Age: 51.
Residence: Naperville.
Family: Wife, Gale; children, Garrett, Britney and Kristin.
Education: Illinois Institute of Technology, bachelor's degree; Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Business, master's of business administration.
Employer: Oxford Band and Trust.
Political experience: None.
Community involvement: Indian Prairie Educational Foundation board member since 1994; past chairman and treasurer of the board of Heritage YMCA; Heritage YMCA board member since 1992; chairman, finance committee at Alleluia Lutheran Church.
Q: Do you support the current $103.5 million April referendum measure, and do you think a third high school is necessary to house incoming students?
A: I strongly support the referendum to build a third high school. I have had the opportunity since joining the school board in December to attend many meetings throughout the district and listen to the concerns of residents and parents. Many concerns are valid, but they do not take precedent over what will happen if we do not deal with the impending overcrowding of our middle schools and high schools.
The current enrollment of grades 2 to 5 is 9,200 students, which already exceeds the capacity of our two high schools and freshman campuses by nearly 800 students. These are real numbers and real issues we are faced with. Even though we are approaching full build-out, we are still growing at a rate of 900 students per year for all grades so there is urgency to pass the referendum now in order to get a new high school open in 2008 for those fifth-graders who will become our first freshman class.
I personally attended many of the citizens advisory meetings and heard their thoughtful consideration of many different ways to address this reality of overcrowded classrooms. I am convinced that the 43-member Citizens Advisory Committee was correct in its recommendation to build a third high school. The other options each had too many drawbacks and would result in significant negative impacts on students, parents, and property owners. The only option is overwhelmingly supported was to build a third high school.
I joined the school board with a promise to myself that I would always base my decisions on what is right for our children � the students of District 204. Building a third high school is the right decision because it is the best way for us to continue to offer all of our children the high quality of education they deserve and that we, as parents and residents of the district, have an obligation to provide for them.
The children are the ones who will benefit the most if we build a third high school and they are also the ones who will suffer the most if we do not. We, the residents and taxpayers in the district, will also benefit by enjoying the continued appreciation of our home values due to the fact that our district will continue to be an incredibly attractive place for parents to own a home and raise their children knowing that they are getting a superb education.
The referendum also includes money dedicated for technology, operations and maintenance, and improvements at Waubonsie Valley High School. The $24.9 million in these areas is necessary to meet the technology needs of our students at current levels, ensure the life safety of our buildings, and undertake necessary repairs and renovation to bathrooms, locker rooms, and high traffic areas at Waubonsie.
I can only hope that the referendum passes and that our school board does not have to confront the dire consequences that come upon a community that fails to deal with overcrowded schools and the subsequent decline in property values.
Q: With the state budget crisis and the future level of education funding up in the air, how should the district help make up the gap with less funds from the state and more students?
A: We are challenged in Illinois to effectively support our schools due to the dependence of school funding on property taxes. Approximately 82 percent of our funding in the district comes from local sources, 15 percent from the state, and 3 percent from the federal government. Reductions in state aid for our district would have a negative impact and would need to be dealt with by all of us.
By all of us I mean the school board, administration, teachers, parents, residents, and taxpayers in the district. A decline in the quality of education offered in District 204 due to a significant reduction in state aid hurts all of us so it would be up to all of us to come up with solutions.
When I applied in December to fulfill the term of a school board member leaving the district, I recommended and many of the other applicants recommended to the board that we focus on improving communications throughout the district and level of our fiscal responsibility. In response to those recommendations, the school board has recently appointed two Citizens Advisory Committees, one to work on communication and the other to work on financial matters. I am now serving as the board liaison to the communications committee.
If state aid is reduced further, I would recommend that we use two committees to explore our options to address this issue. The people who have been appointed to these committees are very talented in these areas. Working with the board and administration, I believe these committees would come up with creative solutions to help us address this issue.
I should note that District 204 is already run very efficiently per State Report Card, which compares financial data of all districts throughout the state. We compare very favorably to nearby District 203, Plainfield, Wheaton, Batavia, and Elmhurst in our operating expense per pupil, instructional expense per pupil, pupils per administrator, and average teacher salaries. There is not a whole lot of “fat” on our bones, so creative solutions would be necessary to deal with further state aid reductions.
03/23/05 From: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/sunpub/naper/election/glawe.htm
Indian Prairie School District 204's Board of Education appointed Bruce Glawe to fill a vacant board seat at its December 13, 2004 meeting.
Glawe, a former high school teacher, spent five years teaching math at Riverside-Brookfield High School before entering banking in 1980. He is currently employed as president and CEO of Oxford Bank & Trust.
With a background in education and finance, Glawe feels he can help the community better understand complicated financial issues facing the district. “I want to make sure the community has information they can comprehend so they can make a fully-informed decision on the upcoming referendum,” Glawe said.
Glawe has been an active member of the community since moving to the district in 1992. For the past 12 years, he has been a member of the Heritage YMCA board and served as chairman and treasurer. Since 1995, Glawe has been a board member of the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation, a private group that funds educational programs not covered by the school district's budget.
Glawe's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA in finance from Northwestern University.
Glawe is filling the unexpired term of former board member Jessica Johnson, who moved out of the district. He will serve on the board until April 2005.
From: http://www.ipsd.org/newsevents/news_item_detail.asp?id=3425&SchoolID=DEC
AURORA � A little less than half of the candidates running for seats on the Indian Prairie School Board are going to walk away happy Tuesday night.
Nine candidates are vying for four seats on the board, including three incumbents. Current board President Kathi Baldwin is not seeking another term.
Much of the discussion among candidates has centered on the $130.5 million referendum measure voters also will find on the ballot Tuesday.
“I believe we have done the best we could do with the numbers we were faced with every year,” said incumbent Jeannette Clark, who has served three terms on the board.
“We have always had seats for students and kept the bond and interest rate as stable as we could in an effort to make it as affordable for taxpayers as possible.”
Jim Box and Bruce Glawe are the other two incumbent candidates. Glawe was appointed to the board in December to fill a vacancy, and Box is serving his first term on the board.
Challenger Eve Kochman worked in the Indian Prairie and West Aurora districts as a school social worker.
“I think the district did really well for the most part of handling the growth with the blip of the freshman centers not being the best planning,” Kochman said. “Our schools are well utilized, every classroom is always being used at the middle school level.”
Voters approved the freshman centers as part of a 2001 referendum to help ease crowding at Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley high schools. Now, the district is asking voters to approve a referendum to build a third high school.
Chuck Kern is the only board candidate not supporting the referendum.
“I wanted a third high school in 2001 and I think the freshman centers were a big mistake,” said Kern, who was part of a Citizens Advisory Committee which recommended the current referendum measure. However, he now thinks the decision about the third high school was made too quickly.
Mark Mileusnic, who attended all the Citizens Advisory Committee meetings, said the need for the high school is evident.
“The kids are here,” Mileusnic said. “We need to have the seats, and we need to have adequate facilities and services for those kids.”
Naaman Moorman and John Stephens, both members of the Citizens Advisory Committee, also support the referendum measure.
“I don't know what part of Neuqua Valley or Waubonsie Valley we would put 1,000 more students in,” Stephens said. ” . . . We need room somewhere.”
Candidate Christine Vickers has not made her position on the referendum known.
04/03/05 From: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/city/a03ipcand.htm
The teachers union has endorsed the following candidates for School Board.
From: http://www.voteno204.org/page7.html
Citizens for Classrooms support the following District 204 School Board Candidates: Jim Box, Jeanette A. Clark, Bruce W. Glawe, Eve Kochman, Mark Mileusnic, Naaman H. Moorman, John K. Stephens