Dorothy A. Towns
March 29, 2011 12:38PM
Dorothy A. Towns, candidate SD 144. | Supplied photo
Office sought: Prairie-Hills Elementary School District 144 Board Member
Name: Dorothy A. Towns
Address: 16321 Plymouth Drive, Markham, Ill., 60428
Date of birth: February 24, 1968
Contact information
Email: DOROTHYTOWNS1@comcast.net
Telephone numbers:
Home: 708-331-3295
Work: 708-687-8220
Education: Alumni, District 144,graduated with distinguished honors in 1982; Thornton Township High School, District 205, honor society graduate, 1986; Robert Morris College, Carthage, Ill., medical assistance program; South Suburban College, South Holland, Ill., pursuing degree in education
Occupation, employer: Senior transportation driver, Bremen Township Senior Wheels program
Please list all sources of income: Simply stated, I have maintained adequate income that the financial obligations that accrue on a monthly basis are paid in the allocated time.
Spouse, spouse’s employer:
Children, age of children, children’s employer (if applicable): Daughter, Semaj, 13, son, James, 11. My children currently are enrolled Prairie-Hills School District 144. Semaj is an eighth-grader at the junior high located in Markham, while James attends Fieldcrest Elementary in Oak Forest
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?
My eldest brother, Cedric, who also was educated through Prairie-Hills School District 144, is employed with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cedric has been an active participant with the armed forces for 28 years: 20 years in the Marine Corps, eight years, Air Force division.
What other elected offices have you sought? What year?
I have never contemplated seeking an elected position.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? If so, for what? What was the disposition?
Thank God! I have never performed an act of deceitfulness against another human being to be considered for this category. No. Good, productive citizen.
Do you have any criminal convictions on your record? If so, for what? What was your sentence?
No convictions of criminal engagements. This question is a contradiction to the previous question.
Political (elected or significant appointment) experience:
I have no prior experience as being an elected official in this prestigious area of the public sector. I have maintained a positive structure in the educational atmosphere regarding the parent-teacher organization associated positions.
In your view, what are the two most important issues facing your constituents? How would you address those issues?
Are the constituents campaigning for the progression of providing the essential tools for advancement of our children in the lifelong process of learning to become successful? Theoretically stating, we must maintain a positive approach to accomplish the goals set forth to provide solutions to problems that exist. We must address the issues unified. Are the constituents willing to collaborate with all that interact daily with providing the fundamental instructions for the successful student? Everyone has a vital role of what is in the best interest of the operational process of the student body, so we must maintain at the highest expectations to reach the desired goals.
Please explain something significant you would like to accomplish within the next two years if you are elected to the office to which you aspire.
To progress to the Blue-Ribbon status, where Prairie-Hills District 144 will have recognition not solely at the state level, but achievement at the national level. Through our dedicated stakeholders that provide assistance to our children in their proclivity to retain educational success at the highest expected levels that would not be an obstacles in proclaiming this status.
Please explain how you believe the office you’re seeking can help in creating local jobs.
District 144 is in the process of building a new state-of-the-art junior high school, so upon completion of the facility we must employ individuals — educators, maintenance workers, etc. — to continue the upkeep of this education institution.
Do you believe the current way Illinois pays for education is working? If so, why? If not, why not? What would you change?
The current way the State of Illinois distributes payment into the local system is very disturbing. Relatively speaking, the current outlook is not working in our children’s favor nor the school district as a whole. I would continuously pressure our legislators in regards of how the payments will be distributed in order to ensure that the operational practices of the school district will maintain the progress of our students’ educational endeavors.
Would you make any changes to the budget of the governing unit to which you are seeking elected office? If so, what?
Yes. Adjustment to the budget is a major criterion to the effectiveness of maintaining the effectiveness of the operation of any institution when monetary funds are limited. According to the state and federal guidelines, the funds are rendered to school districts based on demographic area, student population, and the necessities to operate the school district as a whole. When funds are frivolously utilized in nonessential areas, that halts the educational practices of our children, and that creates conflict. The funds should be utilized to support our children’s needs and the vital participants that mold our children’s future on a daily basis.
Are there any other issues you want to bring to the public’s attention? If so, what?
Currently our children’s test scores are barely meeting the expected score requirements that have been established at the state and/or national ratio percentiles, so in order to advance into the next phases of elevating the scores we must continue to provide support to our educators, administrators, who seek all the instrumentals of securing informative measures for the success of the student of meeting and/or exceeding these areas for our children’s sake.
