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Indian Prairie School District 204 elections (2015)
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Three seats on the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education were up for general election on April 7, 2015. Incumbents Lori Price, Justin J. Karubas and Mark Rising faced one challenger, Renata Sliva, in their bids for re-election.[1][2] All of the incumbents in this election retained their seats.[3]
Prior to the election, all four candidates shared their views on future goals, budget concerns and Common Core at forums held in March 2015. The candidates shared many different ideas to address budget concerns for the school district, including an increased focus and voice at the state level, a possible county sales tax, refinancing bonds and looking to outside funding sources through a grant writer. With the exception of Silva, all candidates agreed that Common Core testing went well and that the district was fully prepared to meet the technology requirements.
- See also: Issues in the election
About the district
| Indian Prairie School District 204 is located in DuPage County and Will County in northeastern Illinois. The county seat of DuPage County is Wheaton, and the county seat of Will County is Joliet. In 2013, DuPage and Will Counties were home to 932,126 residents and 682,829 residents, respectively, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4][5] During the 2011-2012 school year, Indian Prairie School District 204 was the third-largest school district by enrollment in Illinois and served 29,286 students.[6] |
Demographics
Both counties outperformed the rest of Illinois in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 46.3 percent of DuPage County residents and 32.3 percent of Will County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 31.4 percent for Illinois as a whole. The median household income for DuPage County was $78,487 and for Will County was $76,147, while it was $56,797 for the entire state. The poverty rates in DuPage and Will Counties were 6.9 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively, compared to 14.1 percent statewide.[4][5]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Voter and candidate information
The Indian Prairie Board of Education consists of seven members elected at-large to four-year terms on a staggered basis every odd-numbered year. A general election for three seats was held on April 7, 2015.[1][9] Four full-term seats were last up for election in 2013. A fifth seat was also up for election to fill an unexpired two-year term.[10]
To get on the ballot, candidates had to file a statement of candidacy and nominating petition with the DuPage County Clerk's Office during the filing period. The filing period began December 15, 2014, and ended December 22, 2014.[11]
To vote in this election, voters had to register by March 10, 2015. Early voting was available for registered voters starting March 23, 2015, and ending April 4, 2015.[11]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
- Justin J. Karubas
- Incumbent
- Graduate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology
- Attorney, Rolewick & Gutzke
- Lori Price
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Eastern Illinois University
- Divisional buyer
- Mark Rising
- Incumbent
- Graduate, University of Wisconsin at Whitewater
- Sales manager and IT consultant
- Renata Sliva
Election results
| Indian Prairie School District 204, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Lori Price Incumbent |
31% | 6,455 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Rising Incumbent |
28.4% | 5,915 | |
| Nonpartisan | Justin J. Karubas Incumbent |
24% | 4,990 | |
| Nonpartisan | Renata Sliva | 16.6% | 3,454 | |
| Total Votes | 20,814 | |||
| Source: DuPage County Election Commission, "Election Summary Report: 2015 Consolidated General," accessed April 22, 2015, Will County Clerk, "April 7 Consolidated Election," accessed April 22, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
The Daily Herald endorsed incumbents Justin J. Karubas, Lori Price and Mark Rising, saying:[12]
| “ | Combined, the three incumbents provide a strong core for the board and have earned, individually and as a group, another term.[13] | ” |
Price also received endorsements from the following local public officials and community leaders:[14]
- Tom Weisner, Mayor of Aurora
- Rick Mervine, Aurora City Alderman
- Steve Chirico, Naperville City Councilman
- Owen Wavrinek, former member of the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education
- Rachel Ossyra, Naperville Township Supervisor
- Patty Smith, Director of Indian Prairie Education Foundation
- Debbie Chafee, Founder of EDGE Illinois
Campaign finance
School board candidates in Illinois are only required to file campaign finance reports if they accept contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000 in a 12-month period.[15]
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.[16]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2015
Issues in the election
Candidates discuss budget concerns and Common Core at forums
At the first of three candidate forums to be held for the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education election, candidates discussed what their goals would be if elected and how they would help the district through future financial problems. The forum was hosted by two district staff unions, the Indian Prairie Education Association and the Indian Prairie Classified Association.[17]
Questions for this forum were submitted by in-person audience members as well as through Twitter. This was the first time the district used Twitter for a candidate forum, and it allowed residents who could not attend in person to follow the event and submit questions. The district also set up a separate hashtag for students in the district to discuss the forum.[17] To access a full video of the forum click here.
Budget concerns and Common Core were discussed at the second candidate forum held on March 10, 2015. It was hosted by the Naperville Area Homeowners Association. A full video of the forum can be accessed by clicking here.
