Fiscal responsibility and quality of education are issues facing all four candidates for three seats on the Bannockburn School District 106 Board of Education.
Three incumbents — Mary Borden, Lucy Hammerberg and Carrie Rose — and challenger Wendy Stein square off against each other for the three board openings in the April 7 election.
Besides encompassing all of Bannockburn, the district includes small parts of Riverwoods and all of Del Mar Woods, according to school secretary Mary Alexander.
Hammerberg, the current board president who has held her seat for 18 years, intends to continue what she says is her record of fiscal responsibility and “careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” according to statements made in an email.
Borden, a CPA by training who has lived in Bannockburn for 12 years and served on the board since 2006, is proud of the fact the board has helped keep the property tax levy “flat” the last three years.
“The board is lowering the tax levy for the next fiscal year,” Borden said in an email.
Stein, the lone challenger and a Riverwoods resident, wants to make sure money is there for student needs while maintaining a prudent fiscal course.
“I feel Bannockburn School can better utilize its resources by allocating funds that best benefit the children’s needs while protecting the economic stability of the district,” Stein said in an email.
Preserving the quality of education is the sole issue for Rose, another CPA by profession who joined the board in January to fill a vacancy and is running for her first full term.
“I am running for a position on the Bannockburn School Board as a result of my desire to serve this community and to be part of preserving the quality of the Bannockburn School System,” Rose wrote in an email.
Hammerberg lists her other priorities as “maintaining educational excellence in a nurturing and positive environment” as well as keep up and improving the school’s infrastructure.
Like the other candidates, Borden tempers her financial concerns with a desire to assure a quality education.
“My major focus is to ensure that taxpayer funds are used in a fiscally responsible manner while also ensuring that our school is realizing its goals and highest potential,” Borden said.
Stein thinks educational quality has been diminished and wants to see that change along with equal opportunities for all children.
“I would like to help return Bannockburn School to the top 10 list of academic excellence in the state and get our test scores higher,” Stein said in an email. “I would like to help assure Bannockburn School remains competitive and provides the same, if not more, opportunities for our students as our surrounding local schools provide.”
The three candidates with the highest totals will be elected and voters may cast ballots for up to three candidates. Early voting begins March 23. People who wish to vote before April 7 should check with the Lake County Clerk’s office to find out where to go. District residents have multiple locations.
Mary Borden
In addition to her seven years on the school board and being a CPA, Borden has played a role negotiating the last two contracts for Bannockburn’s teachers. She has worked for Deloitte and Touche and has been a partner at the health care and business consulting firm of Harbor Ventures for the past 20 years.
Lucy Hammerberg
Besides being an 18-year incumbent and the current board president, Hammerberg is a physician and chief quality officer at Northwest Community Hospital. She has a background in emergency medicine, medical education and hospital administration. She has lived in Bannockburn for 22 years.
Carrie Rose
A Bannockburn resident for six years, Rose has two children attending Bannockburn School. She has used her CPA background both with a public accounting firm as well as for a private real estate investment and management company. She has also chaired committees on the Bannockburn School Parent Organization.
Wendy Stein
A 17-year resident of the district, Stein has been an active parent in the Bannockburn School Parent Organization. During that time she coordinated a committee to write the parent organization bylaws. She also manages her husband’s dental practice and is a property manager.
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @sadinsteve
