contact email
lorettalapoint@yahoo.com
Campaign Phone
6087921247
Facebook
Loretta Hass for LaCrosse School Board
Education
Human Resource Management Western Technical College
I am running for school board to be a strong, compassionate voice for working families in La Crosse. As a Black woman and a working parent with children still in the district, I understand the real challenges families face—balancing work, transportation, childcare, and rising costs while staying involved in their children’s education. Our schools must recognize these realities and make decisions that support families. Leadership should reflect the diversity of the students we serve. When families see someone who understands their experiences, it builds trust and strengthens the connection between home and school. Students benefit when they see leaders who understand their culture, challenges, and potential. I am committed to speaking up for working-class families who often feel unheard in school decisions. With years of experience as a parent in this district, I want to bring transparency, fairness, and accessibility to the board so every family feels respected.
A school board member in the La Crosse School District is responsible for setting the vision and direction of our schools, ensuring that policies support student success, and holding the district accountable for using public resources responsibly. The role is not about managing day‑to‑day operations—it’s about providing oversight, asking the right questions, and making decisions that reflect the needs and values of the community.
To me, the responsibility of a board member is to listen to families, understand the realities they face, and make sure those voices shape district decisions. It means being transparent, accessible, and willing to engage with people who often feel overlooked. It also requires advocating for equity, so every student—no matter their background—has the opportunity to thrive. A strong board member brings lived experience, sound judgment, and a commitment to building trust between families, educators, and the district.
La Crosse is facing real challenges with declining enrollment and budget pressures. The district has already taken difficult steps, including merging schools and adjusting facilities to better match student numbers. Moving forward, we must continue making thoughtful decisions that use resources responsibly while supporting students and families.
Right-sizing schools and investing in efficient, modern facilities can help reduce long-term costs while maintaining strong learning environments. At the same time, clear communication with families is essential. Parents deserve transparency about changes that affect their children’s education.
We must also focus on making our schools places where families want to stay—through strong academics, welcoming environments, and leadership that reflects and listens to the community.
My goal is to ensure every student graduates truly prepared for life after high school. That means strengthening programs that help students confidently enter the workforce and making sure those who choose college are ready to succeed.
I support expanding career-readiness opportunities such as apprenticeships, technical certifications, internships, and hands-on learning connected to local employers. Not every student follows the same path, and our schools should support multiple routes to success.
For students planning to attend college, we must provide a strong academic foundation, guidance, and exposure to college-level expectations so they feel prepared for the transition.
Preparing students for life also includes teaching practical skills like financial literacy, communication, and emotional well-being. At the same time, we should reduce unnecessary testing so students can focus on meaningful learning. My goal is simple: help every student graduate ready for their future.
Every dollar that goes to a voucher program is a dollar not going to the public schools that serve most students. In La Crosse, where we are already dealing with declining enrollment and tight budgets, protecting public school funding is critical.
Public schools must serve every child and are accountable to the community. Many voucher or private schools are not held to the same standards, even though they receive taxpayer money. That creates an unfair imbalance.
As a working parent with children still in the district, I understand how important strong public schools are for families. My priority is to protect public education, ensure responsible use of resources, and make sure every student has access to a quality school.
contact email
scott.neumeister@yahoo.com
Campaign Phone
6087922111
Education
A graduate of Logan high school
Community Involvement
Two terms on lacrosse city Council current the serving on the La Crosse School Board.
I am running for reelection because I believe my job is not yet completed. Every decision we make should come back to one question: how does this impact our students?
That means continuing to support academic achievement, career and technical education, extracurricular opportunities, and safe learning environments. It also means recognizing that every student has different needs—and ensuring our schools are equipped to meet them.
At the end of the day, I’m running for reelection because I care deeply about this community. I’m a lifelong Northside resident. I’ve built my business here. I’ve raised my family here. And I believe strong schools are the foundation of strong neighborhoods.
We have challenges ahead—but we also have a real opportunity to shape the future of our district in a positive, responsible way.
I’m ready to continue doing that work.
School board members must think long-term. That includes planning for facilities, enrollment trends, staffing needs, and evolving educational demands.
In La Crosse, this is especially important as we navigate aging infrastructure and changing student populations. The decisions we make today will impact the district for decades to come.
Now being a school board member is about service and stewardship. It requires collaboration, careful decision-making, and a commitment to doing what is right—even when it’s not easy.
It’s about making sure every student has the opportunity to succeed, every dollar is used responsibly, and every decision strengthens the future of our schools and our community.
Our current School Board structure is coherence governance which I am not a fan of and have was my concerns many times while at its core it makes sense however, it limits our knowledge as a board what’s going on internally and externally
Declining enrollment and budget pressure are not unique to La Crosse, but how we respond will determine the long-term strength of our district.
