:quality(70):focal(324x281:334x291)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/VNTIWXY5AJDKLHHUBMMC2UEHWI.jpg)
Name:
Sean Cratty
What office are you seeking?
D158 School Board Member
What is your political party?
Candidate did not respond.
What is your current age?
44
Occupation and employer:
Retail Market Director for FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha)
What offices, if any, have you previously held?
Huntley School Board Member
Grafton Township Trustee
Huntley Library Board
City:
Campaign Website:
Only a Facebook page, Sean Cratty for Huntley D158
Education:
Bachelor Degree - Business Administration
Community Involvement:
Huntley Fall Fest, Huntley Park Foundation, Battle of the Bald - Huntley, Huntley Chamber of Commerce - Ambassador.
Marital status/Immediate family:
Yes. Emmy Cratty and three children
Questions:
Would you make any changes to the district’s medication policy?
While I understand and support our medication policy, I believe that communication to our parents regarding our policy needs to be better. Having three children in the district, with one of them being at the high school it was brought to my attention that in order for her to receive Tylenol or Ibuprofen for a minor headache from the school nurse, she needed to have a doctors note on file. Knowing this prior to her entering middle school and high school would have been helpful.
How can the district improve reading and English proficiency and state test scores?
The district can strive to continue reading scores using evidence based curriculum. Continue to implement interventions for students not meeting district standards in English Language arts. As shown on the district report card, 50.3% of students made growth in English Language Arts, which is comparable to the state growth of 50%. Moving forward we would like to see that growth continue to trend upward to increase the amount of students who are meeting and exceeding district standards.
If you have children, do they or did they attend public school and was that for all of their K-12 school years?
Yes, I have three children in the Huntley School District, since Kindergarten.
What do you see as the school district’s role in deciding what materials should be available in the library and in curricula?
All students should have access to a large variety of material and curricula. The way the district’s role can ensure a variety is by having a diverse collection of materials and curricula to meet all students always.
The districts role is also to search for data driven curriculum that will continue to support student achievement, along with the ever changing society that our students experience.
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?
As a resident in the district I also pay taxes. I think we all agree having lower taxes would be great, but understanding the funding the schools get I understand the tax bill. The board continues to use the levy to bring in funds to keep up with teacher and support staff contracts, building maintenance and the over all costs of the school district. We also try to abate taxes when we can to lower the burden on tax payers, much like the board has done the last two years. This year we voted to take the full levy but to abate, bringing the burden down to 2% for the community and taxpayers.
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?
We understand the COVID relief money is about to expire, we will continue to look at our other funds to ensure that no area is cut or forgotten about. The initiatives that the ESSER funds supported will continue in the district, some may have to adjust the level of funding without the federal funds being available.
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?
The regulation behind Title IX is not to discriminate against one’s sex. Therefore looking at the above situations, I support following a federal law and looking at all situations with a non-biased opinion.
What is your stance on ICE agents accessing school grounds, and what policies would you advocate for regarding their presence on school property?
We would always follow ISBE’s guidelines and work with authorities as any situations come up.
What are the top three issues that the school district is facing right now?
Bullying
Mental Health
Absenteeism
What is your position on allowing students to use cell phones during school hours?
The high school uses cellphone lockers currently where their phones are in a hanging locker by number, so the phone is in the room with them but this allows the student to engage in learning without distraction.
I support this model or any other different model that will continue the engagement of learning during instruction.
Do you think cell phone policies should allow exceptions for emergencies or specific educational purposes? If so, how would these exceptions be defined?
There is always an exception to every rule, but this creates a gray area for staff and students. The rules of cellphones need to apply to all situations. The model that we currently have allows students to have access to their phones in case of an emergency. I do believe we need to also have the cellphone lockers in all of our schools, which I believe today does not exist.
What steps would you take to address concerns about cyberbullying and inappropriate content access through student cell phones?
Both of these situations could be detrimental to students. The steps to address these situations should supply a platform for students to share concerns or alert staff to problem areas. The ultimate solution is for the steps to be preventative and not reactive.
Should students be able to use AI in schoolwork?
No. With all the changes in technology, while AI is convenient, I believe it disconnects students from critical thinking and learning. AI can be useful for accommodations for students with supports in the classroom.
What is your plan for making district financial reports, including budgets and expenditures, publicly available and easy to understand?
All of our financial reports are on our district website and in the board packet monthly. If there are any questions our financial team is always will to answer if needed.
How would you involve parents and community members in the decision-making process for curriculum or policy changes?
Always involving community leaders and parents on committees is of high importance to our district. We already have these committees in place, but always welcome more input.
What is your position on banning books in school libraries or classrooms, and how do you define the criteria for such decisions?
I am aware that we have books that are banned. As a school board member it is my responsibility to listen to our district librarians about their position to ban or not ban books.
How would you balance maintaining appropriate class sizes with the current teacher staffing levels?
Currently I feel our class sizes are manageable across the district. I know there are new subdivisions that may bring an increase to enrollment in the district. With this new enrollment I would like to see the class sizes remain the same, but if an increase is necessary we look at the support that is provided to the teachers.
Do you believe the district is allocating enough resources toward hiring and supporting teachers, and if not, what changes would you make?
Currently Huntley provides a mentorship program to new teachers, this provides new teachers a way to navigate their early career. The mentorship program is necessary and hopefully creates teacher retention across the district.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I am always willing to listen to concerns, ideas, and thoughts. I would love to hear from you at scratty@district158.org. I am highly involved in the community with my volunteer work and other board roles, which allows me to see people in the community outside of my school board activities.