Timothy Juskiewicz, Minooka High School District 111 Board of Education election questionnaire

Full Name: Timothy Juskiewicz

What office are you seeking? Minooka 111 School Board

What is your political party? Independent

What is your current age? 46

Occupation and Employer: Civil Engineer

What offices, if any, have you previously held? None

City: Minooka (unincorporated)

Campaign Website: https://www.facebook.com/CampaignforJuskie

Education: BS Civil Engineering

Community involvement: I am very active at the Village Christian Church, as a Volunteer Staff member in charge of maintenance for the Minooka Campus. I also play guitar and sing in the Praise Team band.

Marital status/Immediate family: I am married with two children.

Why are you running for office?

I currently have two students at MCHS and have a good sense of the atmosphere of the school. In the past 2-3 years I have been paying attention to school policies and direction the board is taking the district and I want to be more involved to help shape those decisions.

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

I have natural leadership skills that are utilized in many aspects of my life including my career that can be applied to the School Board. I’m personally interested because my children are currently in the school, which means I will be committed to serving the role and serving it well. I’m passionate about parents being aware of the policies being implemented and making sure those policies are actually benefiting the students.

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

I have spoken with multiple former school board members on expectations, and how the board worked when they were serving. I also attended a class from the Leadership Institute to help me with my campaign.

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

I would advocate for sensible policies that aren’t purely reactive to current culture trends.

Are LGBTQ students treated fairly in your district?

All students are treated fairly at the district as far as I’m aware.

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

The school is just rolling out a program on this topic, and my freshman was in the very first group that it was presented. After hearing first hand and my child’s reaction, I had an opportunity to provide feedback to the administration. Most likely it was not just me but other parents and students feedback were also presented, because school leaders refined and improved the message of the program. I was very appreciative of how responsive staff was and how they incorporated feedback to revise the presentation.

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

After hearing from my freshman about the new DEI program, I was able to meet with the interim athletic director to obtain a better understanding of the program’s message. Based on those conversations and my review of the materials on the MCHS website after revisions were made to the program, I think the current message they are presenting is a good one for all the students to hear. Hopefully, the students will work to incorporate the positive message into how they treat other classmates and when they are off campus representing the school.

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

As far as I know, MCHS teachers are compensated at competitive rates.

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

Supporting our teachers and having quality staff is a key component to having a great school district. I need to study data of pay scales of surrounding districts to have a better understanding of this job market before I can advocate a change to the teachers compensation at Minooka 111.

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

I am not aware of what the superintendent’s compensation package is.

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

If it is a priority for the parents in the district, I would make it a priority. It is currently not a priority for me.

Do you support the current superintendent? Please explain.

The superintendent is new to the district, and I have confidence in the process that ultimately hired him. We need to give him a chance to show us his leadership.

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

Yes, MCHS needs to teach sex education to the students. The program needs to meet governing standards, and the school board needs to review and approve the curriculum to be implemented to ensure it is age-appropriate. The parents need to be aware of the content. The program not only needs to be age appropriate, but equally important is that it gives the students the education they need, so they can make responsible decisions with their bodies.

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

Minooka 111 acted in a way that conformed to the edicts of the governor, which were in the form of at least (36) consecutive 30-day emergency declarations. Student’s education (nationwide) during the peak lock-down period suffered and there is plenty of test score data to backup that negative impact. I don’t have specific data on Minooka 111 to that effect, but have spoken with several different families on how the lock-down negatively impacted their children.

What did you learn from the pandemic?

I learned to trust my instincts more.

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

I would wager that most tax payers think they are over taxed. However, I see what assets our school district has compared to others, and I believe our past leaders of the school district have been very responsible with tax payer funds for District 111.

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

I would not support raising taxes at this time and am not aware of any current plans by the board to raise taxes.

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

I would advocate for lowering taxes if in doing so we could still meet the goals of the district. The board would need to do a thorough review of the budget to make that decision.

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

Yes.

What is your position on open, transparent government?

Transparency is an important component to properly perform an elected position that represents a group of people at any level of government.

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

I absolutely support the Freedom of Information Act.