Politics & Government
In Their Own Words: Here's Why You Should Vote for School Board Candidate Robert L. Cabeen
Robert Cabeen is running against Leslie N. Juby, George Jackowiec, Mary Lynn Stith, Kelly B. Nowak, and Michael T. McCormick for three open seats on the Geneva School Board.
Welcome to politics!
When I read that Geneva School District 304 was asking people to consider running for the Board, I felt like it would be a good match for me. I am retired. My kids are grown. I have been interested in education for my whole life. I've served on several boards and I have the time to do the job right.
My wife Pam is a French teacher at Geneva High School. She was a manager at Arthur Andersen's training center in St. Charles. Ten years ago, she left the center and went to Northern Illinois University where she obtained her teaching certification. She and I see the future in the kids of Geneva.
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Her career is going to be short. No tenure, no pension. For both of us, working with the schools is an act of being involved and giving back to the community.
While some candidates say there are problems on our school board, I disagree. Their complaints are all about money and they omit the careful stewardship that the board has shown. For example, the current board has trimmed $5.6 million from the school budget over the past few years. Additionally, the board has maintained an excellent rapport with employees, which has allowed some contracts to be negotiated with a 0% raise in pay.
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The board will continue to do even better work with the right people. People who know that the best way to keep our community strong and our property values up is with a rigorous academic school system which provides a quality education for our youth.
We all know times are tough. I pledge to be extremely careful with every one of our taxpayer dollars. The most important thing as I see it is not counting dollars, but knowing how the dollars spent affect the quality of the education that our children receive.
I believe the best way to keep taxes under control and to protect our property values is to have good schools in our community. I have the knowledge and the experience to make the decisions that will keep our schools sound and continue to make Geneva a community that we can be proud of.
Editor's note: Geneva Patch invited candidates in contested races for Park Board, City Council and School Board to write their own autobiographical introductions and final essays. You can read them all in the Elections 2011 tab at the top of the home page.
