Richard Dickson

On the Record

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

I have served on many public service boards. They include Waubonsee Community College Board for over 30 years, Bristol-Kendall Fire Protection District Board for over 25 years, Kendall County 911 Executive Board since its orgin, and my local church board for over 50 years.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

My three top priorities for the college are: approve policies for the college, hire and maintain high quality personnel (administration, faculty, and staff), and to accommodate student access, and success in their chosen curriculums.

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

No tax freeze! Our student enrollment has increased by about 3-5 percent each year and now stands at approximately 11,000 per semester. Our campus consists of four sites with locations at Sugar Grove, Aurora, Plano, and Copley Hospital. We have to hire additional personnel (faculty and staff) to accommodate this growth. We are unsure how Obamacare with affect our health insurance costs, but we know they will increase. The State of Illinois is in financial collapse and their original share for community college expenses was 33 percent. The share we now receive is less than 10 percent, and we are preparing budgets with no state revenue included. So, in order to serve our students, we cannot afford a tax freeze.

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

None.

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

The college board approves all work, but the credit really goes to the personnel. They research federal, state, and private programs for grants and partnerships. A few of the accomplishments include: - Refinancing two bond issues saving taxpayers $5,000,000. - Received a $5,000,000 title 5 federal grant for minority education. - Received $1,200,000 grant to install a traffic light at the north Sugar Grove Campus entrance. - Negotiated a Sugar Grove Campus land acqusition/exchange with the Kane County Forest Preserve. - Received recognition for our support and emphasis on green buildings, sustainable and environmentally friendly principals. - Developed certificates for students to install photovoltaic, solar thermo, and small wind renewable energy systems.

Why should voters elect you to office?

Please vote for me so I can help contribute to the educational success of our district students, and keep Waubonsee Community College one of our communitys“ greatest assets. This will help bring our local economy out of it“s slump.