Candidate profile: Michael Todd
Name: Michael Todd
Age: 45
Town: Millstadt
Occupation: Senior account executive with Johnson Controls
Position seeking: Board of Education for Belleville Township High School District 201
Why are you running and why should people vote for you? For the past eight years, I served on the Board of Education for Millstadt Consolidated School District 160 and have been the president for six of those years. During that time I have witnessed, firsthand the challenges to the schools caused by the state of Illinois and the financial decisions made. These experiences would allow me to bring real-world ideas and solutions to many of these issues. My philosophy has always been to listen to everyone who wants to have a discussion and has the best of intentions for our children at heart. There is an obligation to put all politics aside when it comes to the tremendous responsibility of educating and preparing our children.
What are the most important issues the school district faces, and how would you approach them? The school district will continue to face several issues, but I feel that two of the most important issues facing District 201 are inconsistent revenue from the state and the ongoing concern of school safety. With the passage of the Evidence Base Funding (EBF) act in 2017, the state took the necessary first steps toward ensuring all schools have the resources they need, but this is only the first step. The district has been and will need to continue to be financially responsible with the taxpayer’s money. School safety continues to be a concern. As a parent, just like everyone else, we want to know that our children will be safe while at school. The Board of Education has the responsibility to support our administration with resources they need to evaluate how effective the current practices are, as well as provide the financial resources to support any changes recommended.
Under what circumstances would you vote to raise property taxes? The Board of Education and the administration team in District 201 have been fiscally responsible. They have cut expenditures on an ongoing basis and made the necessary reductions when needed in order to operate within the budget. There is no reason to assume that this practice will not continue into the future. If a point in time were to arise where the safety or security of the students was compromised due to a lack of funding from the state, it may become necessary to increase the tax revenue.
What are your goals for the district/what do you want to accomplish? As a board member, I will push the use of data to support the decisions made and ensure that there is an alignment, in the vision and goals, between the Board of Education and the administration for the district. This allows for a long-term plan developed by the Board of Education, the administration, teachers, and with community involvement. This would ensure support from all parties, moving toward the same goal.
What is your position on the proposed increase in minimum wage for teachers in Illinois? I have tremendous respect for the teachers, administrators and school employees who have worked with our children every day but there is a concern that a mandated salary from Springfield would be an unfunded mandate. There would need to be more information from our legislators on how the state will fund this to the districts that currently cannot afford this additional cost.