Paul J. Sprenger: Grayslake District 46 Board Candidate

Name: Paul J. Sprenger

Age: 42

Family: Wife:  Patricia; Children: Matthew and Arianna

Education: Bachelors Degree, Northern Illinois University, 1992  (Enterprise Management)

Occupation: Sales

Previous Elected or Appointed Offices: N/A

Other community involvement: N/A

Position sought: D46 Board Member

Campaign E-mail address: p.sprenger.d46@gmail.com

Campaign committee: N/A

Campaign Website: N/A

Campaign Facebook: N/A

Campaign Twitter: N/A

Why are you running?

I believe the school board needs to work cohesively together. Previously, I don't believe they did. My goal is to improve the environment in which our children learn and improve fiscal responsibility. The district has operated, as many government offices have, with poor decisions, no accountability and limited, long term planning. We are now surprised we have a problem. However, if people (board members, administration and employees of the district) treat public funds as their own and look for ways to innovate and save, I believe we can improve the level of education and decrease expenses. I do not believe programs need to be eliminated but rather managed appropriately. I have seen what works and does not work within our district. I want to see more community involvement and public input and have a board that responds accordingly. Previously, the board has not appeared to appreciate public input.

In what ways would the District 46 board benefit from your service?

I have an extensive work history in entrepreneurship, sales, financial management and overall strategic management. Strategic management, is the key issue. Strategic management evaluates the impact our current decisions will make on our future condition and environment. I will work to encourage and promote a team environment so the board members work together rather than against one another. The goal of our board should be to provide a quality education for our children, not something to place our own egos on a power trip. Simply put, I offer a common sense approach that should simply be a part of any private or public organization.

What do you think should be done about the district's projected deficit? What areas should be targeted for potential budget cuts?

The district has operated in a manner of simply running to put out fires. They run from one to the next and ultimately have little direction. Instead, we need to think ahead and realize our current decisions will affect future outcomes. While this sounds like common sense, it has not been too commonly utilized. I believe in building a school district that provides a quality education and operates responsibly with taxpayer funds. Employees should be appreciated and recognized for cost-savings suggestions. Teachers and employees need to have an administrative environment where new suggestions for improvement are open and welcome and not shunned. The district needs to utilize help from parents in the district. While some schools welcome parent volunteers, others do not. This needs to change and is a valuable resource of community involvement that costs the school almost nothing.

What do you think about the possibility of closing a school as a potential cost-saving measure?

I believe the board should evaluate every option. While there may be sufficient savings to doing such, we must be certain not to close a school today and return to the community five or 10 years later concerned we need to open another. This all ties into strategic management and planning ahead. The Board needs to eliminate knee jerk reactions.

How do you feel about the way the teacher's contract and strike were handled? Is there anything you would have done differently?

Unfortunately, strikes are not a good thing. However I believe the settlement was appropriate. I would have liked to see a more proactive approach earlier on and hope such can be done in the future. That being said, sometimes neither side will negotiate efficiently without pressure from things such as a strike.

What will you do to ensure there is more unity amongst school board members?

We need mutual respect amongst board members. Name-calling and other tactics previously utilized are not appropriate and should not be permitted. If board members simply use common decency at meetings, the environment will change so meetings run more efficiently and successfully.

What else do you want voters to know?

Overall, I believe the children of District 46 receive a good education.  However, we can always improve with innovation and new ideas. We can improve the quality of our kids' education by understanding what happens within each of our schools and becoming more open with the community and parents. I welcome community involvement at board meetings and within the schools. At current board meetings, I find dumbfounded looks upon the faces of some board members with public input and feedback. Meeting attendees find aggravation and annoyance with the meetings and stop attending (maybe a desired reaction with some current board members). We need to utilize public input. Board members cannot possibly be experts at everything and could benefit from the diversity and professional attributes of other attendees. While it is ultimately the board that must make final decisions, they should welcome opinions, ideas and feedback from the community. The community participants should receive some acknowledgment with provided input rather than stares of arrogance and bewilderment. I ask you for your vote on April 9th and would like to see each of you at future board meetings. Believe me, the environment and energy levels WILL CHANGE.