Gina Faso: Candidate For Arlington Heights SD 25

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Ahead of the April 6 consolidated municipal elections, Arlington Heights Patch provided questionnaires to all candidates on the ballot.

Eight candidates are vying for four seats on the Arlington Heights School District 25 Board of Education on Election Day. They include three incumbents (Gina Faso, Richard Olejniczak and Anisha Patel) and five challengers (Melisa Andrews, Katie Rausch, Gregory Scapillato, Deborah Tranter and Todd Witherow).

Arlington Heights Patch is publishing all responses submitted by candidates verbatim.

Gina Faso

Age (as of election day)

50

Town/city of residence

Mount Prospect

School district

25

Family

My husband Steve and I have two children currently attending Dryden Jason 11, Jenna 6

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? This includes any relatives who work in the government you're running for.

No

Education

BA – University of Illinois Urbana Champaign MBA, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, Certified Professional of Category Management, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Change Management Practitioner

Occupation

ACCO Brands 20 year employee holding multiple leadership positions in various departments. Currently Vice President of Global IT Governance

Campaign website

http://ArlingtonHeightsForward...

Previous or current elected or appointed office

Appointed to office

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Quality instruction and student achievement. We need to quickly evaluate our current practices and policies to gain understanding so we can address all academic achievement gaps that are a result of the pandemic. I will listen to our community's voices to be sure that the community's needs are addressed. I will rely on our superintendent, administration, and teachers to implement solutions. As part of this, I would like to see our school district implement programs and initiatives in a fiscally responsible way.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

While others stepped down from their roles during a divisive time, I willingly stepped into the role, ready to address our district's parents' most pressing concerns head-on. I have been in a leadership role in global governance for my company for the past five years and understand policy and accountability-driven goals. You are what you measure, and to deliver accountability, you must-have metrics and measure our key performance indicators. Data will offer us insights to both understand challenges and drive improvement efforts. I have two children in the district, and I am motivated to improve all students' results. Finally, I am a good listener and recognize that my role is first and foremost to represent the community's voice for which I serve, independent of my personal opinion or the level of controversy surrounding the topic.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community or district?

I am not a challenger. I am currently on the board, not via an election by the people but rather based on my qualifications, experience, and political neutrality. I submitted my resume to a candidate pool for consideration, was interviewed and chosen by the board.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

High expectations for student achievement and quality instruction

Achievement Gaps - We need, in our schools, the ability to create a path to success for every student at each school. We have plenty of information from testing results to understand where potential and real gaps exist, and moving forward; we need to set the expectation of correct actions. I would like to see more accommodation opportunities for our students with diverse learning capacities by immersive accommodation structures in EVERY school. I want to advocate creative problem solving to support these learners without excessive spending, such as increased subject-level testing so students may participate in already existing classes that will accommodate their needs. I would like to see us find a path to "yes" and build our creative and innovative solutions to both our challenges and our opportunities.

Full Day Kindergarten - Research shows clear evidence that younger childrens' access to early education leads to an enhanced ability to read and cognitively benefit from that strong foundation. Teachers would have the ability to identify student growth opportunities earlier with the extra time allowing early intervention to help overcome any set-backs through full-time instruction. All students would also benefit from a smoother transition to first grade as they will have already acclimated to the daily routine and rhythm of the day, so they are better equipped to handle the additional hours of instruction that will occur at this level.

Collaborative Community Involvement - I will be clear: I am always willing to hear from community members via their preferred mode of communication. If you request a meeting with me, I will participate. If you want to chat on the phone, I'm there. Even if you would like to remain anonymous, I am open to emails and or suggestions via anonymous forms to allow all community members to share their suggestions, questions, and concerns to help better inform me. I support open and transparent communication channels between the school district and the Arlington Heights community.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My achievements in my life have built my character to pursue practical and creative solutions, complimented by my business experience, positions me well for our school board. My ability to think critically and ask thought-provoking and challenging questions about situations, something I have gained through my upbringing, education, and career. I have years of experience in fiscal responsibility and control, including developing and managing large budgets. I have successfully built and implemented growth and continuous process improvement strategies that delivered considerable savings to my company's bottom line year over year, achieved by bringing teams and people together. I have built, led, and grown teams and processes from the ground up and worked every day with an interdisciplinary team of professionals with varying viewpoints. I am a certified change management practitioner and have healthy conflict resolution strategies and constructive dialogue that delivers results. I will use those same strategic tactics while representing the community on the board of education. As a board member, I respect the need to place the district's best interests above any personal ones. As a parent, it is time to solidify our children's future.

Why should voters trust you?

