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Name: Aaron Kelly
What office are you seeking? Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education
What is your political party? I am running as a Non-Partisan candidate
What is your current age? 46
Occupation and employer: Sr. Director, Product Marketing at Salesforce
What offices, if any, have you previously held? I have had the honor of serving in the following offices:
- Trustee, Hampshire Township Park District (2011 - 2019)
- Trustee, Village of Hampshire (2019 - Current)
City: Hampshire, IL
Campaign Website: https://www.aaronforeducation.com/
Education: I‘ve earned the following degrees:
- Bachelor of Science, Rockford University
- Master of Business Administration, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Community Involvement: I currently serve as an Assistant District Administrator for the Illinois District 13 Little League organization, which serves over 12 Little Leagues across Northern Illinois.
Marital status/Immediate family: I’ve been married to my wonderful wife for over 23 years and we have one son.
Questions:
How can the district improve reading and English proficiency and state test scores?
Right now I’m not sure.
To speak intelligently on this subject, I want to evaluate the current curriculum, meet with educators to learn what they believe is working and not working, and research methodologies used by districts that are seeing great improvements in their English proficiency rates.
If you have children, do they or did they attend public school and was that for all of their K-12 school years?
My son currently attends public school in District 300.
What do you see as the school district’s role in deciding what materials should be available in the library and in curricula?
Educators, administrators, and staff work together to bring curriculum proposals before the Board of Education (BOE), which is responsible for approving the curriculum. The BOE should provide feedback that represents the interests of their communities and works to improve the education of all students in the district.
From time to time it may be necessary for the BOE to request that staff re-evaluate the curriculum if it is felt that the needs of the students are not being met and that results are not being achieved. Progress can be evaluated using the Illinois Report Card, graduation rates, educator feedback, student feedback, and direct observation.
Per the District 300 board policy manual, the BOE is responsible for approving textbooks and educational services, which are tools used to achieve the goals of the curriculum and should be in strong alignment. Ultimately, the BOE is responsible for the district’s curriculum, in alignment with state mandates, and providing educators, administrators, and staff with the tools and resources they need to deliver that curriculum.
Most of local residents' property taxes go to their school districts. Are taxes paid to your school district too high? What would you do to protect the interests of taxpayers?
Currently, District 300 accounts for approximately 80% of property taxes collected throughout the district. This number varies based on the other governing bodies to which a resident or business also pays property taxes.. According to a 2024 article, Rocket Mortgage showed that Illinois has the 2nd highest effective property tax rate in the country at 2.08%. Only New Jersey was higher. This is a problem and increases the difficulty for home ownership as it raises the total cost for potential buyers.
While I realize that there are many factors that go into what someone pays in property tax, the vast majority of this goes to the school district. Therefore I feel that it is vital that the district be fiscally responsible when evaluating annual budgets. This means balancing minimizing costs while at the same time also providing the resources needed by our students and educators to foster world class learning opportunities.
Most of the COVID relief money from the federal government is coming to an end. What spending adjustments does your school district need to make to address that?
The impact of any funding coming to an end means that the school district will need to re-evaluate expenditures and bring them in line with revenue estimations. No governmental organization should budget an ongoing deficit. There are currently many federal orders and conversations that will require the school district to take a hard look at their budget and consider mitigation plans. I also believe that the School District should approach each year with a zero-based budgeting strategy and to ensure that all spending is in line with first principles. I believe that my background in government budgets and funding will be very valuable to the District 300 Board of Education.
Should Title IX cover sexual orientation or gender identity? What are your views on the use of locker rooms and bathrooms by transgender students and their participating in sports?
Title IX, a law passed by Congress in 1972, defines what it covers. A local board of education cannot define it, and therefore the personal opinions of board members regarding following the law do not matter. It is the role of the local board of education to follow the laws and regulations as set forth by the federal and state governments.
