We are Rachel Marrello, Mary Rose Mangia and Randy Brockway. We offer a new vision of community-focused leadership for the Riverside District 96 school board.
We are running to provide our community’s children with an exceptional education while efficiently using each tax dollar.
We will promote:
- Communications with the community. We will encourage our talented and concerned community to form public input committees on all major issues. Our deliberations will incorporate their ideas and concerns.
- Fiscal responsibility. District 96 revenues have gone from $10.5 million in fiscal year 2003-04 to $24.5 million in fiscal year 2011-12. The “tax to the max” policy has resulted in a fund balance of approximately $40 million as of June 30, 2012. School districts are authorized to educate children. Accumulating substantial reserves for unknown reasons is not part of that mission.
- Transparent decision-making. We will explore televising meetings and revamping the D96 website to welcome residents’ awareness of what we are doing, when and why.
- The board’s role is leadership, setting policy and overseeing its execution. We will ask tough questions and resist easy answers. We will not allow singular, unique events to distract us from our mission of educating our community’s children.
We will make immediate contributions to our new superintendent’s success. We will work with Dr. Bhavna Sharma-Lewis, our fellow board members and our community on the following priorities:
- Present a strategy for meeting the challenges of the new Illinois state learning standards incorporating the Common Core. Our approach will be parent-oriented and student-centered.
- Develop a realistic five-year projection of operational and capital expenditures, including cash flow projections. Our tax strategy should be aligned with these projections. We will also ask for recommendations on how to increase revenue from grants.
- Evaluate our special needs education program. Again, our approach will be parent-oriented and student-centered, using the recently completed survey of program participants.
- Evaluate our gifted program, with input from parents and our community.
- Review all ethics, conflict of interest and personal conduct policies and procedures. We will update ethics training and examine the feasibility of a 1-800-Ethics Hotline.
We will promote greater parent, staff and community representation to the committees which will address these priorities.
We bring distinguished and critical skills. Mary Rose Mangia with an MBA and a master’s in management information systems has strong financial and business skills. Randy Brockway, a landscape architect, knows the public contract procurement process, and green practices that will save the district money. Rachel Marrello, an attorney and investigator, works daily in government oversight.
This community is committed to educational excellence. We are a district prepared to meet the challenges of educating our children today, for tomorrow’s world economy. We will continue to move forward. We want all families to feel comfortable in our school district.
Rachel Marrello, Mary Rose Mangia and Randy Brockway ask for your confidence and your vote on April 9. We promise to exceed your expectations.
Rachel Marrello, Mary Rose Mangia and Randy Brockway are all Riverside residents who are running for seats on the Riverside District 96 school board.
