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Charles Cush
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
2025
Charles Cush is an at-large representative on the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 school board in Illinois. Cush was initially appointed to the position in 2016. He won a new term in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017.
Cush participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Five seats on the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board of Education were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. Four seats were up for regular election, and a fifth seat for a two-year, unexpired term also appeared on the ballot. Incumbents Kristin Fitzgerald, Donna Wandke, and Charles Cush and newcomer Paul Leong defeated candidate Shirley DeCorte for the four seats up for regular election. Kristine Gericke defeated Robert Fieseler Sr. in the special election.[1]
Results
| Naperville Community Unit School District 203, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kristin Fitzgerald Incumbent |
25.62% | 7,035 |
| Donna Wandke Incumbent |
22.26% | 6,113 |
| Charles Cush Incumbent |
18.49% | 5,077 |
| Paul Leong |
17.68% | 4,854 |
| Shirley DeCorte | 15.94% | 4,378 |
| Total Votes | 27,457 | |
| Source: DuPage County, Illinois, "Election Summary Report," accessed May 1, 2017 | ||
Funding
School board candidates in Illinois were required to file campaign finance reports if they did one or both of the following:[2]
- 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.[3]
Cush reported no contributions or expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections in the election.[4]
Endorsements
Cush was endorsed by the local teachers union and the Daily Herald.[5][6]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Charles Cush participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[7] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on March 29, 2017:
| “ | I see 3 key issues that, if elected, I will be very focused on in the next four years: 1. Closing achievement gaps- As a district we do very well on average in terms of test scores and performance metrics for our students. However, there is still work to be done to make sure that we are closing achievement gaps within sub-segments of the population. I think this is a leading indicator of our effectiveness as a district, and that it warrants our attention, as the performance of our schools impacts every member of the community. 2. College & Career Readiness- . As a district, we do well on the college part, but we must equip our students with the skills they will need to succeed no matter what path they choose to pursue after their time in the district; whether that is attending college or immediately entering the workforce. 3. Financial Stewardship-Maintaining a responsible approach to district spending, ensuring that we are getting results for the investments that we making in our students and schools. This is important given the uncertainty of the level of funding available from the state and federal level. We must be as efficient as possible in our spending to ensure that we can still deliver a quality education to our students that is not heavily dependent on outside funding sources while keeping reasonable tax rates for our community.[8][9] | ” |
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 |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | I will highlight a few points to shed some light on my ranking of the above issues. I think it is critical to make sure that we are getting a good return for the taxpayer dollars that we are spending, and that we are always looking for ways to manage our budget. That always has to be at the forefront. That said, closing the achievement gap is a must for our district. Ensuring that all student populations are growing is important for the entire community as it can have an impact on our overall performance as a district. While there is always room for improvement, I believe that the relationship with our teachers is good, and that we are partnering to work toward the realization of the district mission. Lastly, college and career readiness is important because it speaks to the ultimate measure of our outcomes. It is our responsibility as a district to provide students with the skills to succeed in whatever path they choose to pursue after leaving our schools whether that be college, or to enter the work force.[9] | ” |
| —Charles Cush (March 29, 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. I am not in support of charter schools for our community. Mainly because our schools perform very well, and we are delivering a good value and a quality education for the investment we place in our students and our schools. If we were to approve a charter school, we would need to ensure that they are held to the same standards and are generating the same results as our non-charter schools; and often times this is not the case. I am a believer in public education and I am not in support of initiatives that would undermine the development and growth of our schools, and our ability to resource them appropriately. Charter schools can pull resources away from our schools and |
| 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. I believe in local control. In my opinion, the community (through the school board) should have the autonomy to determine the course and direction of the schools. As a board, it is our job to make sure that we are seeking input and that our schools reflect the aspirations of the community. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized tests are useful, but taken in isolation are not able to give a complete picture. It takes a variety of measures and metrics to assess student growth and achievement. Recently, the district has begun to employ more social-emotional learning components to our curriculum which I believe can provide more depth in assessing student achievement, and |
| 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. Our teachers do incredible work. We need to make sure that we are compensating them fairly. This means setting clear objectives, providing opportunities and resources for their professional growth and development, and establishing a path where they can grow their earnings in a way that is commensurate with the student growth that they are helping to achieve. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. No. As I stated in my previous answer, I am a supporter of our public schools. Siphoning resources away from our public schools to support private schools is NOT the right thing to do in my opinion as it undermines our ability to deliver a quality education to all of the students in our community. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| The primary goal of our district is to educate students, even those that have exhibited challenging behavior. With this goal in mind, our district has looked at alternative placement in lieu of expulsion to ensure that, despite making a mistake, kids are still able to receive a quality education |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers There is no magic answer here. I think having the right curriculum implemented by a great teacher, with a class size that allows for necessary, individualized instruction; and a solid partnership where what is taught in the schools is reinforced by involved parents is a great formula to lead to student success. I my opinion, it is the combination of all of these factors. That said, if forced to pick one factor, I would say that it would be the teacher. Given this, it is critical that we are supporting our teachers with the tools, training and resources to ensure that the other elements of the formula I outlined above are in place |
See also
- Naperville Community Unit School District 203, Illinois
- Naperville Community Unit School District 203 elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ DuPage County, Illinois, "Election Summary Report," accessed April 5, 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
- ↑ Northwest Suburban Education Coalition, "School Board Candidate Endorsements," accessed March 29, 2017
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Endorsements: Cush, Fitzgerald, Leong, Wandke, Gericke for Naperville Unit District 203 school board," March 21, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Charles Cush's responses," March 29, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
