Candidate profile: Walter Hood, Sr.
Name: Walter Hood Sr.
Age: 72
Town: East St. Louis
Occupation: Retired high school principal
Position Seeking: School Board
Campaign email: jeep142@sbcglobal.net
Why are you running and why should people vote for you? I feel that it is imperative that I run for school board because I am a graduate and lifelong citizen of East St. Louis and I want to see our children be successful. I care about the students and feel that they deserve to be outstanding in all of their endeavors. People should vote for me because I will make it my mission to fight for the best education possible for our children.
What are the most important issues the school district faces, and how would you approach them? I think that one issue the school district faces is trying to increase test scores. I feel that students’ scores have been slowly increasing, however I feel that we can do more to ensure the success of all students like hiring some more highly qualified teachers and offering more professional development. I also feel that we must increase social and emotional programs for our students. I would do that be encouraging that more recruitment is done for teachers. I would also like to have more partnerships with agencies who could help the students both inside and outside of school with social and emotional issues.
Under what circumstances would you vote to raise property taxes? East St. Louis already has some of the highest property taxes in the state and I would do everything in my power not to have them raised more.
What are your goals for the district/what do you want to accomplish? One goal I have for the district is to have a higher graduation rate with students who are college and career ready. I want students to be at or above grade level. I want students to receive social and emotional supports. I want students to be competitive with students around the world.
What is your position on the proposed increase in minimum wage for teachers in Illinois? I think teachers should have an increased minimum wage because it is unfair that teachers in Chicago make astronomically more than the rest of the state. I think that the starting salaries should be comparable and increased accordingly so that teaching would be more competitive with other professions.