There is no single solution—this requires a balanced, honest, and forward-looking approach. We must be proactive, not reactive, and make decisions that position the district for stability and growth over the next 10–20 years.
I believe our path forward should focus on five key strategies:
Strengthen and promote what makes our district exceptional
We need to clearly define and actively promote the strengths of the School District of La Crosse.
We already offer outstanding teachers, strong academic programs, extracurricular opportunities, and career and technical education pathways. But in today’s environment, that’s not enough—we must tell our story better.
That means:
Expanding specialized programs (career academies, trades, STEM, arts)
Highlighting student success and outcomes
Highlighting our staff who are the best in the business
We have a responsibility to ensure that all students—regardless of background—have access to the same opportunities for success.
That includes addressing achievement gaps among different student groups by:
Providing targeted academic support
Expanding access to advanced coursework and enrichment programs
Ensuring equitable access to resources across schools equality does not mean lowering expectations—it means raising support so every student can meet high standards.
Great teachers are the most important factor in student success.
If we want to improve student achievement, we must support the people in the classroom by Providing professional development and resources
Maintaining competitive compensation where possible
Creating a positive and collaborative work environment
When we invest in our educators, we directly impact student outcomes.
At its core, this issue comes down to how we fund education and how we ensure every child has access to a high-quality learning environment.
I believe families should have choices in education. Every parent wants what is best for their child, and that should always be respected.
However, we also have a responsibility to recognize the critical role that public schools play in our community and the impact that funding decisions have on their ability to serve all students.
Public schools are required to educate every child who walks through the door, regardless of their needs, background, or circumstances. That includes students with disabilities, students who need additional academic support, and students facing social or economic challenges.
Voucher programs operate under a different structure. We need to:
Advocate for fair and sustainable public school funding
Ensure transparency in how voucher programs are funded and expanded
Recognize the financial realities of public schools
Campaign Phone
608-799-9605
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089782984672
Education
I attended La Crosse's public schools, graduating from Central High in 2003. I earned my Bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy from Saint Olaf College in 2007. I earned my Master's in English Literature and Cultural Critical Studies from the University of Westminster, London in 2011, studied Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse at De Paul University in Chicago, and went on to earn my Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from UW-Milwaukee in 2021.
Community Involvement
LaX School Board 04/2023-present; English Lutheran Church; school volunteering; UWL community
I am running for re-election to help ensure that every child in the district, including my three kids, has access to the same high-quality education that I received in La Crosse schools. I want to ensure we retain and expand on the opportunities available to students, that we prioritize support--both in compensation and resources--for our faculty and staff as professionals in their field, and I want to ensure that we make investments into our district that will strengthen the community and improve the quality of life for every resident.
The primary role of board members is to set the district's priorities through policy. As such, one of our tasks is to engage the larger community in discussions about what we value in public education: what outcomes do we want for our students? What should the experience of attending La Crosse schools be like? What resources are important to build into our schools for kids to access? How should the schools serve larger community needs?
We take all the information we can and express our shared values through policy directing the superintendent to act to achieve those outcomes. Our role is then to hold the superintendent accountable for achieving the results we and the community expect to see.
We have taken some great steps towards a more secure financial footing with the recent elementary school referendum. Maintaining our facilities while reducing the footprint of the district allows significant savings, updates to facilities for our staff and students, while avoiding significant layoffs and programming cuts.
We need to continue advocating for greater investment in public education from the state level, to help address chronic under-funding and relieve the need for districts to continually use referenda to make up the difference.
However, we can't count on changes in state funding and will need to continue to find efficiencies in our local budget. I will advocate that staff and programs be our priority budget areas, and that we address maintenance in ways that support those priorities. As we consolidate the elementary schools, we need flexibility to respond to enrollment. Creative options, such as re-grouping grade levels to best use facilities may be possible.
I want every student to leave our schools prepared for whatever next pathway they choose. The recent community visioning process led to changes in our Results Policies that I fully endorse.
If students want to pursue college, then our schools should be preparing to help them be the most competitive applicants they can be so students can realize their "dream school" aspirations. If students are interested in moving directly into a rewarding and sustainable career, our schools should be offering programs such as apprenticeships and academies to give them early training and strong relationships with professionals in a variety of fields. In either case, graduates from La Crosse schools should be ready to become engaged adult members of their community.
I do not support the voucher system in its current form. It has siphoned away millions of taxpayer dollars allocated for education from our public schools, and essentially created two parallel and competing public education systems.
I believe the program was founded upon a false premise about "parental choice," because that choice already existed prior to the voucher program. What we know is that it is expensive to provide a high-quality education to kids--the burden should be on the private schools to find ways of making their programs more accessible and competitive with our excellent public options.
