Caren MacKenzie, Harvard School District 50 Board of Education election questionnaire

Full Name: Caren MacKenzie

What office are you seeking? School board member

What is your political party? NA

What is your current age? 60

Occupation and Employer: Retired High School English Teacher and Division Chair, currently Field Coach for Rockford University student teachers

What offices, if any, have you previously held? Chair of the Staff Parish Committee for the First United Methodist Church, 5 years

City: Harvard

Campaign Website: NA

Education: B.A. in English and Secondary Education, minor in Psychology

Masters in Educational Leadership with a Type 75 endorsement

Community involvement: First United Methodist Church

Mt. Auburn Cemetery Board

Harvard CUSD 50 Schoolboard

Marital status/Immediate family: Tom and I will celebrate our 35th anniversary this summer. We have two grown sons, a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren.

Why are you running for office?

I loved working in District 50 for over 20 years. I feel that this is one more way in which I can serve our students, staff, and families. I believe that I can offer a different perspective.

What makes you qualified for the office you’re seeking?

My professional career has been in education. I have taught, coached, subbed, advised clubs and classes, and led my department and division. In addition, I have worked at the university level to help prepare our future teachers for this career. I believe that public education is one of the pillars of our democracy, and I am passionate about providing the best education possible for our community. I believe my passion for education and my background in this field make me a qualified candidate.

Have you sought and/or received any training to run for your local school board? If so, from whom?

I was appointed to the board to fill a vacant seat. I have learned a lot from our current board members, and I have consulted board members from other communities who teach here in Harvard to learn how some things are handled elsewhere. I completed the training required by the Illinois Association of School Boards, and I am reading Coming to Order, a guide to successful school board meetings.

Would you propose any changes to the curriculum? If so, what?

I would not propose any changes to the curriculum at this time other than making sure we are abiding by the state mandates.

Are LGBTQ students treated fairly in your district?

I think there is always room for improvement.

What is your assessment of how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is handled in your school district?

This is an area where we continue to improve.

Do you believe the district needs to make any changes to improve DEI in your district?

If we are talking about employees, we have been working hard to find native Spanish speakers to better support our Spanish speaking students. I think there is always room for improvement; I hope we continue to do so every year.

Are teachers in your district paid adequately now and in retirement?

No. Our district has worked hard to bring administrative salaries in line with area districts. Our starting salary is also close; however, teachers who commit to Harvard for their career fall behind other districts in the area. With the teacher shortage, I believe we need to rectify this. We are losing talented teachers that were doing great things for our students.

Would you support changes to teacher pay scales? If so, how?

I do think changes need to be made to the pay scales. I don’t have an easy answer, however, I would love to work on this.

What is your assessment of the district superintendent’s compensation?

It is a competitive salary. Should our superintendent choose to leave, we should be able to attract talented candidates.

Would you make any changes to how the district superintendent is compensated?

Not at this time.

Do you support the current superintendent? Please explain.

Just like all of us, our current superintendent does some things well and can improve on others.

Should schools in your district adopt and teach sex education according to the National Sex Education Standards? Please explain.

I think that districts should have more autonomy on this issue, so the curriculum and discussions on this topic reflect the needs of our students and parents.

What is your assessment of how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled locally?

I believe it was handled as well as it could have been.

What did you learn from the pandemic?

I learned how to teach on Zoom, how to teach concurrently, and the struggles of doing so. However, we could use these new skills to eliminate snow days and work more closely with home bound students.

Are voters that support your district taxed at an appropriate level?

None of us like paying taxes. I am learning more about this process but still have more to learn. I do think we need to be good stewards and be careful about how we spend these taxes.

Would you support any plans to raise taxes in the district? If so, what should the additional revenue be spent on?

Our facilities are old. The district has been working hard for a number of years to update them, but we may need to look at an addition or another significant improvement. It is my hope that we can do that with the current taxes.

Would you support lowering taxes in the district? If so, what programs or services in the district would you cut?

I would not at this time.

Will you accept the voters’ decision in your race on Election Day?

Yes.

What is your position on open, transparent government?

I believe it’s essential to a success. Balancing transparency with confidentiality can be a challenge, but it’s important that we figure it out.

Do you support the Freedom of Information Act and citizens’ ability to freely access government records?

Yes.