William Wilson

On the Record

What experiences do you have that make you a good candidate for office?

I have been a seated board member for 12 years, current chairman of the school district finance committee, previous member of the superintendent’s finance committee, Coultrap and High School advisory task forces, and member of the facility master planning committee. I am a Master School Board member having attained over 300 hours of State Mandated and elective board member training.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

My priorities are sustainability in the following three areas; taxes, spending, academics. District spending must kept to a sustainable level so current residents can afford annual tax payments but, at the same time, we must be able to maintain a quality education for our students to adequately prepare them for a future in an ever changing world.

Would you support freezing your taxing district’s levy until housing prices rebound? Why or why not?

Times and situations can always change, but at this time, I would lean away from freezing the levy. Freezing the levy would be a case of short term gain for long term pain. By freezing taxes short term, a small tax increase may be achieved today but taxpayers will feel the pain as rising long term debt payment requirements will result in a very rapid growth in annual tax burden as early as one year from now. I support the district’s current position of seeking smaller annual property tax increases and crediting back funds that have accumulated as a result of budget cuts/savings to our taxpayers in the form of an abatement. This will allow future long term mortgage payments to remain at a level as close as possible to what is paid today. By achieving slow, sustainable growth today, we can work to prevent large spikes in the future that would not be affordable to our taxpaying public tomorrow.

What one decision by the school board do you most disagree with and why?

As a current Board member, there are no decisions that have been made that I disagree with. During my tenure on the Board, there have been times that I have not liked a recommendation that has been brought forward, but I believe that the success of any governing body, as envisioned by the founding fathers of our country, is that through open discussion and compromise, the decisions made by the majority establishes future direction. On all votes, I have been afforded the opportunity to express my opinions and thoughts, but following the vote I have always supported the final decision of the majority and have taken actions to see that the decisions is successful.

What was the biggest accomplishment of the board in the past year?

By far the biggest accomplishment is the teachers’ contract. The Board and the teachers reached an agreement forming the basis for a contract that is sustainable from a current and future salary basis, and has curtailed/eliminated portions of the contract that are obsolete in today’s world. This new contract agreement was reached without allowing the threat of a strike to weaken the Boards resolve to achieve these goals.

Why should voters elect you to office?

I have lived in Geneva almost my entire life and am a product of the Geneva school system. Twelve years ago, I set out to give something back to the community that provided me with the skills and knowledge that I have used to become a successful business person and a contributing member of this community. During my tenure, I have both agreed and disagreed with the ideas put forward by School Administration, and have collaborated with many different Board Members to move ideas forward that have been very good for the stakeholders and most importantly, the children of Community School District #304. I believe that voters should re-elect me to the School Board because of my knowledge and experiences as a Board Member as well as my long-term residency in Geneva.