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Full Name: Dominick Cirone
What office are you seeking? SD308 School Board Member
What is your political party? Non-Partisan
What is your current age? 47
Occupation and Employer: Treasury Manager, Ulta Inc.
What offices, if any, have you previously held? SD308 School Board Member, Appointed February 2022
Village of Oswego Planning & Zoning Commissioner
SD308 Finance & Operations Advisory Committee Member
SD308 Teaching & Learning Advisory Committee Member and Chair
SD308 Diversity & Equity Advisory Committee Chair
City: Oswego
Campaign Website: https://www.facebook.com/CironeForSD308SchoolBoard
Education: Master of Business Administration, Concentration Accounting, Aurora University
Bachelor of Arts, Accounting, Aurora University
Bachelor of Science, Finance, Northern Illinois University
Certified Treasury Professional Designation
Community involvement: Kendall County Election Judge
Former Treasurer, Kiwanis of Oswego
Former Vice President, Partners in Talented and Gifted Education
Former Vice President, Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee
Contributed to and provided manual labor for the outdoor classroom at Brokaw Early Learning Center
School event volunteering at multiple schools
Consistent volunteer work making blankets for people without homes, food pantries, Christmas events, etc.
Marital status/Immediate family: Married with two children in the school district
Why are you running for office?
Education is the key to progress. I’m running for re-election because I have so much more to offer. As a Treasury Manager, I understand the value of unlocking operational effectiveness for better performance and results. I want to help the district prioritize academic achievement and implement plans based on their educational impact. I want to evaluate the long-term sustainability of financial decisions and ensure that we focus on doing what is right for each student as early as possible. We all want to set up our students for the best possible academic, behavioral and future success. That doesn’t mean we should be dictating specifics. Educators need to empowered and held accountable for decisions, and our job is to help allocate district funds for long-term success.
What makes you qualified for the office you’re seeking?
I am currently a member of the Board of Education, appointed February, 2022. I have served on many SD 308 committees, organizations and task forces over the last 10 years. Included in that list is multiple terms on the Finance and Operations Advisory Committee, the Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee, the Diversity and Equity Advisory Committee, the Vice President of the Partners for Talented and Gifted Education, the English Learners Task Force and many other school-level volunteering activities. I have also served on the Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission since 2016. My professional career includes 20+ years as a Treasury professional managing liquidity, debt/investments, projects and other aspects of large corporate finance. I have an MBA and BS in Accounting from Aurora University and a BS in Finance from Northern Illinois University. I am also a Certified Treasury Professional. My combination of civil and professional knowledge gained throughout the years has served me well since I was appointed to the Board and I hope to build on that to help SD 308 plan for operational effectiveness academically and financially.
Have you sought and/or received any training to run for your local school board? If so, from whom?
I have not received any training to run for school board. I do have experience as a school board member with high engagement throughout the years so I believe that my interactions with the community has helped me prepare to run for and serve as a Board Member.
Would you propose any changes to the curriculum? If so, what?
Yes, we need to make sure we are constantly reviewing curriculum in order to provide the most updated and researched-based education available to our students. This needs to be done strategically and guided by data. Since my time on the board we updated the Junior High Math curriculum because there was a pressing need to increase math achievement during the Junior High years. The data so far has been promising even though it was only implemented a few months ago. We also updated elementary Social Studies. Both implementations allow for key features to engage students including student choice/voice, collaborative structures and ability to modify easily for our students with IEPs and English Learners. I believe we need to look at ELA curriculum next and then go where the data leads us.
Are LGBTQ students treated fairly in your district?
We are making improvements for sure but there is plenty of room to grow. Our LGBTQ students need to feel as safe and happy as all other students so they can achieve to their ability and have a prosperous future. We can help by making sure we address stereotypes embedded in the district curriculum and culture.
What is your assessment of how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is handled in your school district?
We have made great advances but the baseline was not high. I am amazed at how much we are doing to help our students feel welcomed but there is so much more we need to do. I want to always remind people that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion means everybody (students with special needs, male, female, race, gifted/honors, LGBTQ or not, any combination, etc). Every student is unique and we want to ensure success and a welcoming environment for every student.
Do you believe the district needs to make any changes to improve DEI in your district?
Yes, we need to continue to evolve and allow our staff to do their jobs to increase achievement. Having inclusive, equitable and diverse offerings and trainings will strengthen our school district and help produce higher achievement.
Are teachers in your district paid adequately now and in retirement?
Our teachers are not paid competitively relative to surrounding districts. I have asked that we budget for expected increases to hopefully close the gap since our teachers have done more than anybody can ask to keep this district great. We have a talented workforce that we need to retain and we need to expand our ability to recruit differently than we have done in the past, including a more competitive base pay and stronger supports. SD 308 benefits packages have been excellent without driving up costs due to some innovative programs at district leadership. The district has many options for teachers to save for retirement, including the state TRS pension, and optional 403b/457b Roth and Traditional retirement plans. The one thing we can do better is to educate our staff about the benefits of investing early in their optional plans to take advantage of exponential growth.
Would you support changes to teacher pay scales? If so, how?
