Jeanette Ward has a simple philosophy when it comes to how she thinks the U-46 School Board should function.
“I don’t think we should continue to seek to increase the budget when student population is going down and overall performance is on the decline,” Ward told the Kane County Reporter. “I’ve always been an advocate for a sensible and balanced budget, and that isn’t going to change.”
Ward is seeking a second term on the board with her claim of being a reformer among her biggest selling points. She points to how she was instrumental in getting a law passed that allows members to have access to past session recordings and closed secret minutes.
Jeannette Ward
First elected in 2015, Ward said she views herself as being in the minority on the seven-member board based on her positions on spending and what she says is her insistence that the rights of all students be equally protected.
“I would say we have big conflicts in terms of spending, curriculum and social engineering issues,” she said.
Ward said she also counts her involvement in a charter school being constructed in the district among her biggest successes.
“It’s there now and I would like to think that’s partly based on some of the testimony I provided,” she said of Elgin Math and Science Academy.
Ward adds she sees rising property taxes as the biggest issue impacting area families and that she has always pushed for much-needed changes.
“We’ve increased the budget every year that I’ve been on the board, and each time I’ve voted 'no' on the proposals,” she said. “My suggestion is that we reduce property taxes in accordance with how much revenue we receive from all other places.”
Finally, Ward added, “We need to have citizens pay more attention to who they put on these school boards, because right now schools absorb about 70 percent of the property taxes you pay.”
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