Robin M. Lisboa: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: ElginWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Elgin Community CollegeAge: 45Family: Single, one childOccupation: Division Administrator, Illinois State Board of EducationEducation: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Minor in Biology, UIC, 1990M.S.Ed. in Education, Northern Illinois University, 2000Certificate of Advanced Studies in Educational Leadership, National-Louis University, 2002Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Ensuring continued affordable access to higher education for all District 509 students.Key Issue 2 Enhancing and building workforce development opportunities for community members that are underemployed, unemployed or that are seeking a new career.Key Issue 3 Making the best use of tax dollars through continuous fiscal responsibility.Questions Answers What prompted you to run for ECC board? If you're a newcomer, how will you make a difference? If you're an incumbent, how have you made a difference?Serving as a Trustee for Elgin Community College would allow me to give back to my community. I understand community colleges having been a community college student myself, a parent of a community college student, an instructor at Elgin Community College and an administrator at Elgin Community College. I would bring to ECC my record of leadership and the experiences and relationships I have built at the local, state and federal levels serving as a public policy administrator for the State of Illinois.With fewer than a third of students in some feeder districts deemed college ready, what can ECC do to better prepare students for college-level coursework?Elgin Community College must have a thorough picture of the students it serves and how well they are served. Analyzing data, including dropout data, is critically important to understanding where to target programs and services. However, most important is the need for ECC to better articulate and coordinate with feeder middle and high schools.Tuition has remained steady for the past four years. With demand growing for community colleges, do you foresee having to raise tuition in the near future, or do you think it is important to keep tuition low in light of continuing economic struggles?I strongly believe that keeping access to higher education open includes keeping costs to attend college affordable. For many, if not most students, lack of funding is the number one reason they are not successful. Raising tuition during a tough economic period should be a last resort.Did you agree with the need for $178 million in bonds to finance the expansion of the college? Why or why not? How will you ensure the voter-approved bond proceeds are spent responsibly and that the projects in ECC's master plan do not go over budget?Yes, I agreed that the college had to expand its infrastructure to be responsive to business and industry workforce needs as well as to support student training needs. Deliverables with corresponding timelines must be spelled out in any contract. As an ECC Trustee I would expect that any contact the Board enters into is clear in terms of deliverables and timelines, that there be monthly progress reports and that if any issues do arise that they are brought to the Board#146;s attention immediately for resolution.Community colleges provide many services to a diverse population. Is there a service your college should be providing that it is not, or reaching a segment of the population that it is not?Also important at Elgin Community College is for students to be able to access and complete programs and services within a two or three year period of time. The college must ensure that all programs are responsive and doable within this timeframe, so that all students (especially students from under represented groups) regardless of their program of study can realistically expect to graduate on time.