost reductions in all areas of the budget.
3. I would like to see additional technology applied to classroom learning.

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

• Repurchase bonds as they become available.
• Keep the district operating budget flat.
• Continue the practice of tax abatement. 

Issue 2: What will you do to hold the line on property tax increases?     

• Maintain the operating budget at the same level as the previous year.
• Find additional opportunities to reduce expenses.
• Continue tax abatements.

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

I would maintain an awareness of economic conditions, taxpayer burden and community sentiment. Continue to keep the lines of communications ongoing with our teachers.

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

Now that the decision has been made to raze the building, I would like to see the property maintained as green space until such time as the property may be needed for expansion of Geneva High School.
       
Issue 5: What do you think should be done with the Fourth Street property during the next four years? Please be specific.  

Unless there is a cost effective opportunity to relocate the administration, I would keep them at Fourth St. Many factors weigh into this type of decision such as the cost of relocation and property values. Fourth St. houses all of the telecom, data servers and network devices. Just the cost to move this equipment could be $300K to $500K.

Issue 6: What would you do to address the issue of enrollment bubbles in School District 304?

We need to continuously monitor enrollment and population trends.
Balance enrollment levels at each building when possible. However, enrollment bubbles are always possible and would need to be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Issue 7: Is School District 304 as transparent as it should be? Why or why not?

I think District 304 is very transparent. Meetings are available on channel 10 as well as on the web. The Finance and Policy committees hold public meetings. The District website has a wide variety of information. As board president I have consistently made myself available to residents and value face-to-face meetings with our community members.
      
Issue 8: What do you think of the so-called "Enrollmentgate" issue? Should it be further investigated?        

I investigated the allegations made regarding this issue. I found that many of the individuals associated with that referendum process were no longer with the district.

I did review all of the meeting minutes available, interviewed current and past board members and district officials. I determined and stated publicly that I could find very little information in addition to what already existed on record.

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

I think TaxFACTS has raised the community awareness regarding government spending.
     
Issue 10: How would you rate the performance of District 304 Superintendent Kent Mutchler?       

Dr. Mutchler is the only district employee that reports directly to the board. His goals and directives are set by the board. I think he has done a good job, for example, in improving our academic performance. I have developed a good working relationship with Dr. Mutchler.

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

Yes. District 304 has received many awards, accolades, and high rankings. I would like to see more technology applied to the classroom to complement the performance of our students and staff.

Issue 12: Do you think educators and administrators in School District 304 are appropriately compensated? Why or why not?        

Yes.

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

We need to build on the successes we have achieved. I believe additional technology in the classroom would help both students and staff. I would like to see an expansion of the one to one pilot program we currently have.


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

I support the common core standards as they set consistent goals and expectations to provide students with the knowledge and skills to be successful no matter where they attend school.

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

I believe that ALL areas of the budget should be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Please add any other information pertinent to your campaign.

No response.