My core value is integrity; this runs through my personal and professional career. Another value that drives me is to treat others with kindness, empathy, dignity, and civility. I have heartfelt compassion for others that gives me a strong desire to contribute to the community. It's time to channel my continued passion and advocacy for our children's education, our district, and our community. Giving voice to those who do not have one is what drives me.

After joining the board, I had my first meeting only a few days later and was asked - and allowed - to vote on the transitional model of reopening issue. Instead, I recused myself from the vote to learn more from the public regarding their concerns and feedback. When it came time to make a decision that has proven to be most divisive in the community - the decision to vote in favor or against reopening the schools four days a week - I relied not on my own individual opinion but rather, I consulted all sources to inform myself better. At the time, not only did at least 70% of the parents in the community indicate a desire for the choice to have their child(ren) return in-person full-time, but also, the director of the CDC himself, pediatricians at the APA, and officials with the WHO were all providing guidance that students returning to in-person schooling should be prioritized above all else given mitigation layers were in place and effective. Not content to assume such layers worked, I then further educated myself on the efforts and implementation of the mitigations I decide to vote for in person.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

If I could look back and know that I represented the kids in our district for student achievement through quality instruction. This could be measured by an increase in student achievement and reduction of any achievement gaps that have resulted in the past year as a result of the pandemic. This can only be achieved if we move forward together with support and trust to raise safe, healthy, happy, and successful children prepared for what comes next in their bright futures.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

My talent and fiscal experience can be an asset to the board as I believe School funding will continue to be challenging. I would advocate us looking at outcome-based accountability. The majority of our district funding comes from our property taxes, which are then only supplemented by state funding. Outcome-based accountability would serve as a check on spending and help ensure we prioritize educational opportunities that raise student achievement. Student achievement and outcomes are measured because they matter. An excellent way to measure school finance is to have the assurance that money supports the resources, programs, and services that all students need. We can use these outcomes to evaluate our return on investment to ensure we provide all students with a high-quality education.

Do you support Black Lives Matter and what are your thoughts on the demonstrations held since the death of George Floyd and the shooting of Jacob Blake?

Yes, and peaceful demonstrations are signs that inspire hope. It is disappointing that it has taken the loss of life to open up the discussion in a very public way to what racism looks like within our communities, workplaces, and day-to-day lives.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

So long as racial inequality exists, we are not done. We all must work together actively on overcoming racism, not just during events that cause crises. From a school board perspective, support could include review and revision to policies that might not be as inclusive in thought as they could be, additional curriculum could be reviewed to ensure that what we teach brings forth the truth about diversity and the desired outcome of inclusion. We have opened the door with policy 1:32 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Operational specifics on how to mobilize this with plans, curriculum, and activities would be best served by the superintendent, administration, and staff as they are the ones in the position to take educational actions.

What are your thoughts on the district’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic? Are you in favor of remote learning, in-person learning or a hybrid of the two? Do you support a mask mandate for students and school staff, or mandatory coronavirus testing for both students and staff

During the initial shutdown, our communications' responsiveness and reliability from the district with parents, students, teachers, and the staff was timely to information available, clear, open that things were continuously developing. The district was able to pivot quickly and effectively to providing remote learning tools and accessibility to our students. Teachers and staff worked relentlessly despite Illinois standards continually being revised. The district has offered our families choices for in-person and remote learning. Teachers and staff work to maintain healthy environments across both mediums to deliver instruction.

Opportunities for improvement always exist. The initial shutdown impact did not afford that all students' needs could be met – including the most vulnerable – to learn and grow at home. There was a lack of consistency in delivering the educational services across the schools in our district. For example, the teacher's zoom time with students was different across the schools. Planning for return to school could have been more robust and proactive.

Moving forward, I support our community's right to choose how they would like to have their children educated, be it home school, remote, or in person. Revisiting how we support our families that choose remote learning and the impact of having one teacher continue to split her teaching methods should be evaluated. There may be an increase in both the effectiveness and efficiency of having a separate teacher for remote learners. This could increase educational benefit to those students with a dedicated teacher who did not have to split his/her focus across two teaching mediums. Teachers, likewise, could benefit from only having to plan, teach and engage with students in one format.

Regarding mandatory testing or masks, I believe in science. Our mitigation strategies should continue to follow IDPH and CDC guidelines.

When the vaccine is available to them, do you support mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for students and staff?

I support that we need to provide our students and staff the ability to have the vaccine readily available to them with minimal inconvenience. But similar to other vaccines and the impact that they could have on unknown or known underlying health issues, I support the individual choice to have the vaccine based on what is best for them and their life situation.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No

The best advice ever shared with me was ____________

If you’re being your authentic self, you have no competition. – Scott Stratten, President of Un-Marketing

Three things you cannot recover in life: the word after it’s said, the moment after it’s missed, and the time after it’s gone. - Unknown