Michael Raczak
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Michael Raczak was an at-large representative on the Indian Prairie School District 204 school board in Illinois. First elected in 2013, Raczak won a new term in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017.
Raczak participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Four seats on the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board of Education were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. Incumbents Michael Raczak and Cathy Piehl were re-elected. Newcomers Laurie Donahue and Susan Taylor-Demming also won seats on the board. Candidates Vasavi Chakka, Renata Sliva, Marland Brazier, and J. Randy Sidio were defeated in the race.[1]
Results
| Indian Prairie School District 204, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Cathy Piehl Incumbent |
17.39% | 5,291 |
| Michael Raczak Incumbent |
17.09% | 5,199 |
| Susan Taylor-Demming |
16.85% | 5,126 |
| Laurie Donahue |
16.40% | 4,990 |
| Vasavi Chakka | 10.27% | 3,123 |
| J. Randy Sidio | 8.92% | 2,714 |
| Renata Sliva | 8.84% | 2,690 |
| Marland Brazier | 4.24% | 1,290 |
| Total Votes | 30,423 | |
| Source: DuPage County, Illinois, "Election Summary Report," accessed May 1, 2017Will County, Illinois, Clerk, "April 4, 2017 Consolidated Election," 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]
Raczak reported no contributions or expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections in the election.[4]
Endorsements
Raczak was endorsed by the Daily Herald.[5]
2013
| Indian Prairie School District 204, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Cathy Piehl Incumbent |
20.7% | 3,224 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Raczak |
19.4% | 3,028 | |
| Nonpartisan | Benjamin M. White |
17% | 2,650 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maria Curry |
13.1% | 2,048 | |
| Nonpartisan | Krishna Bansal | 12.2% | 1,908 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sotiria Kapsis | 6.6% | 1,035 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vasavi Chakka | 6.5% | 1,015 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jazmin Santillan | 4.5% | 698 | |
| Total Votes | 15,606 | |||
| Source: DuPage County Clerk, "Election Results," accessed March 12, 2015 | ||||
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Michael Raczak participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on March 26, 2017:
| “ | I hope to continue the history of academic and extra-curricular excellence that characterizes our school district.[7][8] | ” |
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 |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Blank | |
| “ | All these topics deserve a 7. I love our teachers and our arts. Our arts program is superior. Our teachers are the greatest![8] | ” |
| —Michael Raczak (March 26, 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. Charter schools under Illinois law must be considered. Therefore, it is necessary to consider th merits of the school for approval. |
| 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? |
| Yes. No, one test score does not provide an accurate picture of a student's achievement. |
| 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? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. I would favor merit pay if there was a rating scale that had impeccable inter-rater reliability. Merit pay based on subjective evaluation scales is troublesome. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| In extreme cases only. Alternative education options out of public schools should be offered if available. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Research supports that the most important factor is a competent teacher. |
See also
External links
- Indian Prarie School District 204
- Office website
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook page
- LinkedIn profile
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
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Endorsements: Donahue, Piehl, Raczak, Taylor-Demming for Indian Prairie Unit District 204 Board of Education," March 19, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Michael Raczak's responses," March 26, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Indian Prairie School District 204 elections in 2017 | |
| DuPage County, Illinois and Will County, Illinois | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Cathy Piehl • Incumbent, Michael Raczak • Marland Brazier • Vasavi Chakka • Laurie Donahue • J. Randy Sidio • Renata Sliva • Susan Taylor-Demming |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
