Adam Bauske
Adam Bauske was a candidate for at-large representative on the Community Consolidated School District 15 school board in Illinois. Bauske was defeated in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017.
Bauske participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Five seats on the Community Consolidated School District 15 school board were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. Four seats were up for regular election and came with a four-year term. One seat was up for a special election and had a two-year term. Incumbents Peggy Babcock, Gerald Chapman, and James Ekeberg ran for re-election against challengers Lisa Beth Szczupaj, Anthony Wang, Michael Smolka, Adam Bauske, Asad "Sid" Aman, and Frank Annerino. Barbara Kain and David Border ran in the special election for the seat with the two-year term.[1] Annerino, Kain, Smolka, Szczupaj, and Wang ran together as the Engage D15 slate.[2] All five members of the slate won election to the board.[3]
Results
| Community Consolidated School District 15, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Michael Smolka |
15.40% | 6,361 |
| Lisa Beth Szczupaj |
14.01% | 5,788 |
| Anthony Wang |
13.27% | 5,480 |
| Frank Annerino |
13.23% | 5,466 |
| Gerald Chapman Incumbent | 10.07% | 4,158 |
| Peggy Babcock Incumbent | 9.34% | 3,858 |
| Adam Bauske | 9.11% | 3,763 |
| James Ekeberg Incumbent | 8.17% | 3,375 |
| Asad Aman | 7.25% | 2,993 |
| Write-in votes | 0.15% | 62 |
| Total Votes | 41,304 | |
| Source: Cook County Clerk, "Consolidated Election April 4, 2017 Summary Report," accessed April 19, 2017 | ||
Funding
School board candidates in Illinois were required to file campaign finance reports if they did one or both of the following:[4]
- Accepted contributions or made disbursements in an aggregate amount of more than $5,000 during the calendar year
- Accepted contributions or made disbursements in an aggregate amount of more than $5,000 during the calendar year for communication via television, radio, or internet in support of or in opposition to a candidate, political party, or public policy
The first campaign finance deadline was February 27, 2017, and the second campaign finance deadline was April 3, 2017.[5]
Bauske reported no contributions or expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections in the election.[6]
Endorsements
Bauske was endorsed by the Daily Herald, the organization Progress for D15 and D211, and the local teachers' union.[7][8][9]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Adam Bauske participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[10] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on March 25, 2017:
| “ | My main priority is to provide the option of full day Kindergarten. In order to accomplish this I will listen and reflect the concerns of our community and work with fellow Board members to improve our schools. I will encourage the proposal of new initiatives to improve the education of our children. Although budgets and finances seem to get tougher each year, I believe together we can find creative solutions to address those challenges while maintaining the superior quality of education we have come to expect. In our community we value a top-notch education and we are able to provide that to our students; however, I am committed to continued improvements and to taking our educational system to an even higher level.[11][12] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Illinois. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | During my 4 year term I hope close the achievement gap by putting a plan in place to provide our district the option of full day kindergarten. Currently 80% of kindergarten classes in Illinois are full day programs and research has shown a trend that students attending full day kindergarten achieve higher classroom grades and test scores. The research has also shown that students attending full day programs, compared to those attending half day programs, gained literacy faster and achieved higher reading achievement into the later elementary grades. To address all issues, I will listen to our community, so that the diversity of our area is represented when making educational decisions. I want to make sure all of the children in our community have access to the highest level of education now, and in the future.[12] | ” |
| —Adam Bauske (March 25, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. As teachers relate to the success of the classroom as stated in previous question, if you reward teachers for this success it will benefit students and district. However the metrics for achievement needs to be reviewed outside of test scores and take into consideration of improvement. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I support public schools and our community. If the state gave vouchers to private schools it would not decrease education costs. Instead, tax money that would ordinarily go to public schools now pays for vouchers, thus harming public schools. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| It should be evaluated on a case by case basis |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
See also
- Community Consolidated School District 15, Illinois
- Community Consolidated School District 15 elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "Candidate filing for April 4, 2017 consolidated election," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Palatine Patch, "Are Political Party Endorsements A Bad Idea For D15 School Board Candidates?" February 10, 2017
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "April 04, 2017 Consolidated General Election Search for Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed January 5, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar 2017," accessed January 5, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Endorsement: Let District 15 begin again with a fresh non-slate," March 5, 2017
- ↑ Progress for D15 D211, "Progress for D15 D211 Sample Ballot," accessed March 24, 2017
- ↑ Northwest Suburban Education Coalition, "School Board Candidate Endorsements," accessed March 29, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Adam Bauske's responses," March 25, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
