Niles voters will head to the polls Tuesday, and when they do, they’ll cast their votes for two open seats on the Niles Community Schools Board of Education.

Two four-year terms are open on the board, that of current president Dana Daniels and Michael Waldron.

Both incumbents are running in the election, along with one opponent, Jeff Harrell.

The board has faced some of its most difficult challenges over the last few years, welcoming a change in leadership with new superintendent Richard Weigel, and facing severe reductions in state funding, which led to the closure of Eastside Elementary School and now consecutive rounds of teacher layoffs.

Waldron and Daniels have been at the center of those controversies.

Harrell received attention when he led a petition to stop the closing of Eastside Elementary School. It was after all measures failed to save the school that Harrell filed his bid for a school board seat.

The Star submitted questions to each candidate in an effort to get their views on some of the issues currently facing officials in education.

Daniels’ answers will be featured today and Waldron’s will be in Thursday’s Star.

Harrell did not respond to the questionnaire, and current contact information could not be located.

The district’s budget issues are weighing heavy on everyone’s minds right now.  While cuts are expected, can you tell us two areas where you believe the district needs to be proactive in saving money and generating revenue?

A. Current legislation that is under consideration will help in this measure, having all employees pay 20 percent of their insurance premiums will result in large saving. In addition to that, the board just approved the research needed for a QZAB Loan from the federal government. This interest-free loan could be used to change lighting in the schools to save on utilities.

B. There are a number of items in place to try to increase revenue, the most important are Niles New Tech, turning Eastside into a magnet school for New Tech and offering a choice between all-day and half-day kindergarten. We are also reaching out to the home school community to see if they have needs that Niles Community Schools can meet.

What is your position on the issue of “Last In First Out,” the widely-used process of laying off teachers based on seniority?

I personally do not like the concept or the practice; however, until now, there has never been a merit evaluation process in place to fairly evaluate the performance of a teacher. Tenured teachers were evaluated every three years, while probationary teachers were evaluated two to three times per year.  With the Race to the Top laws that went into place last year, merit evaluations for all teachers have begun to take place. I believe that a person should be judged on merit, and that the best teachers should be the ones that stay. Our kids are too important to accept less.

The district is currently in negotiations with teachers, something that has been quite contentious over the last few years. How would you like to see the relationship between the board and the teachers’ union change in the future?

Our local teachers care about our kids and want what is best for them. In the past, we have had the teacher’s negotiating team in to go over the budget and ask their opinion; I think that is a practice we should begin again. We have also tried to be far more transparent in our financial position, so the public and our teachers know what we are dealing with. I believe that if each group is dealing with the same data and focuses on our students, then the process would become much less contentious. However, almost all of our local teachers are not directly involved with the negotiation process, much of that is controlled by the MEA, the state union officials. I believe removing them from the process would lessen tensions even more.

How would you describe the importance of the school board’s role in education today?

School boards have three major functions, set policy, develop and approve the budget and hire a superintendent. All of these functions set the tone and culture of the district. The tone and culture can lead to excitement within the staff, which transfers to the students, which transfers to the parents and then the whole community is involved. So how the board deals with these functions is extremely important to the community.  The Board also has to stay focused on the students, what is best for them. It is also my belief that it is the board’s responsibility to continuously raise the standards so that all members of Niles Community Schools are challenged.

All current proposals aside, if you could have your way in regard to budget cuts, what are the top three areas where you would cut first in order to save the district money under an impending deficit?

This is a very difficult question to answer, in my time on the board (seven years, 10 months), all we have doing is cutting the budget. The real question deals with how to cut the budget without impacting the students or their education. The board has gone with many ideas on how to save money; we have privatized services, cut employees and removed programs while trying to stay away from the classroom. The idea with the greatest impact deals with the realization by all Niles Community School employees that we are at a time of shared sacrifice for the sake of the students. The administration just went to the 80/20 insurance plan, meaning they will now pay 20 percent of the premiums. This is saving us $53,000 per year. If we can get the same sort of shared sacrifice from everyone, then much of the problem will be solved.

Nationally speaking, a stronger focus is being put upon school districts to prepare their students to compete globally in the workforce.  Where do you believe the district is lacking in that regard and how would you like to see that improve?

Many of the areas where the district was not meeting those needs are being met with Niles New Tech.  In addition to New Tech, the district has been meeting with Lake Michigan College to work through a program where our juniors and seniors can begin taking classes at LMC for college credits at no cost to their families. When our new superintendent was brought in, this was one of his major directives from the board. He has been focusing on various means to correct this. So at this time, I would like to see the programs that are being developed, implemented and then evaluated to see what would need to be improved.