In addition, ANY school that receives public funding should be held to the same standards of public accountability that our local school districts are. At a bare minimum, we should be indicating on property tax bills what the cost of the voucher program is to local residents, so that we can have a well-informed public discussion about the state of this program and it's potential end.
contact email
dsuchla@aol.com
Campaign Phone
608-792-2934
Facebook
Deb Suchla for La Crosse Board of Education
Education
Masters of Business Administration, UW La Crosse
Community Involvement
La Crosse Board of Education 2001 -2018, 2023 - present. Currently serving as Board President
I have had the honor to serve as a School Board member for 20 years in our community. During that time, I served as Board Vice-President for several years and this year I currently serve as Board President. My daughter was a graduate of Central High School. I am the longest serving Board member on the Board and besides having the most experience I know how our community has grown and changed over the years. We are in the midst of two exciting building projects that I would like to see to completion. In addition, our district has just developed a new Strategic Plan and I would like to continue to serve on the Board to help bring the goals and strategies of that plan to reality.
The Board has a number of statutory duties to oversee public education in our community. We hire the superintendent, establish a budget and monitor results to ensure that we are meeting state standards. In addition, our Board operates by Coherent Governance which is a policy structure defining the roles and duties of the Board and the Superintendent. Essentially Coherent Governance allows the Superintendent to provide day to day operations while the Board sets the vision through policy and monitors results of the daily operations. In addition, the Board communicates regularly with the public to make sure that the policies established align with the community's values. In simple terms the Board is responsible for making sure that each student achieves their best and graduates ready for their future as a productive citizen within available financial and capital resources provided by the taxpayers.
While the district is facing declining enrollment and budget issues, we are also seeing an increase in children living in poverty and more children with special needs. Those populations are an increasing percentage of the student population. The simple answer to declining enrollment and reduced budgets would be to reduce staffing to correspond to the reduction in student population. However, as we are seeing increased needs in the students that come to us, we need to adequately meet those children's needs by having adequate staffing levels to support them. Thankfully our community has approved operating referenda over the past years which allows the district to maintain a proper staffing level to support all students. In this coming term I will support renewing the operating referendum at the current spending level.
Student achievement cannot be measured by a single test or two even though our district is measured on certain test results at a statewide level. My personal goal for student achievement that each student receives the education and support they need to reach their best potential. I believe the best way to measure student achievement by looking at the amount of progress each student achieves over the course of their school year. Ultimately my goal for student achievement is for our graduates to become successful productive citizens.
As a school board member, we do not have the authority to make changes in the school voucher state law. However, often the families that seek out vouchers are looking for options in their children's education. Over the years that I have served on the school board, we have created a variety of options for students and families such as the Montessori program, Polytechnic program, the Summit environmental school, North Woods international program, and the virtual school program. In addition, we have expanded opportunities for secondary students to explore career options such as health care, construction, engineering, culinary arts and agriculture. While I cannot change the state law, I can continue to support creating choices to encourage students and families to choose public education in our district.
Campaign Phone
6087800557
Education
High School: Logan High class of 2005; UW-Stout: class of 2009 major in Information Technology Management
Community Involvement
Town of Campbell supervisor 2013-2015, multiple community events and non-profit steering committees
I am the proud father of two fantastic young boys just entering in the School District, I want to play my part to influence their education in a way they will genuinely feel ready for whatever comes their way in life.
I'm running because how we treat the adults in our buildings directly determines what happens for the kids in our classrooms. Those two things are inseparable, and that connection isn't being made consistently at the board level right now.
I've watched local governments strip benefits from workers while rewarding management and seen what that does to families and institutions. La Crosse school staff deserve leadership that knows the difference and acts accordingly.
Taxpayers also deserve better than repeated referendums without the transparency and trust-building that earns continued public confidence. That changes by having hard conversations honestly and early, before funding crises force the issue.
A board member here sets policy. Understanding where governance ends and administration begins is the most important discipline a board member can have. Micromanaging the superintendent isn't leadership, it's interference that undermines the professionals we hire and hold accountable to do that work.
It also means being a responsible steward of public resources, presenting budgets honestly, explaining them clearly, and tying them directly to outcomes residents can evaluate themselves. In La Crosse, that accountability carries particular weight.
Beyond governance, a board member must be the genuine connection between this community and its schools, actively listening to staff, families, taxpayers, and labor organizations before votes, not just during campaign season.
Most importantly, every policy decision, every budget line, every labor negotiation, and every contract must be evaluated through one lens: does this make La Crosse a place where students can thrive?
Declining enrollment and budget challenges are the symptoms; I believe the root cause is our inability to retain the highly skilled, experienced educators and staff that families choose schools for. When compensation is confusing, advancement feels impossible, and good work goes unrecognized, talent leaves plain and simple. Families notice, and enrollment follows them out the door.