Therefore, per the “No Men in Women’s Sports” federal executive order it is no longer permitted to allow students in locker rooms or to participate in sports outside of their biological sex. Until such time that this is changed by either court order or congressional action it is the responsibility of all local and state school boards to follow this federal order.
What is your stance on ICE agents accessing school grounds, and what policies would you advocate for regarding their presence on school property?
I believe that the Board of Education must follow the law, which means under certain circumstances, schools must allow ICE agents on school property. For example, when they have shown their credentials, stated why they are there, and have a criminal warrant signed by a federal judge. I would advocate for policies that ensure the school district is following the law, not putting itself at legal risk while at the same time protecting the privacy of students and staff.
What are the top three issues that the school district is facing right now?
Teacher shortages are a national concern, and District 300 is no different. At the time I filled out this questionnaire, there were 106 open positions in the District, roughly 69 of which were for educators and paraprofessionals. This means that current educators and paraprofessionals are working extra to cover these open positions, which can result in less prep time, no down periods, and overcrowded classrooms. This can lead to employee dissatisfaction and burnout. I would like to work with the board to evaluate hiring practices and compensation during the contract negotiations to ensure that they position themselves to be an employer of choice (which I understand may be completed before I would take office). To ensure that staff are not pushed beyond state limits for student capacity, consider having administrators work together to cover open positions until they can be filled, hire part time educators to provide schedule relief, increase the permanent substitute workforce, and provide support systems for staff during shortages. Further, it’s important to create a work environment where the current staff know that the board and the administration supports them. Whether it’s dealing with student disciplinary issues or developing new and innovative curriculums, knowing that you are supported can make a big difference in work satisfaction. Employees need to know that they are valued. This is one key factor to reducing turnover.
Another pressing issue is the growth that is occurring in many parts of the district. For example, the Village of Hampshire is adding 10-20 new homes per month and has current development plans for over 2,500 homes. Other communities such as Pingree Grove and Gilberts are also experiencing growth. An immediate result of this growth is the need for an additional middle school in the district. The current middle schools are near or over capacity already and the problem is only going to get worse. To remedy this situation I would prioritize the addition of another middle school before other major facility projects. The process of finding a location, evaluating boundary implications, building and staffing a new middle school will take time, which the district does not have. It is imperative that this process start as soon as possible.
Finally, a more recent issue has arisen as a result of federal executive actions and discussions. The school district is reliant on state and federal funds to operate and meet the needs of the community. Recent executive orders and current executive discussions are resulting in the need for school districts to create mitigation plans should funding dramatically shift. I believe that the board needs to prioritize addressing these potential issues so that they are prepared and have a plan in place if and when funding does shift.
What is your position on allowing students to use cell phones during school hours?
I am not in favor of students using cell phones during school hours. That said, they should not necessarily be banned from school. The only exception for using a phone during school hours, in my opinion, would be when needed for medical purposes or in an emergency. For example, if a student needs to access their phone to monitor blood sugar levels, they should be able to do so. As with other medically necessary exemptions, documentation would need to be on file to support the student’s need to use their phone.
Do you think cell phone policies should allow exceptions for emergencies or specific educational purposes? If so, how would these exceptions be defined?
As I shared earlier, I do believe that there should be exemptions in cases when using the cell phone is a medical necessity. I’m not sure what specific educational purposes a cell phone would provide that school technology would not be able to accommodate, however in those cases I would be completely open to understanding more so that I can make a better informed decision.
What steps would you take to address concerns about cyberbullying and inappropriate content access through student cell phones?
Cyberbullying is never acceptable and should be treated in the same manner as bullying. The district has a zero tolerance policy and that needs to be made completely clear to the entire student body. There should be no question that there will be disciplinary actions taken towards those who bully. There should be zero questions in the minds of the students, and their families, that this type of behavior is not tolerated.
Regarding unacceptable content, there are types of content that I believe we all would agree are unacceptable for a student’s cell phone. And, there would need to be a clear definition for other types of content as to what is unacceptable and, when done, content identified as such should not be tolerated. This is a discussion that will need to involved parents, the community, educators, staff and administration.
