I was saddened to read your editorial (Feb. 7, Too many candidates from Minonk for School Board). My name is Darren Hester. I am running for School Board and yes I live in Minonk. The funny thing is my two children don't go to Minonk School. Oh their 2 schools are located within the Minonk city limits, but the name of their school is Fieldcrest. Maybe that's the problem. Nobody cares about Fieldcrest. They only care about Minonk, Toluca, and Wenona.

You have stated you don't know some of the candidates running for School Board, and I am certain I am one of those people you don't know. So I thought I would introduce myself, and offer some of my views and beliefs concerning Fieldcrest. Hopefully you will learn about all eleven candidates before you make an educated decision on who you should vote for and not base it on who you know. After all, these people will be spending your money, deciding where your child will go to school and what they will learn, and who teaches them.

First of all I didn't know it was a requirement to attend a School Board meeting and watch nothing get decided. I can read about that in the paper. The problem with Fieldcrest is well known and simple. It's called MONEY. And we don't have enough. There are only 2 ways to solve this problem. Quit spending and make more. Guess what? This works for personal finances as well as businesses too.

Lets start with quit spending. The largest expenditure for any medium to large business (yes Fieldcrest is a business, our product is educated (children) is labor. Now before all the teachers in the world start yelling at me, let me say that my wife ( Becky ) is a third grade teacher in Bloomington. So I know how hard they work, the little pay they receive, and the B.S. they put up with from kids, parents and administrators. But I'm running a business and my business can't lose money. Saying that, Fieldcrest must go to Attendance Centers to consolidate classes and eliminate teaching positions. I am not in favor of closing a school for a couple of reasons. You would have to still have maintenance and insurance on the closed school until torn down or sold. It would also cramp 1300 children into 3 buildings, with no room to grow.

Secondly, if you ask any business owner "if you lost money last year, would you give your employees a raise?" I doubt you will find any owner who will say yes. But that is exactly what Fieldcrest did last year. They lost money and gave their employees a raise. Guess what? Their contract is up again this summer. Dave, as you get to know the candidates, find out what their position is on this subject.

And lastly on employees, you must look at your "managers" ie: Principals. As I said before my wife teaches in Bloomington and her boss, the Principal, is also a principal at another school. There is no reason we can't have a principal for both the High School and South, and a principal for East and West. People against this will say there will be times the Principal isn't in the building. I say one phone call and in 10 minutes he will be. Others will say we will have to pay milage and a larger salary. I say no. This is the pay, no milage. Do you want the job or not. Trust me we can find a qualified candidate that will do the job.

Finally on spending, you must eliminate all spending that does not help the District financially. Basically what that means is the School Board should ask itself "Will this expense help us be financially stable in the years to come. A great example was the $15,000 soundproofing of a gym. Did that help us get closer to our goal of financial stability. No.

Now lets talk revenue. There are basically 3 ways the school gets money. The State, taxes, and fees. There are others but these are the big 3. The State is not going to increase the funding to schools anytime soon. If anything it will decrease. Why? The State has no money to give. They are broke. Although I applaud the hard work, effort, and concern the CAC has done, it should be dissolved. The district should reinstate all extra curricular activities and sports. You say this is an expense and you're right. But it is an expense that is being paid for by fees and believe it or not it will help the district financially if tackled in the correct manner.

The problem is the CAC kept ALL activities. If there was 1 student in French Club with a sponsor that cost $5000, the CAC kept it. The School Board should look at each individual activity and come up with cost vs. participation. The activities that have the least participation along with the greatest cost should be eliminated. Once the programs/sports have been eliminated the overall cost of extra curriculums will have gone down. It only stand to reason if the overall cost goes down so will the fees that each student pays. Which brings me to the last revenue source of taxes.

With families of 1300 students paying less in fees, and the citizens of the district seeing the board is serious about cost savings, a referendum will have a greater chance to pass. I believe the citizens of Fieldcrest want to help the schools survive but also want assurances their money will not be wasted, or burdened with paying high fees and high taxes.

I know people are saying this sounds great, but we need to do what's best for the children. My reply is FINANCIAL STABILITY WITHIN THE DISTRICT IS THE BEST THING FOR OUR STUDENTS!!

Do you want better teachers? Have the money to pay for them.
Do you want a wider range of classes? Have the money to pay for them.
Do you want more extra curriculums and programs? Have the money to pay for them.
Do you want better lab equipment, computers? Have the money to pay for them.
Do you want a better school? Have the money to pay for it.

In closing I will tell you a little bit about myself. I am 40 years old, married with 2 children. Allison is a Freshman, and ranked #1 academically in her class. Jack is a 3rd grader and is a sports nut. We have lived in Minonk for 11-12 years. I work at Mitsubishi, am a Minonk Parks & Rec board member, Bi-County Little League board member, Youth Baseball and Basketball coach. I am also a Die Hard, Die Hard CUBS fan. (Don't hold that against me)

Dave I ask that all Eleven candidates give you and the voters their views on the district so people can make an educated decision on what is best for FIELDCREST.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Darren Hester
Candidate Fieldcrest School Board Member