The path forward starts with fixing what's driving people away. That means simplifying and strengthening our total compensation structure (salary/wage and benefits) with direct staff and stakeholder input, creating clear and accessible career advancement pathways, and building a workplace culture where contribution is recognized and rewarded consistently and fairly.
Retention is cheaper than recruitment, and full classrooms follow quality staff. Investing in the people already committed to this district isn't just the right thing to do for workers, it's the most fiscally responsible strategy.
Every La Crosse student should leave this district genuinely prepared for the path they choose; university, skilled trades, technical college, government service, or workforce entry. In my opinion we aren't consistently delivering that today, and the achievement gaps across economic and demographic lines are not acceptable.
Student achievement doesn't happen in a vacuum. It happens in classrooms staffed by experienced educators who feel respected enough to bring their best every day. You cannot separate achievement goals from staff retention and workplace culture; they are the same conversation.
Beyond that, I want stronger partnerships with labor organizations and local employers to expand apprenticeships and career-connected learning that reflects the economy our students are actually entering. Not every student's success looks like a four-year degree, and our achievement framework should honor that.
Invest in and recognize the people closest to our student’s education.
My honest opinion; public dollars should fund public education. Every dollar redirected through a voucher program is a dollar removed from the students, staff, and communities that public schools are obligated to serve, including those with the greatest needs.
I understand the argument that funding should follow the student, and I respect that families want choices. But choice without accountability isn't a public good in my opinion, it's a subsidy. If private institutions want access to public funding, they must accept the same transparency, accountability, civil rights protections, and labor standards we demand from public schools. Currently in Wisconsin, they don't come close.
La Crosse's challenge isn't that families lack options, it's that our public schools need the resources and staffing stability to be the compelling choice they're capable of being. That's where our energy and dollars should remain.
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JakeWilliamsWI/
Education
Pursuing Public Administration Degree at UWL
Community Involvement
Municipal Transit Utility Board Member, La Crosse Democrats Vice Chair, Young Dems of WI Chair
I am running because I care about La Crosse’s public schools and want to make our community the best it can be. I believe that it is also important to have pro-union and pro-public education members of the board. If elected I hope to pursue policies that put students first, expand transparency and focus on affordability. We can put students first by ensuring that we listen to their needs, and provide the necessary resources to educators and staff to continue to provide the best possible education. Expanding transparency when it comes to keeping the community informed with clear, timely updates on Board decisions and priorities is also important as we navigate the impacts of state/federal funding challenges. Finally the district can play a role in affordability by building on free lunch programs in our schools that both lower costs for families and contribute to student success.
I believe there are several core duties of a School Board member. First and foremost is maintaining an unwavering focus on the learning and success of all students in the district. I place this priority first because every decision the Board makes should stem from that commitment. School Board members also have a role to play in accountability developing budgets/policy that should reflect our values, and evaluating the superintendent on their performance. Finally, School Board members have the duty to be community leaders, bringing in community members, educators, staff and students into the decision making process and fostering a culture of inclusion and acceptance.
Declining enrollment and aging facilities has created budget pressures for the La Crosse School District. There are a number of programs that the board could support like solar banks like that on Hamilton Elementary to reduce energy costs but ultimately the funding challenges are rooted in the fact that the state legislature has not allocated enough towards public education. The 2025 - 2027 Budget provided $0 additional dollars in general aid to schools and the 2026-2027 school year marked the 18th consecutive year that public school funding did not ever keep pace with inflation.
Supporting efforts to fully fund general public education, special education, and school infrastructure at a state level will be essential to ensuring our district has the resources it needs to serve every student.
Student achievement is a multifaceted topic, with a number of different factors that go into it. To support student achievement in the La Crosse School District I believe that we need to pursue a policy that retains teachers & staff, recognizing that Wisconsin teacher salaries have dropped from 18th in the nation in 2011 to 38th in the nation as of 2024. At a bare minimum ensuring that teacher and staff pace keeps pace with inflation. On top of that investing into extracurricular opportunities like National History Day, Model UN, and DECA. Finally expanding on the district's free lunch program to create a universal free school lunch program so every student is nourished, focused, and ready to learn without stigma or barriers.
What began as a small experiment has become a drain on public resources, shifting costs to parents and taxpayers. Voucher programs lack transparency, oversight, and allow discrimination against LGBTQ+ students and students with disabilities. While the School Board doesn’t oversee the state voucher programs, members should still advocate against them to protect inclusive public schools. In the La Crosse School District alone 2.5 million dollars is taken out by the voucher program each year.
I have nothing against the existence of private schools but we should not subsidize private schools at the expense of public schools.
