Quality Education The Taxpayers' Ticket is three residents of Naperville who are running as a group for the school board in the upcoming election. They are Mike Davitt, Dan Denys and Jerry Buch and they have a website with their bios and platforms.
This trio wants to be on the board that makes the final decisions on curriculums, budgets, contracts, calendars, and even textbooks. Everything that determines the education that our children will get.
So, why don't they tell us where their children go to school?
Because two of three send their children to schools outside of district 203.
Jerry Buch said at the NAHC forum:
"Five of our seven children have attended four District 203 schools, at various times, a total of 15 years in school here."
On 3/28/07, the Daily Herald quotes Jerry Buch:
"Thus far I have had five children attend four 203 schools during our 15-year residency in Naperville. I would have to say that my children’s most valuable experience would have to have been the opportunity each of them has had to be taught by at least one or more world-class teachers."
That is an average of only about 3 years per child. Where did they go or are they going for the majority of their primary and secondary education? Here's part of the answer: "Jerry Buch, the father of four former students of Kingswood Academy, returned to the conference this year despite the fact that [some of] his children are now home-schooled."
Our concern is that Jerry Buch acknowledges our "world class teachers," yet doesn't seem to take full advantage of them.
Dan Denys said he has two children, but what he did not say is that neither of them are currently enrolled in a District 203 school, nor is it clear that they have ever been so for an extended period. Currently, one is a student at a local private middle school where the K-8 tuition is $14,410 per year and the other is in private high school where the tuition is $7000 per year.
We think that someone who wants to run our schools, should use our schools.
Do we want to trust the education of our children to people who don't want to send their own children to District 203 schools?
Postscript: the Taxpayers' Ticket, their website (if it hasn't yet changed again) says that two of the current school board members do not have children in 203 schools. That is true, Debbie Shipley and Dean Reschke's children have all graduated from 203 elementary, middle & high schools.