A Thumbnail Sketch of the Seven Candidates for Effingham Unit 40 School Board

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Published on March 31 2023 10:47 am
Last Updated on March 31 2023 11:03 am
Written by Greg Sapp

 

There are seven candidates for seats on the Effingham Unit 40 Board of Education in the Tuesday, April 4 election.

That includes four candidates for three seats on the Board in Township 8N Range 5E...Jane Willenborg, Jill Wendling, Andrew Altman and Cary Harper. Willenborg and Wendling are currently serving on the Board.

There are three candidates for two seats in Township 8N Range 6E...Desha Wear, Dallas Bear and Scott Volpi. Wear is currently serving on the Board.

JANE WILLENBORG--

Willenborg is the current school board secretary, is a precinct committeewoman, an Eastern Illinois Area Special Education board and the former Special Education co-chairman, is Effingham County Republican secretary, and is a member on committees at Sacred Heart Church. She and her husband Dennis have been married for 43 years, and they have four chiildren and seven grandchildren.

Willenborg lists drug use and discipline as the two chief items needing the Board's focus. She strongly encourages parental involvement, school safety training for students and staff, and suggested Town Hall meetings or making surveys available for district residents to share input. 

JILL WENDLING--

Wendling is completing his first term on the Board. She is currently serving as board vice-president and has been conducting meetings in the absence of the president. She also feels her experience as an educator and a community business leader. She and her husband Steve have two children, Jackson and Meredith.

As to reasons for running for the Board, Wendling shared, "I have a passion and a heart for education! I am humbled and proud to represent our district as a sitting Board of Education member. I have a background as an educator and I know what it’s like to work in the classroom. I feel that I have the expertise and empathy to make decisions to do what’s best for kids. I appreciate the hard-working people in our district and I want to be a part of their successes. I played a part in the district’s strategic planning process. With the help of community leaders, parents, staff, students, and a few board members, we were able to adapt a new Strategic Plan which sets goals and vision for the next 3-5 years. I would like to remain a part of this Strategic Plan to make our dreams and vision a reality."

Asked for two key issues facing the Board, Wendling responded, 

1. Like all business and governmental agencies, Unit 40 faces the same issue of a shrinking labor pool and rising labor costs. We will still strive to hire and retain the best of the best. We will continue to implement policies to attract new and experienced teachers and staff.

 
2. Schools will continue to see the long-lasting effects of Covid. Even though much of the pandemic is behind us, the world is living with social and emotional wounds. Some kids fell behind with remote learning. Many birth to 5 year-old children didn’t receive the services they needed to be ready for kindergarten. We are implementing our best intervention methods to get kids caught up and we will continue to strive to be better.
 
CARY HARPER--
 
Harper is a graduate of Effingham High School and SIU Edwardsville where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree on Accountancy. He is Director of Account Management at J&J Ventures. He is a United Way leadership giver, served as volunteer at Food Bank of the Rockies, and is an Effingham Sportsbackers member. As other qualifications, Harper listed more than 20 years of professional experience in leadership, customer service, business management, forecasting, budgeting, employee development, communication and teamwork. He and his spouse Katie have three children, Jack, Grace and Luke. 
 
When asked for the most pressing issues for the district, Harper lists the aftermath of the pandemic and addressing the district's computer network problem. He feels the safety of students and staff will be the top priority. He also said it's important for students to be learning in person and communicating with their peers and teachers face to face each day.
 
ANDREW ALTMAN--
 
As to background and experience, Altman said he graduated from EHS in 2006 and then completed his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at SIUE in 2012. He has worked locally as a pharmacist for 11 years and also volunteered for nine years with the high school youth group in his church. He and his wife have three children, two of whom are attending Central Grade School in Unit 40.
 
Asked why he's running for the school board, Altman said, "I want to see all of our children get a good foundational education as they progress toward adulthood and become individually responsible citizens in our community. I believe it is important for parents to be represented on the board, as it is our children who will be directly affected by the decisions of the board."
 
As to two chief issues he feels the next board will face, Altman shared, "Protecting our students and educators from both physical and digital attacks should be a topic of continued interest. Another issue to be faced is ensuring all students are appropriately challenged and receive the best education possible."
 
