TAXES
I vote for budgets and building projects that don’t waste taxpayer money.
I vote for policies that make billion dollar corporations pay their fair share and don’t get tax breaks homeowners have to pay for.
I vote for tax relief that spends down resource hoarding cash reserves without threatening to cut programs and services.
I reject the recklessness of extreme financial arguments.
I prioritize our community members who demand and expect well maintained schools, diverse programs, and highly qualified staff without wasting money.
Click here to read my comments regarding the most recent tax levy.
STUDENT SAFETY
The first time my oldest child went through an active shooter drill in Kindergarten, he came home and hid under his bed for an hour while I grieved that this is our reality. Regardless of political affiliation, we’re all rightfully scared and angry. I think about this all the time.
D211 is a rich district, which means we have the cash to invest in cutting edge technology and systems updates to keep our students safe. That’s what I vote to do. I do not rely on political parties or special interest groups to hand me predetermined opinions on these issues.
I make decisions based on the best available evidence and with the gravity this issue requires.
ACADEMICS
I have high expectations for our students and staff.
I expect our coursework and career programs to be top notch and accessible to all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status or family background.
I ask administrators hard questions, many to do with ensuring all of our most challenging classes, local business internships, remedial programs, and extracurricular activities are truly available to every D211 student.
Sometimes people say we should “get back to the basics”, but I think D211 students can do a lot more than just the basics.
“The basics” isn’t good enough for me.
FAMILIES
The best way to keep kids and families safe is to build connections between students, their families, and the school houses.
I vote for staffing ratios that make sure we have enough councilors, social workers, and psychologists to serve our school community in a timely manner.
Necessary school safety measures make our school buildings more inaccessible than ever, which means we need to be creative and find new ways to rebuild our connections to one another.
That means using our staff to make connections with community services.
I push our district to host as many career fairs, craft fairs, school concerts, theater productions, orientation nights, and student showcases as we can.
This is my top priority for my second term.
SEX EDUCATION
D211 is a high school district and I support comprehensive sex education for teenagers because it prevents violence, decreases teenage pregnancy, and promotes healthy relationships.
Teenagers want to learn certain types of information in health class, like the efficacy of various methods of birth control and how to say no to someone who’s pressuring you. Comprehensive sex education provides that information, supporting parents and caring adults in focusing on what teenagers can only learn from them: their values.
Comprehensive sex education is a good faith invitation to allow our district to explain that the state of Illinois says the age of consent for all types of sex is 17, supporting you as parents in guiding them to decide whether having sex at 17 is a good idea in the first place.
Read a more detailed statement on the new sex education standards here.BOOK BANS
No.
People banning books want to decide what your kids can read.
By doing so, they insist their idea of what is appropriate for your kids is better than yours. Some people may want to disappear all evidence of ideas they don’t like and they have the right to do so for their own children, but they don’t have the right to do that for my children, or your children.
Banning books isn’t about protecting teenagers. It’s a desperate attempt by the terrified to stamp people and ideas they’re afraid of out of existence, rather than learning how to peacefully coexist with neighbors they disagree with.
I passionately defend my children’s right to read and I will defend your child’s rights just as passionately.
Kimberly Cavill for D211
Thank you for voting