Politics & Government

St. Charles Board of Education Candidate Howard Faith

Howard Faith would like to see the district offer year round preschool.

Patch reached out to all local candidates for office to do an election profile before the April election. All candidates who spoke with Patch will be featured on the site. 

Howard Faith, 44

Occupation: Facilities Coordinator

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Education: A.A.S Business Management; Certificate in Accounting and Computer Networking from St. Charles Community College

Family: Married with three children that attended the St. Charles School District and four grandchildren that currently will be attending

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Years in St. Charles: 44 

Background:

I retired from the City of St. Charles School District in 2012 after 25 years. During that time I worked in the facilities department as a custodian, general maintenance worker, and grounds worker. I also worked in the business office as the business office specialist and interim facilities director.  This provides me with a broad knowledge of how a school district functions and where we need to head for the future.

Why are you running for election?

There are three reasons that I am running. I always said that I was going to run for a Board position when I retired. The district provided me with a lot over the past 25 years and I wanted to give a little back. With 25 years experience in varying fields with the district I feel that I can provide the board a diverse outlook than they have had in the past few years. Since I have a child and grandchildren attending the district I have a personal connection in the direction the district takes for the future.

What is the biggest issue facing St. Charles School District?

The biggest issue facing the district currently and for at least the next few years is the budget. As funding from state and local levels decrease and costs continuing to increase, the district will be faced with many tough choices over the coming years. Staying within their budget and planning ahead for sustainable and realistic future costs will require tough choices.

In what areas does St. Charles School District need to improve?

The district needs to improve in all areas. The schools should always be looking at ways to serve the students and patrons in more productive and useful ways. We need to constantly evaluate our policies, curriculum, facilities’ and staffing as changes inside our school boundaries take place. This should include course offerings, class size, equipment, training for staff, and ways to improve communications between the district and families.

What areas would you prioritize as the district downsizes its budget
due to less revenue from the state?

You need two key things to provide students the education needed to make it in today’s world. You need safe and functional facilities and the retention of properly trained staff. You can have the best curriculum program in place, but without properly trained staff to teach it and a safe functional place for it to be taught in it won’t give our children what they need.
How should the school district evaluate and measure teacher quality?

What's one thing you'd like to accomplish this year?

I would like to see the district offer a year round, full day pre-school program at all of the elementary schools. This program greatly benefits our students and families and is predominantly self-funding through tuition and grants.


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