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VOTERS GUIDE; ELECTION 2006; BURLINGTON: SCHOOL BOARD; Board- Superintendent Ties Under Scrutiny; Candidate Raises Questions About Connections; Others Say Relationships Aren't a Problem

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 03:03 CDT

By ALICE L. CHANG

Burlington Are relationships too cozy between board members, candidates and the district's superintendent in Burlington? That's an issue that has arisen in the board race.

Four people are running in the April 4 general election for two board positions.

Candidate Mike Libbey's wife is the principal of Waller Elementary School in Burlington.

Another candidate, Randy Smith, resigned last month from his position as dean of Gateway Technical College's Burlington campus. Superintendent Ron Jandura sits on the Gateway board. Jandura's term expires this year, but he is seeking reappointment.

Susan Kessler, who's running for the Burlington Area School Board, said Smith's relationship before he resigned from Gateway was too close to Jandura.

Kessler no longer feels that way, but she has a different question now: "If (Smith) wants to stay in the vocational tech field, is he going to be in our area? (Outside of Gateway) there are not a lot of vocational tech jobs."

Smith would not comment on where he's seeking work.

Before he resigned, Smith said he held a low-level job at Gateway and had little contact with the college's board.

Kessler said Libbey and board members are too connected to Jandura.

"Everyone's buddy-buddy," she said. "Nobody questions anything or discusses anything. I want to bring some fresh perspective to issues."

Libbey said he would recuse himself from voting on anything that would involve his wife.

When asked if he feared his wife would face repercussions if he voted against the superintendent's wishes, Libbey said, "We'd have to take that chance."

Incumbent John Anderson said he is not concerned with Jandura's relationships with board candidates.

"I don't think Jandura would force or intimidate anyone from doing anything," he said.

Board members weighed in on other issues.

Anderson, 61, who has served on the board since 1999, said he hopes to keep the district at the status quo because he's pleased with the district's performance.

"I think I'm one of those people who caused that to happen," Anderson, a dentist, said.

He said taxes have increased only slightly over the past four years, and that compared with other area districts, Burlington has the highest ratio of spending on classroom costs compared with operational costs.

Kessler, 55, wife of board member John Kessler, whose term ends soon, said the board needs to represent the community.

"Half of the community are women, and there are no women on the board," she said.

Kessler, who's been a teacher for more than 30 years, said she wants to see Jandura receive a proper evaluation rather than the "token" one he received last year.

Jandura was formally evaluated for the first time in eight years since his hiring after John Kessler raised the issue.

State law calls for superintendents to be evaluated the first year of their tenure and every three years thereafter.

Libbey, 47, said he would like the district to maintain its excellence.

He said previous discussions about Jandura's evaluation distracted the board from concentrating on education.

He said he works well with team members, and the board needs to act as a team.

"We definitely had individuals in the past few years who distracted from the board mentality," Libbey said.

He said he would put money in classrooms and make sure the district doesn't lose focus on standardized test scores.

Smith, 38, said his primary goals are to keep the district moving in a positive direction, support teachers and control spending.

"I'm not for any additional (spending) referendum or taxes," he said.

Smith said he would make every decision from a classroom perspective, taking into account the needs of teachers and students.

Smith said his 10-year-plus career in education prepared him for the role.

John C. Anderson (inc.)

Age: 61

Address; time in district:

6543 Brever Road; since 1996

Occupation: Dentist

Education: Loyola University, 1968; certificate in periodontics, University of Illinois, 1975

Elective offices; other government experience: Lake Villa planning committee, Lake Villa City Council; Burlington Area School Board member since 1999; Burlington planning and zoning committee

Family: Married, two stepchildren

Susan Kessler

Age: 55

Address; time in district: 8435 McHenry St.; since 1985

Occupation: Teacher for deaf and hearing-impaired students in Chicago Public Schools

Education: Southern Illinois University, 1973; master's degree in deaf education, University of Illinois

Elective offices; other government experience: Defeated in race for Burlington Area School Board, 2005

Family: Married; four children

Mike Libbey

Age: 47

Address; time in district: 2905 Knollcrest Drive; since 1996

Occupation: Sales engineer

Education: University of Northern Iowa, 1983

Elective offices; other government experience: None

Family: Married, three children

Randy Smith

Age: 38

Address; time in district: 30808 Wild Goose Lane; since 2002

Occupation: Recently resigned as dean of Burlington campus of Gateway Technical College

Education: Montana State University, 1992; University of Maryland; PhD educational leadership, 2005, Touro University

Elective offices; other government experience: Ran for Burlington Town Board, 2006

Family: Married, two daughters

Copyright 2006, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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