Future goals
On the subject of future goals, incumbent Lori Price said she would like to inform and engage the community on future decisions the district will face. She would also like to focus on closing the achievement gap and negotiating fair contracts with the district's unions.[17]
Incumbent Justin J. Karubas attended Indian Prairie School District 204. As an adult, he intentionally moved back to his home neighborhood in order to raise his kids in the district. If re-elected to the board, he said he would focus on maintaining the district's reputation of providing high quality education.[17]
Incumbent Mark Rising also mentioned the district's high quality education. He said he would strive to continue the push for that high academic achievement, but do so in the most economical way. Rising said that students do come first, but that taxpayers must also be considered in district decisions.[17]
Challenger Renata Sliva said her motivation to run for a school board seat came out of her opposition to the Common Core standards and their corresponding curriculum and textbooks.[17]
"I believe that Common Core is not good, not good not only for our district, but it's not good for America," said Sliva. She referenced her background growing up in a socialist country and said she has witnessed top-down centralist planning. She said it does not work.[18]
Budget concerns
When asked about future funding problems, Price focused on the school board's responsibility to know what was happening at the state level.[17]
"As school board members, we need to be advocates for our district," said Price.[17]
Karubas put the district's economic concerns on the community's taxpayers. He said they will have to decide what they deem are important goals and what they are willing to pay to maintain and achieve those goals. He said that, though the district can make cuts, eventually student achievement will decline with housing values. Karubas offered the idea of implementing a countywide sales tax that would go directly to schools as a way to give money to the district without adding more property taxes.[17]
Rising suggested the district hire a grant writer to look into and apply for outside funding sources. He also suggested the district refinance bonds or rebid contracts to further save money.[17]
Sliva put the district's financial problems down to Common Core, saying it was "really the culprit here."[17]
Common Core
When asked how they would manage technology adjustments necessary for implementing Common Core standards and PARCC tests, all three incumbents agreed the district was in a good position to move forward with Common Core.[19]
"We're ready for it," said Price.[19]
She said high school students had only recently taken a Common Core-aligned test for the first time and that they were doing very well. She said most students had finished well before the testing time ended.[19]
Rising said the district had been able to write its own curriculum to match or go beyond the Common Core standards. He said in the future, he would like district funds to go toward more individualized instruction.[19]
Karubas said he plans to continue prioritizing funding toward technology and curriculum. He said similar measures from past board members had left the district with an invested technological infrastructure.[19]
"Overall, we're doing a great job," said Karubas.[19]
Sliva did not agree with the incumbents. She said the district should not have to pay for the PARCC tests. She also said she believes the tests negatively affect students.[19]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Indian Prairie School District 204 election in 2015:[20]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| September 23, 2014 | First day to circulate petitions |
| December 15, 2014 | First day to file nominating papers |
| December 22, 2014 | Last day to file nominating papers |
| December 30, 2014 | Last day to file objections to nominating petitions |
| January 15, 2015 | First campaign finance report due |
| January 29, 2015 | Last day to withdraw as a candidate |
| February 5, 2015 | Last day to file as a write-in candidate |
| March 10, 2015 | Last day to register to vote |
| March 23, 2015 | First day early that voting is available |
| April 4, 2015 | Last day early that voting is available |
| April 6, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| April 7, 2015 | General Election Day |
| July 15, 2015 | Last campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Illinois elections, 2015
The Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education election shared the ballot with other school board elections as well as elections for municipal offices, park districts, library districts and fire districts.[11]
Nearby Cook County held municipal elections on April 7, 2015, as well, including a mayoral race for the city of Chicago.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Indian Prairie School District 204 Illinois. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Indian Prairie School District 204 | Illinois | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DuPage County Election Commission, "Candidates and Campaigns," accessed January 20, 2015
- ↑ Indian Prairie School District 204, "School Board Member Bios," accessed January 20, 2015
- ↑ DuPage County Election Commission, "Election Summary Report: 2015 Consolidated General," accessed April 7, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "DuPage County, Illinois," accessed February 18, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "Will County, Illinois," accessed March 13, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ DuPage County Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed February 18, 2015
- ↑ Will County Clerk, "Election Results Archive," accessed March 13, 2015
- ↑ Indian Prairie School District 204, "IPSD Board of Education," accessed March 12, 2015
- ↑ DuPage County Clerk, "Election Results," accessed March 12, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 DuPage County Election Commission, "Upcoming Elections," accessed January 19, 2015
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Endorsements: Price, Karubas, Rising for Indian Prairie Unit Dist. 204," March 9, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Re-elect Lori Price District 204 Board of Education, "Endorsements," accessed March 18, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Disclosure," accessed March 31, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 Chicago Tribune, "District 204 candidates share views at forum," March 6, 2015
- ↑ 204TV.org, "On-demand videos from Indian Prairie School District 204: Board Candidate Forum: 3/5/15," accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 City of Naperville, "NAHC Candidate Forum - School District 204," accessed March 19, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar, 2015," accessed January 19, 2015
| 2015 Indian Prairie School District 204 Elections | |
| DuPage County, Illinois | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Justin J. Karubas • Incumbent, Lori Price • Incumbent, Mark Rising • Renata Sliva |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