DESHA WEAR--
 
When asked about her background and experience, Wear shared, "I am a physician and the Medical Director of a local healthcare facility, where I am a leader and collaborative partner with my colleagues and staff.  Before returning to my hometown in 2018, I spent over 13 years in private practice medicine in the St. Louis area. I have been a small business owner and I have worked on various committees under several different hospital administrations. My strength is having a practical common sense approach to problem solving.
 
Wear was asked why she's running for the Board? "I was born and raised in Effingham and proudly graduated from EHS. I am passionate about providing a quality, well-rounded public education for my children and the children of this district. I joined the school board in 2021 in order to be directly involved in this process and I would be honored to continue serving this community."
 
As to the two major issues Wear feels the next Board will face? "We must return Unit 40 to the school system of choice for local families. All aspects of the district, from new facilities to a quality lunch program to extracurricular activities to dual credit courses, are important in providing an exceptional public education. Most importantly, investing in our students starts with investing in our teachers and support staff. When a district takes care of its staff, the staff will take care of the students. Unit 40 needs to draw and retain quality educators in order to be the first choice for local families.
 
"As school shootings continue to happen across the country, the board of education must allocate sufficient resources to developing a robust school safety program. This may include expanding our pool of onsite resource officers, enhancing our surveillance system, and reevaluating the entry and exit points of our buildings. Police officers not only provide onsite physical protection, but they can positively impact the student body on a daily basis by being role models and mentors. It will be a challenge to keep our kids safe while maintaining normalcy in their educational lives, but we must take on this task."
 
SCOTT VOLPI--
 
Background: Attended Effingham Unit #40 K-12. Eastern Illinois University-Bachelor of Arts Degree (Sociology) with a minor in Business Administration. Family:  Wife: Kacie, Sons: Jett (18) and Cooper (11), Daughter: Isabella (17). Employment: Effingham Police Department School Resource Officer. Police Officer for 30 years. Unit #40 mentor for 15 years, Director of Shop with a Cop program, Volunteer coach of various youth sports programs.  

What are two major items to be addressed by the next school board? 

  1. The recruitment and retention of motivated, compassionate, and competent administrators, teachers, and staff is the most urgent issue. Ultimately, our student’s achievement and enjoyment in their educational experience is significantly influenced by the quality of their contacts in their district. Currently, we have highly qualified employees leaving Unit #40. I would address this by ensuring the compensation and benefits are competitive with other school districts. I also believe there are other non-monetary things that can be done to ensure administrators, teachers and staff feel valued and heard.
  2. The security of the children in attendance at Unit #40. In the current climate, our children are facing potential threats from outside of the schools and, just as importantly, from within the schools. While the district has recently addressed many of the security issues (new surveillance systems, additional policies and procedures, yearly intruder training for all staff, there are several more in need of urgent attention.

Volpi was also asked why he's running for the school board?  "I am a graduate of Effingham Unit 40 schools. I have chosen this community to raise my family. I have a vested interest in maintaining and improving the Unit 40 school system as all my children have graduated or are currently enrolled in Unit 40 schools. I believe I have a unique understanding of the challenges our district is facing. As Unit 40’s School Resource Officer, I communicate with hundreds of students, dozens of teachers, multiple administrators, and several staff members every day. Because of my active presence within all Unit 40 schools, I hear all the exceptional work the faculty does, I see the diverse talent of the students and I also hear many of the challenges each group is faced with which make me a highly qualified candidate for Effingham Unit 40 School Board. I appreciate your consideration."

DALLAS BEAR--

Experience and qualifications for serving on the School Board--"I am currently serving the people of Douglas 12 as their Precinct Committeeman. Additionally, my experience working with budgets in the State of Illinois and leading a church as a Pastor has equipped me with the skills to ensure efficient and effective operations while fostering collaboration and community engagement." He and his wife Lori are parents of four adult children.

Why am I running for School Board? "I am at a season in life where I have time to devote to this endeavor. I want to be a voice for parents because I believe there is an agenda from Springfield to diminish their influence. I also want to advocate for local control of our schools here in Unit 40."

What are two issues you think will face the School Board in the coming term? "I'm not sure what two issues will face our School Board, but it will probably have something to do with unfunded mandates from our State Legislature and the Governor. Springfield wants to regulate what we should teach our children without providing a revenue source for these mandates. My goal is to balance state standards with our district's resources to provide the best education for our students."