Lafata: The Duneland School Corporation’s administration has done a great job. Only a few school corporations have received four 4-Star schools. My daughter has everything she needs to be successful in her school. With the change to state funding there have been many challenges and the Duneland School Corporation’s administration has done whatever it takes to keep the Duneland Schools some of the best in the state.

Marshall: As pertains to the financial management of the school system during the recent funding crisis, our board has done a fine job. We were more prepared for this shortfall than any school system around, after previously making many reductions in expenses without harming programs and education. There’s always room for improvement, with state test scores and individual school ratings being two areas we should focus on. But generally our administration has done a fine job.

Vondrasek: The football field: not managed very well, pushed too fast.

The referendum: agreeing to a bonus when we spent $50,000 or more was not very cost efficient.

Building a high school in the middle of a swamp: priceless.

The board meets for one hour per month and they are not keeping their eye on the ball. They are too dependent on the superintendents and don’t stop by to see how the operation is working.

Barkow: Members of the school board must be approachable. You can contact me at BarkowOnBoard@gmail.com I am promising to “Listen, question, and respond.” I do support a public-comment item on the School Board’s meeting agenda. Yes, sometimes some person may take advantage of that to rant, but there may be germs of truth that should be heard. We are representing all the community.

Lafata: Yes, I support public comments at board meetings. Not only does the public have concerns the board needs to hear, they will have several good ideas for the board to consider. To encourage interaction, I would like to set up a website so the public can view the meetings at home. I understand how being able to view the meetings while getting a child ready for bed would be a great opportunity to stay connected.

Marshall: As a past member I remember sitting at school board meetings and seeing maybe three or four people in the audience on most nights, which was discouraging. Encouraging parents to get more involved in parent/teacher organizations and providing an inviting atmosphere for parents and taxpayers to attend board meetings would be beneficial. I would support a public-comment item on the agenda with questions limited to that evening's business and addressed by the superintendent.

Vondrasek: The community should feel the School Board listens to their ideas. And acts on them. The meeting is the people’s meeting; all have a right to be heard. We may have to change a few bylaws but I can see giving the public a 10 to 20 minute block, for any person to have a say on that day as long as they also understand they may not get an immediate answer.

Barkow: I believe that taxpayers should know how their money is being spent. Closed doors invite abuse of trust.

Lafata: The use of the referendum money needs to be transparent. We have been given a gift from the Duneland community, they voted to increase their taxes for the good of the local schools. We owe it to them to show that this money was needed and well spent. The Citizen Review Committee meetings should be open to the public and should be viewable online for the community members that cannot get away during the meetings.

Marshall: The current administration has always been transparent during the budget process in late summer and fall. The board’s budget meetings are open to the public and there is currently a public-comment portion during the process that few take advantage of. I would want the committee meetings to be as productive as possible. The public should feel free to communicate directly with individual committee members without having to attend meetings away from family.

Vondrasek: I would place a huge spot light on the budget. I don't just want a few people to go over the spending of the new tax. I would like everyone to go over it. I will insist that the Citizen Review Committee be open at any point in time. This way everyone will feel they can have some input into the taxes and keep a eye on their taxes as they go though spending process.

Lafata: While I never like to see staff positions ended or unfilled, I do believe the School Board did the right thing after the state’s funding change. Duneland receives $4,971 per student; this is under the state average of $5,664. Being able to maintain our students’ level of education, while being in the bottom half of the per-student funding, shows the Duneland School Board has made the difficult decisions they needed to make.

Marshall: The cuts since 2008 have mostly gone unnoticed by the community and were made without affecting education. Necessary cuts to operational expenses, staff, and benefits protected core education and only after these moves were exhausted did the referendum become the only choice left to protect jobs and programs. The system got as lean as possible across the board without drastically affecting classrooms. I approved those budget cuts, which is not to say I liked them.

Vondrasek: Cutting teaching staff is not how we do it, we don't trim a tree at the roots, and I think more administration positions were saved under the good old boy act.

Although the board has cut their pay, as I have heard, I want the board to do what I'm going to do and not take pay or insurance. Do we pay insurance to a part-time worker?

Lafata: Yes. In the last two years the Duneland School Corporation has abolished 35 positions. Seventeen of them have been teachers. That leads to larger class sizes, less one-on-one attention for the students, and less individual help for students. There is nothing more important than teachers. As for the programs each one needs to be evaluated on how it benefits the students involved. Many of the programs are needed to create well-rounded students.

Marshall: We heard during the referendum process that the General Fund—88 percent of which goes to salaries, benefits, and programs—was hit the hardest and that if the referendum didn’t pass, staff, benefits, and programs would be lost. So in my thinking, 88 percent of the referendum funds should go to restore eliminated positions and programs. The Duneland Difference, bottom line, is about quality education and those professionals lucky enough to be part of the process.

Vondrasek: Yes, I did not want to see anyone laid off, the positions that were lost in the previous cut should be the first back, along with the programs. Then I would like to see us hire veterans to the roles of teacher and coach.