Andy Weeks
March 29, 2011 12:56PM
Andrew Weeks
Office sought: Flossmoor School District 161 School Board
Name: Andy Weeks
Address: 1380 Dartmouth Road, Flossmoor, Ill., 60422
Date of birth: January 3, 1967
Contact information:
Email: andrewdweeks@hotmail.com
Telephone numbers:
Home: 708.922.0380
Cell: 630.825.8776
Work: 708.260.9454 ext. 701
Q. Education:
A. B.A. in economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988, M.S. in finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990
Q. Occupation, employer:
A. CEO/Founder of W5 Golf, Inc., based in Homewood. W5 provides software and call center services to the golf industry.
Q. Please list all sources of income.
A. W5 is my only source of income.
Q. Spouse, spouse’s employer.
A. Alison Weeks (married 20 years). Alison works part time for W5.
Q. Children, age of children, children’s employer (if applicable):
A. Henry, 16, junior at Homewood Flosmoor High School, Charlie, 14, eighth-grader at Parker Junior High School, John, 11, fifth-grader at Western Avenue Elementary School
Q. Please list any relatives, including in-laws, who are employed by a government agency at the federal, state or local levels. What are their job titles and with what agency are they employed?
A. Gay Kraai (mother-in-law) is employed by ECHO. She is a nurse in the Communication Development Program.
Q. What other elected offices have you sought? What year?
A. None
Q. Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? If so, for what? What was the disposition?
A. No
Q. Do you have any criminal convictions on your record? If so, for what? What was your sentence?
A. No
Q. Political (elected or significant appointment) experience:
A. None
Q. In your view, what are the two most important issues facing your constituents? How would you address those issues?
A. Sound fiscal management and new educational technology are the two most important issues for District 161. Regarding sound fiscal management, I would look to continue the long-term planning discipline that the recent boards and administration have shown. Since passing a referendum which has provided adequate funding for the district, there has been a consistent approach to making sure that funding lasts and maintaining that approach is a primary reason for seeking a spot on the board. With the introduction of new technologies, education will change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 50. School districts that make effective use of new educational technologies will provide far greater opportunities for all students than school districts that lag behind. District 161 must adopt a long-term strategic technology plan that provides a framework for assessing, funding and implementing new technologies.
Q. Please explain how you believe the office you’re seeking can help in creating local jobs.
A. Question is not relevant to a school district, which should be focused on educating its students.
Q. Do you believe the current way Illinois pays for education is working? If so, why? If not, why not? What would you change?
A. While there is room for improvement, I believe in the general structure of how Illinois pays for education. I am a believer that government functions better the closer it is to its citizens. For this reason, I believe local taxes are an effective approach to school funding. It provides citizens with the best ability to voice their priorities for education. The single biggest problem in school funding in Illinois today is the inability of the state to fund their portion and this highlights the problems of relying too heavily on the state for school funding. The state should be involved — primarily — in helping fund education in localities without enough tax base to meet the education requirements of its students.
Q. Would you make any changes to the budget of the governing unit to which you are seeking elected office? If so, what?
A. School District 161 is a financially sound district thanks to the willingness of its residents to fund education and the discipline of its board and administration to maintain a sound long-term budget. I am not running because I believe there are needs for any dramatic budget changes. While I would certainly have opinions on priorities going forward, the most important goal I would have as a board member would be to help maintain that solid fiscal planning.
Q. Are there any other issues you want to bring to the public’s attention? If so, what?
A. I am a firm believer that technology will help teachers educate students far more efficiently. With a background running software companies, I would emphasize research into new technology solutions that can be incorporated into our classrooms.