Should students be able to use AI in schoolwork?
AI has fundamentally transformed how we work and how we learn. Some have referred to it as the beginning of the next industrial revolution. I don’t feel it’s something that we should ban or ignore. Rather there is a need to find a way to incorporate the use of AI in a way that helps in the development of the student. AI has also driven the increased importance of developing new skills that need to be taught such as prompt engineering, machine learning, data engineering and more.
Now, there are also risks associated with allowing AI in the schools as there is the potential for AI to be misused. It is vital that the Board of Education have someone on the board that truly understands AI from a technological perspective as well as an ethical perspective. I believe I bring that much needed skill set.
What is your plan for making district financial reports, including budgets and expenditures, publicly available and easy to understand?
By law all financial reports, budgets and expenditures are already publicly available and can be found on the district’s website. That said, making it easy to understand is something that still needs to be done.
There are a couple of immediate actions that the board can take:
- First, hold open meetings and town halls where they take the time to explain the budget to their constituents in an easy to understand way. There should be discussions on what the various funds are, if there are restrictions on what revenue goes into a fund and what expenditures can be included in that fund.
- Second, to scale the explanations there should be video recordings aimed at teaching the community about how the School District budget works. These should be done in short episodes that are delivered by various members of the administration and board.
- Finally, the Board of Education should use the communication channels such as email and social media at its disposal to share updates on the budget process.
How would you involve parents and community members in the decision-making process for curriculum or policy changes?
One way to involve parents and the community in the policy making process is to ask for input and feedback and include that in the overall considerations when looking to craft the policies. An example where District 300 is doing a good job with this is their current evaluation of cell phone usage in the schools. The parents and community have been asked to provide input via a survey that was shared through multiple communication channels.
Then there needs to be a plan on educating the community throughout the process and then once the decision is made. For example, the cell phone evaluation process should include sharing the survey results with the community, communicating the timeline of the project and what to expect throughout, as well as provide an opportunity for community feedback on the drafted policy once the district has this completed.
What is your position on banning books in school libraries or classrooms, and how do you define the criteria for such decisions?
I believe that the books in school libraries and classrooms should be age and grade appropriate. If there is a book in question, it can be evaluated by the Board of Education in collaboration with educators, administrators, parents and community members to determine if it is age and grade appropriate.
How would you balance maintaining appropriate class sizes with the current teacher staffing levels?
Current staffing levels do not always allow for appropriate class sizes. Teacher shortages are resulting in overcrowded classrooms, lack of planning time and specialists with case loads higher than state guidelines. The way to maintain appropriate class sizes is to hire and retain educators. While the shortages exist, the Board of Education needs to continue to evaluate alternatives, out of the box stop gaps while they staff up. These can include increased “permanent” substitutes assigned to schools, administrators taking on classes, and balancing teachers throughout the district temporarily.
Do you believe the district is allocating enough resources toward hiring and supporting teachers, and if not, what changes would you make?
Teacher shortages affect all School Districts which means it’s a competitive market and the district has to find a way to differentiate itself. There needs to be a clear message on why someone should choose District 300 over others.
I believe that the Board of Education is trying, however there are areas of opportunity that still exist. There needs to be efforts to recruit teachers who are new to the profession by offering higher wages and enticing benefits as well as a plan to recruit experienced teachers by offering credit towards service based on their years of experience and a fast track to tenure.
There are also opportunities to build, or continue building, professional relationships with area colleges and universities who specialize in education programs. Becoming a destination for student teachers and having a structured program that presents an opportunity for employment upon completion and graduation is another way to increase hiring rates of new graduates.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
To ensure that I am accessible to my constituents I will keep an open line of communication through email, social media, and in-person conversations. This can include town hall meetings, meet and greets as well as connecting before and after Board of Education meetings.