Tony Serratore

Name

Tony Serratore

Position Sought

District 230 School Board Member

Campaign Contact Information

Website: www.230united.com

Email: 230united@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/230Unoted/452342661486670

Home Town

Tinley Park 

Family members

Wife: Carol Serratore, 53

Son: Mark Serratore, 24

Son: Thomas Serratore, 21

Education

Brother Rice High School, 1972

St. Mary’s University, Winona, MN, 1976—BA-Business/Accounting

DePaul University,1985—MBA-Business Administration

Current Occupation and Employer

Co.Controller at Beverly Bank & Trust 

Political Party Affiliation

Nonpartisan

Why are you seeking office?

My sons received an outstanding education from Andrew High School; both in the classroom and outside the classroom. They were very active and participated in various activities including band, theatre, soccer and football.  With the continued financial crisis that faces both the country and in particular our state there are concerns as to the impact this crisis will have on our schools. I am running to ensure that the students that attend all three schools in our district now and in the future will be able to continue to receive the same quality education that my sons received. I want to make sure that we are innovative and willing to find ways not to cut programs or lose quality teachers. I also want to make sure that the solution to these problems is not always raising taxes.

What is the most challenging issue facing the district?

The most challenging issue facing the district is how to continue to balance the budget in the face of lower state reimbursement and the possible requirement that the district fund the pension plan. Both the continued state financial crisis and lower student enrollment are lowering the amount of reimbursement the district receives from the state. This reimbursement represents about 13 percent of the district’s annual budgeted revenue. While there are no easy answers to these it is encouraging that the district finance department understands these issues and is looking into ways to deal with this problem. The bonds that were issued two years ago at extremely low interest rates is just one way the district is attempting to stay ahead of this problem.

What past experience in your life, whether work or otherwise, would you say qualifies you well to serve on this board, and how?

I have been a member of the District Building and Finance Committee for the past 5 years. During this time I have learned how difficult it is to operate a district of this size. I have seen and participated in the process of taking a project from a request to final implementation. The turf project took a number of years of discussion before everyone was comfortable with the cost, the timing and the vendor, in addition to ensuring that the funds were available and the project was cost efficient. 

I have been a Bank Controller for the past 15 years and understand the budgeting process as well as how to make the tough decisions when the budget doesn’t balance.

Have you ever been charged with a crime or lost a lawsuit?

No, I have never been charged with a crime or lost a lawsuit.

Where do you stand on common core standards? What can schools do to get ready?

I agree that the state standards needed to be upgraded from levels established in 1997. I also agree with semi annual assessments so that the schools can determine their success in meeting the established goals. The District is taking a step forward in this process by proposing to start the school day a half hour earlier so that all students will have access to common plan. Many students are not currently able to participate in common plan due to their schedules and reliance on the bus to get to and from school. As a result many students who need extra help are not able to get it. Having common plan during the day when all students are present will enable everyone to get the help they need. 

Each school will be required to develop their own plan to ensure each student meets the benchmarks. Our district is in control of this process and it is up to the Board to ensure that the district establishes and implements  policies and programs and makes appropriate changes to the current curriculum so that every student meets these benchmarks by 2015. The early starting time is one of the ways District 230 is getting ready. 

Revenue from the state are drying up. Rank in order of importance: ... Explain your reasoning.

In order to resolve any potential revenue crisis I believe the first thing we should do is look for other funding sources (this does not include raising taxes).  I would recommend that we consider leasing the vacant land that the District owns. This should generate significant amounts of current revenue and designing the lease appropriately would provide the District the opportunity to sell the land in the future if the necessary. 

Secondly, I would look at ways to cut operating expenses. The District has been involved in cost saving measures for a number of years which has lowered our utility bills. Examples are the new lighting systems in the main gyms at all three schools and the window project that will be completed this summer. We need to look at other ways to cut costs in the operation of our buildings. 

Contract renegotiations are a very difficult issue. We have outstanding teachers in the district and they keep our schools strong. The current teacher contract is currently being negotiated and I am sure that all parties are aware of the current financial situation.

My last resort would be staff cuts. I would be very much against this unless there were no other options. Not only do staff cuts adversely affect the teacher(s) losing their job(s), but they also impact the students who rely on the program(s) being cut.

What are your thoughts on recent redistricting? Should students be able to go where their families originally planned or does the need to balance school population come first, and why?

While I understand that parents may have a preference in the school that their child attends it is important that they understand that all three of our high school are quality schools and all are highly ranked educationally in the state.  The issue of redistricting is about ensuring that all three of our schools are able to continue to offer the same educational and extra-curricular activities that are currently available to the students. Current enrollment projections show a sharp decline in the Andrew enrollment. This decline will require significant cuts in programs due to the lack of student participants. In addition, the cost per student at Andrew will significantly increase as many of the fixed costs will remain the same while the student population decreases. Redistricting will enable Andrew to continue to maintain its current program offerings and help relieve some of the over-crowding at Sandburg.

What are your thoughts on students using smart phones during the school day, but not during class? Why are you for or against it?

The District is implementing a very progressive technology program which includes the use of smart phones by students. This program will ensure that our students have the technology they need to be effective in today’s world. At this time, however, there is no way to ensure that use of the phones during class would be for educational purposes only. Class disruption as well as lack of student attention and participation would be inevitable if the phones were allowed to be used in the classroom. In addition, not every student has a smart phone.  Students with a phone would have an unfair advantage to the students who do not have these phones. 

I am in favor of the current policy. Once all facets of the technology program are initiated this issue should not be an issue.

What can school and school districts do to increase safety?

Currently, two of our three high schools have a full time police officer assigned to the school during the entire school day. We need to make sure that the third school also gets a police officer. The schools have added a number of new security cameras and added better lighting to the entrances. We need to work with the local police departments to review our security plans. This review should be done on an annual basis. We should also do an annual review at the end of every school year to evaluate how the programs worked and what changes are necessary. 

Students should be encouraged to notify appropriate school officials when they become aware of any information regarding a threat against a student or the school. School officials need to receive training in how to handle potential safety issues.

Other information pertinent to campaign

Our District schools are strong academically, but we can do better. We currently have a balanced budget, but a number of issues threaten the budget. The taxpayers, many on fixed incomes, see their tax bills continue to rise and cannot continue to afford to pay them. Strong schools are what brought many of us to this area. A strong community results from strong schools. 

Melissa Gracias, Sue Dalton and I are running together to keep our schools strong. While we each represent one school in the district and different communities we are united in ensuring that all of our schools continue to provide the best educational and extra-curricular opportunities to all of our students. We are united to ensure that our communities will continue to be proud of our schools.