I do support changes to help attain and retain new teachers and want to continue to close the gap for our experienced teachers. I have supported budgets designed to close those gaps. I also know that we need to make sure to support our teachers with strong district and building-level leadership and proper human resources and researched curriculum.
What is your assessment of the district superintendent’s compensation?
Dr. Sparlin, the SD 308 superintendent is retiring this year. He has routinely taken far less than the state average. During our search for a new superintendent, we need to find the right leader who understands best practices and is able to implement them efficiently with a focus on short term and long term academic gains and long term financial health for our district. It will take a strong leader to set SD 308 on a path to do that so we need to take that into consideration when discussing salary. A strong leader can have strong returns so it is my intention to make sure we get community, employee, and board input as well as an extremely thorough background check to guide us to the best possible candidate.
Would you make any changes to how the district superintendent is compensated?
SD308 is currently looking for a new superintendent. I expect to look at the pay from competing districts and determine what the value is to have a great superintendent who has shown the ability to run an effective and efficient school district versus somebody who may not be as tested as a superintendent.
Do you support the current superintendent? Please explain.
Yes, Dr. Sparlin has given SD 308 some wonderful years and all his efforts. He will be missed.
Should schools in your district adopt and teach sex education according to the National Sex Education Standards? Please explain.
Yes, sex education has been shown to be an excellent way to inform students of the potential consequences of having sexual intercourse and how they can protect themselves from those consequences. It is important to tell the kids the truth about their bodies. With that said, I do support the rights of parents to opt their students out of these lessons.
What is your assessment of how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled locally?
The pandemic was an unexpected occurrence that no one had ever experienced before and no one planned for. Local large districts, including SD308, all followed state laws and national guidance as they navigated through unchartered waters. The decision makers did what they could to ensure the safety of students and staff.
What did you learn from the pandemic?
The pandemic was a scary time, especially for those with heath concerns and those with at-risk loved ones. I learned that empathy and understanding can go a long way. Most people would not criticize others’ actions if they knew the personal reasons behind the decisions. Unfortunately, the high stress levels during the pandemic created an environment where divisive language and attitudes became clear. From a school board perspective, it is always important to remain level-headed and scientific-minded in the approach to keep students and staff safe and healthy. It is also important to keep personal emotional responses to a minimum and follow the guidance of those with the most knowledge on the topic.
Are voters that support your district taxed at an appropriate level?
SD 308 local taxes are divided into two categories, operational and debt-service. About 75% of the SD 308 taxes go towards operations or educating our students, the other 25% is to pay off the debt incurred to build many of our current schools. Over the years, I have advocated for the restructuring of those bonds to help lower the overall costs and make it more manageable for the taxpayer to budget. That has happened and those bonds will be paid for in approximately 10 years. The large amount of debt has put a burden on the taxpayer that is disproportionate compared to a typical school district due to the fast growth. That is the reason we have high taxes relative to other districts. One of my goals is to find opportunities, in partnership with building level staff and a new superintendent, to implement best practices that are shown to improve student achievement and lower long-term costs to strengthen the financial health of the district and community.
Would you support any plans to raise taxes in the district? If so, what should the additional revenue be spent on?
The district is currently considered funded at 64% according to Evidence-Based Funding metrics at the state. Many surrounding districts are well above 100%. The school district levy is capped at 5% or rate of inflation, whichever is less. In order to continue to pay teachers, bus drivers and all our staff competitive wages and to retain their services we need to provide pay increases. 85% of our operational costs are for employee pay and benefits so any increases or cuts will generally come from or to our employees. Cuts to teachers and staff will definitely impact short-term and long-term student achievement as well as the short-term and long-term financial health of the district.
Would you support lowering taxes in the district? If so, what programs or services in the district would you cut?
We have gone through this before in SD 308 and the cuts forced were devastating and we are still feeling it today in student achievement, ability to recruit, resources for our children with IEPs transportation, long-term financial impact, etc. I know that the cuts forced onto the district were necessary in order to balance the budget but it has certainly cost us over the long-term financially and academically. While we could’ve been investing in proper services we ended up having to cut those services and our district now has to pay even more in order to help those same students who could’ve been helped much more efficiently had we not had to make those cuts. This is a case of $1 of prevention is worth more than the $100 to cure. We need to get this district to be an efficient academic organization in order to get strong achievement and long-term financial health!
Will you accept the voters’ decision in your race on Election Day?
Yes, of course
What is your position on open, transparent government?
Since being sworn in February 2022, I have been in support of all efforts to expand transparency. We now provide much more detailed vendor payment information than in the past and we have shown the public the financial impact to the district in scenarios with/without levying and/or with/without expected state increases in evidence-based funding. Transparency is good governance.
Do you support the Freedom of Information Act and citizens’ ability to freely access government records?
Yes, we have a very open process for Freedom of Information Act requests that I support. I pushed back real hard when it was proposed that we require FOIAs in order to see previously released FOIAs, like most other governmental entities. That advocacy helped the district maintain the practice of publishing all FOIA responses and requests to ensure maximum transparency in the FOIA process. I plan to continue to keep adding to our transparency in real tangible ways. It is something I am not willing to negotiate.