Ammar Rizki: Candidate For Northbrook/Glenview School District 30

NORTHBROOK, IL — Ahead of the April 4 consolidated municipal elections, Northbrook Patch and Glenview Patch provided questionnaires to all candidates on the ballot.

With Nancy Artz, current president, and Daniel Levin, current board member, not running for reelection when their terms end in April, five candidates are vying for four seats on the Northbrook/Glenview School District 30 Board of Education on Election Day. The District 30 School Board Caucus is endorsing the campaigns of Ammar Rizki, Pamela Manicioto and Patrick Wang. The candidates appearing on the ballot next month are:

• Zivit Blonder, current member (term ends in 2023)
• Ammar Mirza Rizki, current member (term ends in 2023)
• Kevin Glowacz
• Pamela Manicioto
• Patrick Wang

Patch is publishing all responses submitted by candidates verbatim.

Ammar Rizki

Age (as of election day)

46

Town/city of residence

Northbrook

School district

District 30 Northbrook/Glenview

Family

Wife, Sonia and son 14 and daughter 10

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

MBA - University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Occupation

Financial Executive - 23 years - Currently serving as CFO of the Barack Obama Foundation.

Campaign website

https://www.facebook.com/profi...

Previous or current elected or appointed office

Current Board member District 30 Northbrook/Glenview (elected) and formerly Chief Financial Officer of Cook County IL 6/2017 - 6/2022 (appointed)

The most pressing issues facing our (board, district, etc.) are _______, and this is what I intend to do about them.

As the pandemic wanes down, our schools must focus on helping our kids gain back any shortfalls in learning. To that end, as the Board recently hired our new Superintendent, Dr. Emily Tammaru, we made that a key goal and expectation for her. Hence, in my second term, I look forward to supporting Dr. Tammaru in achieving that goal and ensuring she is setup for success in her transition.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

All my fellow candidates come with a passion for helping our kids achieve the best educational outcomes. While, I have the same passion, I also bring specific knowledge about public finances and strategic planning from my professional experience; which will assist the District in managing its precious resources and deploy them towards the betterment of all our kids.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

One of the key aspects of my campaign is my ability to see and listen to all sides of an issue and ensure we are always balancing those with a view for what is best for all our kids. I pair that information with data, research, and practicality. This was the approach we took as Board in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on our district and if given a chance to serve a second term, I will bring the same pragmatic and open approach when evaluating difficult decisions.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

1) Handling of the COVID 19 pandemic - ensuring all stakeholders were heard throughout the process and still making decisions based on data and best practices. D30 was one of the few districts that opened in person learning for our elementary schools in the Fall of 2020. While the decision seemed controversial at the time, it provides to be an excellent one for the youngest learners in our schools, who need in person learning the most.

2) Anticipating growth in enrollment, ensuring that we approved our elementary capacity expansion project, when supply chain issues, inflation and interest rates were still manageable 2020/2021. As a result, we got in front of those issue and delivered an on budget and on time capital project.

3) Advocated for and introduced diversity, equity and inclusion dynamics into our Board goals and worked with the administration to ensure they have a reasonable plan/timeline to achieve them.

4) Hired our District's next Superintendent, Dr. Tammaru, who is going to help the district achieve even greater things. While, our current Superintendent, Dr. Wegley is going to leave an amazing legacy, we wanted to ensure we can continue to build on that amazing legacy and are confident that Dr. Tammaru can achieve that.

5) Authorized paying off the district's debt early, saving our taxpayers from incurring further interest cost on behalf of the district.

Why should voters trust you?

As an incumbent, I have demonstrated my balanced approach to governance of District 30's affairs. As result of the past 4 years, I have learned even more on how best to serve all our stakeholders. Furthermore, my professional experience as a financial leader in local government and non-profit has been and will continue to be an asset for the district. Hence, by voting for me, voters can trust me to ensure I will apply those same principles, expertise, and approach to my second term.

If you win this position, what accomplishment would make your term in office a success?

Over the last few years, the district has upgraded its facilities significantly that now allows for a best in class learning environment for our kids. Going forward, I would like the Board to work with the administration to focus on fully deploying what these facilities have to offer and accomplishing an even higher level in educational outcomes for our kids.

What are your views on fiscal policy, government spending and the handling of taxpayer dollars in the office you are seeking?

As a taxpayer and a public finance expert, I always make sure our dollars are being spent in the most judicious manner and I brought that same approach to the District 30 Board in my first term. If elected again I will bring that same expertise and rigor to our Board. This means ensuring we have right level of resources to offer our kids the best education, but the same time being fiscally responsible when making decisions on the growth rates of expenses.

What are your thoughts on how the district has handled the COVID-19 pandemic?

I believe the district handle COVID 19 in the best possible manner. I am very proud of our science and data-based decision-making approach, which was balanced with what we were hearing from our parents, our teachers, and our kids.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some school boards saw extremely heated disagreements during public meetings. If elected, what changes, if any, need to be made to ensure meetings are run efficiently while still allowing open discussions?

I believe our Board handle the pandemic related discussions in a civil and respectful manner, by showing data, best practices and listening to all views. I also believe there is always room for improvement; hence, if elected again, I would continue to advocate for more communications, which is key when discussing difficult topics.

How do you feel about sex education being taught in school? Should an LGBTQ component be included, and why or why not?

The topic of sex education is a difficult one to address and at the same time is an important one too. Just like any other difficult topic, the best way to approach is to first follow the law plus any regulations, and then balance it with respect for everyone's views, especially those who are directly impacted. Having said that, it is also important to consider the developmental stages of our children when exposing them such complex topics and ensuring we expose them to material that is appropriate for the level they are at.

What are your views on critical race theory and whether it should be taught in the district?

Similar to sex education, CRT is also a difficult but important topic, and we need to consider the law on hand and respect the views of individual on the other. While the debate will continue to evolve on this matter, I think it’s important for our kids, who are at the appropriate stage to understand these complex issues, to learn about such topics in an factual, inclusive and a respectful manner.

Do you think the current board has done enough to support racial equality, and if not, what specifically should be done to do so?

Yes, our Board made Diversity Equity and Inclusion as a Board goal and ensured that the administration achieves it in a timely but practical manner. There is always room for improvement, hence I look forward to continuing this work if elected again.

When it comes to student achievement, what are schools within this district doing well and what needs to be improved? How can those improvements be made?

District 30 is very proud of its student's achievement, in the fields of academics, sports, arts and music. Additionally, we strive to build character by embodying kindness and respect. From using testing data to see how kids are learning to ensuring our teachers have the right level of skills and resources to address those needs, we ensure all our kids are positioned for success. My goal would be that the Board continues to take these efforts to the next level and ensure our kids are achieving even greater things.

Is there any reason you would not serve your full term of office, other than those of health or family?

No

The best advice ever shared with me was ____________

When it comes to governance, as a Board member we must be on the balcony and watch the dance floor from there to ensure everything is going according to plan. The minute we come down on dance floor itself as Board member, is when we are making things worse.