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Benjamin Elementary School District 25 Member of the Board of Education (full 4-year term) {_getChooseLabel(this.selections.length)}

The members of the board of education establish direction, goals, and priorities for the school district and determine policy, budget, leadership, and administration. They provide local citizen control over public education, representing the community and its aspirations for its local schools. Through written policies, the board directs and empowers the superintendent to function as chief executive officer in managing day-to-day district operations. School board members serve for a 4-year term. The board has 7 members.

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  • Candidate picture

    Andrew Drinnin
    (NON)

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    Dennis H Peterson
    (NON)

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    Eric Rogers
    (NON)

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    Donald 'Papa Don' Sutenbach
    (NON)

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    Michael Szajda
    (NON)

Biographical Information

Please tell us about yourself. Why are you running for office? What talents do you bring to the office?

What are the two most significant issues facing your community? If elected, how do you plan to address these issues?

How will you promote collegiality with your board and transparancy with the community?

Closing statement.

Campaign Mailing Address 744 Buffalo Cir
Carol Stream, IL 60188
I have lived in Carol Stream for 11 years. My wife & I have 3 kids; 2 attend Evergreen, with the third joining next year. For the past 20 months, I've served on the Benjamin District 25 School Board and I hope to stay on the board and continue the rewarding work because I feel a strong calling to support our students, teachers, staff, administrators, & community. My leadership & business-minded perspective have contributed to improvements in school facilities & providing tools for teachers to enhance their experiences with students & parents. I have made data-driven decisions to improve relationships & effectiveness. My time on the board has been successful, positively impacting the community & myself.
Our District 25 community is wonderful with many successes, but we still face challenges. We must work together to be more cohesive & aligned to get the very best out of our students, teachers, administrators, & district as a whole. By actively listening & being open-minded, we can make the best decisions for our kids & schools. Another issue is engagement; we need the community to be consistently involved with the school district to stay informed & hold everyone accountable. The school board is making strides in transparency & engagement with things like streaming meetings & post-meeting communications. We're always looking to improve, & really looking forward to continue making a positive impact and having a positive influence.
Fostering teamwork across all stakeholders is crucial to address the issues discussed earlier. We must inform the community about decisions made and items brought up in school board meetings to ensure they are educated about the district's challenges. Myself and others on the board have encouraged leadership to maintain an open dialogue and keep us informed about the Teacher's Union's sentiments, whether on a routine basis or specific topics. This will help with alignment and understanding of faculty perspectives, who are at the forefront of teaching our students. A partnership between the board, superintendent, administration, teachers, staff, and parents will positively impact our dynamic and the great things we can achieve together.
I would like to ask for your vote on April 1st to continue to serve our great community and schools in District 25 for another 4 years. We have laid the groundwork to some really great things that ultimately have our students at the heart of all decisions and would love an opportunity to continue the work and responsibility that comes with seeing this through with the other members of our School Board. Together we can really continue solidifying this community to being one of the best places to live, go to school, make friends and build a future.
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Campaign Mailing Address 710 Buffalo Cir
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Campaign Phone (630)728-4248
Campaign Email dsute2323@gmail.com
I have lived in Carol Stream and Benjamin SD 25 community for 45 years. My daughter attended Evergreen & Benjamin, and now my granddaughter is a student following in my daughter's footsteps. I am very involved in BenDist25 as a grandparent volunteer, PTA chairperson for our "Ice Cream Days" and "Hot Lunch Days" and other PTA events. I believe in service to our community. It's been my honor to have served in many volunteer positions. I have served as Carol Stream Village Trustee, Village Clerk and Plan Commissioner. For the past 2 years, I've attended every Benjamin Board of Education meeting as a community member. I am running for a seat on the BenDist25 BoE to continue to serve our wonderful school district.
The number one issue we are facing is hiring a new superintendent. Our last superintendent left in January. The current BoE hired a search firm (HYA Associates) to find prospective candidates. HYA is in the process of creating a candidate profile, gathering input from the community. The goal is to have a new superintendent in place on July 1. If elected, I will be part of the interview and selection process for the new superintendent. The second issue is to improve Board of Education transparency and accountability. Recent decisions by the current BoE have caused concern in the community. As a result, BoE meetings are now well attended. As a board member, I will make sure community concerns are heard by the BoE.
We are a small (but mighty) community school district, and as such, most of the current BoE members and BoE candidates already know one another as neighbors, friends and parents. We may not always agree on issues, but we recognize the importance of cooperation between colleagues. Our focus is Teaching and Learning. We will continue to support our teachers and staff who teach our children. Remember that our Mission Statement is "To provide each child with the best educational opportunity to become a lifelong learner, achieve the highest personal growth and be a contributing member of society." It's our responsibility to see that this is done.
I am running for the office of Member of the Board of Education of Benjamin School District 25. I am asking for your vote at the April 1 Consolidated Election. Thank you for the opportunity to serve our community!
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