Dixon School Board candidates speak on issues

DIXON – Seven candidates competing for four seats on the Dixon School Board spoke about issues facing the district and how to address them.

The Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street hosted its second candidate forum Thursday; its first focused on City Council candidates.

Board President Linda Wegner is the only incumbent looking to retain her seat. Board Vice President Kelly Flanagan, Secretary Brad Sibley and member JR Humphrey are not seeking re-election.

Wegner is running against Brandon Rogers, Donna Glover, Linda LeBlanc-Parks, Matt Appleman, Jon Wadsworth and Val Smith.

Wegner, a retired educator who spent 22 years teaching, was elected in 2017. Rogers, manager at Walgreens, was appointed to fill a partial term in 2017 and is president of the Dixon Rotary Club.

Glover has 25 years experience in banking, and LeBlanc-Parks is a retired special education educator with 30 years of experience. Appleman is owner of Crescendo Hair in Dixon and has been involved with the LGBTQ organization Youth Outlook for 9 years. Wadsworth is the IT manager at Beckers Group, and Smith is a member of the district’s Community Engagement Committee, as well as a classroom volunteer.

Wegner said she’s described as a quiet leader with a calm temperment, she’s proud of the building improvements and work to increase graduation rates, and she wants to see the district through continuing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rogers said he would like to see more focus on getting students career-ready and continuing to foster relationships with Sauk Valley Community College and area businesses. He also said a big undertaking for the board will be negotiating a new contract with the Dixon Education Association, the district’s teachers union.

Glover wants to increase positive interactions between the community and the School Board, and she wants to be more involved in the community.

“I think we all have a responsibility to give back to the community where we can,” she said.

Appleman said every student should be in a safe environment, and they need to do more to address bullying in schools, citing recent and previous incidents from the last few years. The district has strong bullying policies in place, but there can be issues with executing them, he said.

“Every child deserves a fair chance,” he said.

Wadsworth said as a seventh-generation Dixonite, he feels a strong connection to the community and the district, and he wants to apply his skills including critical thinking, research and analysis, to work together to solve problems.

LeBlanc-Parks said she’s a straightforward person unafraid to ask questions, empathetic, engaging and has a collaborative spirit.

Smith is concerned with the rate of students falling below English language arts standards, and thinks more needs to be done with identifying students in need of special education and those with literacy issues.

Candidates agreed that district strengths include teachers and staff and community partnerships.

Glover, LeBlanc-Parks and Appleman all cited bullying as a weakness in the district.

Go to social.discoverdixon.com/schoolboard to view the forum.