Meet D70 School Board Candidate Travis McGhee

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — School boards across the Chicago area needed to make many tough decisions this past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. And during this year's local election, there are many packed school board races featuring candidates with differing opinions on remote learning, in-person models and how teaching should've been handled this past year.

The Libertyville Elementary District 70 school board race includes several candidates who've pushed for a return to in-person learning. Like many school districts, D70 spent most of the year learning remotely.

There are nine people running for five open seats on the school board. Seven of the candidates are seeking four open seats for a four-year term on the board of education while two candidates are vying for a single two-year term.

Patch.com reached out to the candidates running for the school board race, requesting they complete a candidate survey. Here are the responses for Travis McGhee who is among seven candidates running for four open four-year seats on the school board:

Age (as of election day): 39

Town/city of residence:

Libertyville

School district:

D70

Family -Names, ages and any pertinent details you wish to share:

Spouse Elizabeth (LHS ‘00), Jackson (6yo Butterfield), Vivian (5yo) and Olivia (3yo)

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:

Grayslake Central High ‘99, Lake Forest College B.A. English, NYU M.S. Management

Occupation - Please include years of experience.

Chief Commercial Officer IG North America (17 years experience)

Campaign website: Www.parentsdeliveringleadershi...

Previous or current elected or appointed office:

Park City, Utah Board of Adjustment, Green Oaks Board of Appeals

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

D70’s declining status as the “gold standard” for Illinois school districts. For 20+ years running D70 set the bar high for other districts. Key to this was the district’s ability in maintaining a vibrant balance sheet which secured them a 3.97 average ISBE financial rating out of 4.0 (the highest level) from 2006-2014. Over the last 6 years we have seen our financial average dip to 3.69. Last year, 2020, we were rated a 3.65. To provide some context around the decline, we are a $39m revenue district with $41 mil in expenses as of 2020 budgets. A $2m gap. We already have a number of spending freezes in place to mitigate the need to unnecessarily dip into reserves, which surfaces the fact the current Board knows there is “bleeding”. So when you ask the question “what is the single most pressing issue facing the board”, its what does the district do to navigate the financial uncertainty COVID is presenting, and how do we protect our status/tax payer dollars coming out of this crisis? Not once over the past 12 months (and I have been present at every board meeting) has the taxpayer dollar and/or the financial impact to the district been discussed. In fact, we are instead spending an immense amount of time and effort exploring the use of Asymptomatic testing with a return to full day in-person school, which if used for an entire school year will come with a 7 figure price tag. Where will this money come from and what are we sacrificing in return? New technology? New full time interventionists? Advances in our Steam programs? With every dollar we spend toward COVID mitigations there needs to be a cost/benefit analysis, because the fact of the matter is with every dollar we spend (COVID related or not) we are already spending more than we bring in. This needs to be made transparent with the taxpayer as it is real money, not a game of monopoly.

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

I’ve spent over 17 years working in finance, most of that time spent owning/growing/operating small businesses that were eventually sold into much larger organizations. I’ve been on both sides of the table both as a CEO and as a board member, understanding the unique challenges that each role presents, as well as the expectations. While D70 is a school district, the board and administration operate no differently than any other business. They have a workforce, balance sheet, stakeholders, agreements, etc just like any other industry. In my opinion the notion that to serve on a school board you “must have a background in education” is absurd. That’s no different than saying the board of Apple must all have software backgrounds. The fact of the matter is you need diversity. You need a collective group of people who bring to the table different strengths. In a district where over 70% of our tax dollars go to public schools, I can promise my strength will be in representing the taxpayer.