I am concerned how the board is running as a whole.

I have 34 years experience on the Lakeland Union High School Board of Education, being President 17 Years.

Try to resolve why our report card is one of the lowest in the state. Reinstituting the Capstone program to teach trades in our school to help replenish. our workforce.Try to give our Administration stability and longevity. Make sure the board functions the way a board is supposed to function.

I believe at the current time our finances are stable . The new Bussiness Manager is doing a very good job.

I believe that one of the most important assets any community can have is a well equipped, well staffed, high quality school system. Over the course of the last few years, with so much board and administrative turnover, the board and the organization really struggled to find their collective feet. Now, finally, we are back on the right track. The board has hired an administrator who is a strong leader and has developed a good working relationship with the board and community. I served as chair of the Policy Committee as we completely replaced our policy book and rewrote handbooks. We are once again setting goals and planning for success. I want to help keep that momentum going and use the experience I’ve gained in this process to help keep us on the right track. I feel that continuity and consistency at LUHS are really important and that we need to stay on course as we look to the future. That’s what I bring to the school board and that’s why I decided to run again.

I have been on the board for 9 years. I feel my experience brings continuity and stability to the organization. My education combined with my experience in the trades, business ownership, community service and my current profession provide a unique skill set and board knowledge base. I am able to participate in and contribute to any discussion no matter what the level. I research issues and do my best to make informed decisions.

The primary focus of any school should be student achievement. Students and staff need a safe learning environment and a school culture that encourages students to take control of their learning. We need kids to invest in “their school” whether it be through academics, belonging to a club, or participating in a sport. Getting students to take ownership and develop a sense of pride in their learning and their school is huge. We have a great staff at Lakeland that is very invested in the future of our kids. We need to continue to support that staff with good wages, the tools they need and the ability to grow in their profession. All of us can think back to one or two teachers who inspired us in a way that has affected us for our whole life. These kids are our future. They deserve the best we can give them.

There are two things any organization will never have enough of: Money and time. Historically school funding hasn’t kept up with inflation much less the real cost of education. I would like to see the state raise the per student funding rate. In Wisconsin the amount of funding a school gets is largely based on property values and each school district’s ability to raise money through property taxes. High property values in the LUHS school district translate to less state money requiring the school to rely more on local property taxes. Federal funding can be helpful, but usually comes with strings attached that often reduce effectiveness in our budgets. It’s been my experience that in our District people value public education and, when given good reason, will support our schools by allowing schools to bring on debt or raise taxes. The bottom line is that the board needs to set goals that align with the needs of our kids, our community and the school and then get the job done.