School Board hopefuls cite their experience in education system

By Cathy Bayer
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Mar 19, 2009
The candidates for Rockford School Board’s Subdistrict D, Frank Hood and Jude Makulec, have long educational backgrounds — one as a professional, the other as a volunteer.

On the seven-member board, seats held by Mike Williams in Subdistrict A, Nancy Kalchbrenner in Subdistrict D and Harmon Mitchell in Subdistrict F have terms that expire this year.

Mitchell is running for election; he was appointed to the seat in December 2007. Residents elected will serve full four-year terms.

Dyanna Chandler and Lisa Jackson are running for Subdistrict A. Frank Hood and Jude Makulec are running for Subdistrict D, and Jaime Salgado and Mitchell are running for Subdistrict F.

Hood is a retired teacher, and his teaching experience gives him the perspective to serve on the School Board, he said. His six children went through public schools.

“I know what should be there; I know what should be done,” he said. “These are qualifications I think a board member needs.”

Hood said he’s running because students deserve a better opportunity to succeed, he said.

“I think the school system needs to be improved,” he said. “Accountability and responsibility should be better.”

Hood has a back-to-basics mentality, and he said students and parents need encouragement to read.

“I think the basics of our education need to be better,” he said. “As we build up the basics, the other parts will be easy.”

Makulec is a physical therapist. She has been active in the Rockford School District since 1992, and her three children attended schools in the district.

“My passion is for education and how important I think it is for everyone,” she said.

One of the most important issues right now is safety, Makulec said.

“And to get safety you need discipline,” she said.

She wants to know why school officials didn’t replicate the Montessori program before approving charter schools. She’s encouraging the idea of opening a second Montessori campus and evaluating the district’s alternative programs that are currently offered while considering the future of charter schools. If elected, she plans to provide needed support to the schools.

“Roosevelt is working,” Makulec said of Roosevelt Community Education Center. “I think we need an alternative middle school as well.”

Makulec and Hood favor elementary school zones and also like charter schools for the educational choice they offer.

Having elementary school zones would help preserve Rockford, Hood said, by establishing community support and identity.

Charter schools would offer another option if the district moves toward neighborhood choice, Makulec said.

She favors school zones because they bring predictability. She also served on the task force that developed the previous elementary zone plan.

Her goals and objectives include forming a strategic plan and agreeing on a vision for the district.

Because she owns her own business, her schedule is flexible, she said, so she can adapt to the demanding schedule of a School Board representative.

She’s excited about recruiting other strong administrators.

“You have to have somebody really strong to stand next to somebody really strong,” she said.

Staff writer Cathy Bayer can be reached at cbayer@rrstar.com or 815-987-1395.