Elections 11: Tracy Williams, Candidate for District 428 Board of Education

Tracy Williams, candidate for Board of Education, District 428

Background: My mother, Mavis, was a schoolteacher, and my father, Ivan, is a retired farmer.  They devoted much of their time and energy over several decades to various DeKalb organizations and served on numerous boards and committees.  My parents taught by example that it is important to contribute to the community.

I attended DeKalb public schools from Kindergarten through high school, and attended college at the University of Wyoming and Northern Illinois University.  My service in the military as an officer and helicopter pilot led to a career for several years as a corporate and personal pilot, and I have farmed continuously for nearly three decades.  For the last thirteen years, I have been involved in agribusiness, first as a director and more recently as an owner.  My business experience includes complex debt and equity financing, corporate merger and acquisition, union labor negotiations, marketing initiatives, and responsibility for compliance with multiple governmental agencies’ regulations.

My wife, Lisa, has been a resident of DeKalb for twenty-five years.  She has practiced law in this community for the last twenty-two years.  We have three sons, one in middle school and two in elementary school.  My wife and I have both been involved in our children’s schools, including classroom volunteer efforts and my service as co-president of the Brooks PTA.  I have also coached a number of teams in various youth organizations.  We have been active in a variety of local charities and organizations over the years.

Why should people vote for you?
I will bring to the school board the considerable business skills and experience which I have acquired throughout the last thirty years.  Many of the same issues which I have dealt with in my work arise before the school board, such as financial and regulatory matters.  My business skills will serve me in understanding, analyzing and acting upon similar issues.

As a District #428 board member, my primary goals will be to focus on immediate financial concerns facing the district, to enhance the quality of education for all students at all levels, and to improve relations between the district and the community.  The school board must balance the needs of the district with the realities of the current economic climate, the diversity in the community, and the burdens its actions places on taxpayers.

It is a priority of mine to ensure that we continue our district’s tradition of providing extracurricular opportunities for our students.  These activities are of paramount importance in building confidence, character and pride in our youth.  If District 428 is to live up to its mission statement, it must continue to provide opportunities in music, art, performing arts and athletics.

I will seek to utilize a system like the Partners in Education initiative already implemented and successful in Sycamore schools.  The concept allows the district to benefit from the expertise of members of the community in a wide variety of areas while allowing the community to become more engaged in the school system.

I am fortunate to be able to commit the time and energy necessary to be an effective board member.  I have chosen to seek this position at this time because I believe that I can bring real value and expertise to District 428 at a very difficult, yet important, time.