What a concept! Roehl said the climate surrounding school board meetings has become polarizing amid the pandemic and debates over safety. Two incumbents who favored virtual school lose their seats on the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board, Two incumbents ousted in a Waukesha School Board race partly defined by unrest over virtual learning, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. We need to give our students coping tools to not live afraid. An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Oconomowoc Area School District school board in Wisconsin did not go to a vote in 2020. E- Excellence- Excellence in everything we do. We have developed a thick skin when we hear about another school shooting or a student being bullied, or a student committing suicide. "Anytime you try to make a change we went to block scheduling, we might have done a little grading change your boardroom fills," said Phillips. Whilethere is a place for students who want to do online learning, it is not for all students. Its not a question of which is better;its about innovation to give parents, studentsand teachers a choice. Schick:Our resilient district has improved our ability to provide virtual learning during the challenges of the COVID pandemic. Oconomowoc has been mostly optional since the start of this school year, and we intend to remain that way. Grothaus and Raasch both had about a year and a half left in their terms which expired in April 2023. "They were shooting for her, there was a bullseye on her back," said Herro. "We will never know if we did too much, but we will most definitely know if we did too little," said one parent. 25, Idaho, Braintree School Department, Massachusetts, Creighton Elementary School District, Arizona, Del Norte County Unified School District, California, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Louisiana, Elbert County School District C-2, Colorado, Fresno Unified School District, California, Lake Havasu Unified School District, Arizona, Lake Mills Area School District, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee, Middleton-Cross Plains School District, Wisconsin, Mount Horeb Area School District, Wisconsin, Oakland Unified School District, California, Paradise Valley Unified School District, Arizona, Traverse City Area Public Schools, Michigan, Visalia Unified School District, California, Westford School Department, Massachusetts, https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Oconomowoc_Area_School_District_recall,_Wisconsin_(2020)&oldid=8841316, Pages using DynamicPageList dplreplace parser function, Unsuccessful or mixed outcome recall efforts, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections. My main reason for applying was to bring stability and history to the table. State legislature | Oconomowoc Area School District: School Year Calendar. I am a good fit for this role as I can work well with a variety of people, and I can agree and disagree with them without allowing it to become personal. If you say, 'I don't want to play for a team, I want what is best for the students,' it won't make a difference because your name is going to be slandered if you're not on the right team. The three members have stepped down, citing how the Oconomowoc Area School District has been pulled into partisan culture wars., Because of the dysfunctional and disrespectful behavior of the remaining Board members and interim superintendent, Board work has become toxic and impossible to do, the letter states. Phillips saw 10 of her members removed in Aprils school board elections, and she said many felt targeted because of their support for phased reopening, virtual options and disease-mitigation strategies. If we fail to support the best teachers, then we will miss them when they are gone. TWEET. "Thank you for those who supported my campaign. School board members resign in COVID-19 protest. Ninmann:I was appointed in September 2021 to fill one of the quitting members' spots. Since there is no ability to engage in meaningful dialogue, even on the issue of the health and safety of our students and staff, we cannot be part of an organization that is so non-responsive to every constituents concerns, not just a minority segment, and is so cavalier about our students, staffs and communitys health and safety, the letter states. Three Oconomowoc School Board members have resigned in protest over how the district is handling COVID-19 protocols before the start of the upcoming school year. There is a list of health precautions including daily sanitizing of . The starting point in creating the best school district in the state is through talented teachers, and Im proud to accept the endorsement of the teachers in the district through the Oconomowoc Education Association. My 19 years of experience demonstrate that I will be a well-prepared and an effective board member. Boards are set up to handle policy issues like setting the annual budget while school officials are typically tasked with day-to-day operations, making decisions based on what theyre seeing in classrooms and running them by the board for approval as needed. The district has a focus on developing learners and leaders and the board has a responsibility to support that focus with policy and financial stewardship. And my third priority is Student Global Impact. If we are forming students at OHS to be grounded, responsible and accountable, that should focus primarily on how their actions are impacting others around them at home, at school, in the community and around the world. Members James Wood and Jessica Kornowski voted against the proposal. Community involvement: Volunteered at the local parish church, lobbied for street resurfacing and got it done in our neighborhood of Oconomowoc Heights, which was prone to flooding. We no longer employ consultants to work with the board on how to be board members. SHARE. EMAIL. Wood said the current HVAC system at Oconomowoc High School is from the 1960s and not up to today's . My own kids have spent time in robotics, drama and athletics and I want to help promote the passion of students to the greatest extent possible. Recall supporters said they did not agree with the decision and wanted students to have in-person learning five days a week. I am running to continue to move our school district in the positive direction. 3.) Incumbent Jessica Karnowski and newcomers Juliet Steitzer and James Wood defeated incumbents John Suttner and Donald Wiemer. As of this week, the data and our district metrics are trending in the right direction, so barring any major changes to the data, I see a return to a full face-to-face approach on the horizon. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. First off, sell MeadowviewSchool. "That began a tremendous attack on the board at that point about not having the kids full five days a week face-to-face, back in the schools.". Apply today! The board filled the three vacant seats in Septemberby appointing Neal Ninmann, former board member Sandy Schick and Chad Schraufnagel. "This feels different.". The work to avoid faction-based political infighting starts now. Having said that, we are still losing some of our students to other districts and other schools. The Oconomowoc School Board asked the district's administration to begin the RFP process for the property in October 2021 and approved listing the property for sale in December 2021. The OASD School Board holds a regular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at the Oconomowoc High Schoo East Campus, starting at 6:30 p.m. >> Click here for the 2021-22 Regular School Board Meeting Schedule Around the same time, a group of parents chased the school board around the hallways of Burlington High School after the unruly crowd forced the suspension of a meeting. Since being on the board we have been able to begin the process of selling the old Meadow View building, we have hired a new superintendent, and increased student growth during the pandemic. Superintendent Roger Rindo is leavingfor the same position in the Reedsburg School District. Did you know we were one of the few districts in the state that increased student performance last year during COVID? As I stated on the previous question our priorities are financial stability, increasing open enrollment into the district, focusing on the strategic plans, supporting administration and teachers, and selling the old Meadow View. I will continue this trend of performance if electedto the board in April. Sandy Schick (i); (bottom row, left to right). I have no personal agenda and will work solely for the community, parents and our students. She said the reason was to cheer up one of them who had lost a 13-year-old niece to suicide. Schools should be a haven for students, a springboard for each one of them to become the best version of themselves in service to others. "Spending time in the community I love has been an experience I will never forget," Schweitzer said. They'll be posting those vacancies immediately. Sell the old Meadow View to fulfill the promise of the past board. However, virtual learning for most students is not as effective as in-person learning. So it's important to look at vaccination rates and where new cases are popping up. Look at our band andtheater programs, our internship and apprentice programs, all top in the state. Schmitz:I believe in democracy and diversity. We can always do more and better in supporting studentswellness. Kaukl worries that in addition to the health impacts to kids and staff, the vicious disagreements and overriding of best practices around health will drive out the people who keep schools up and running. Four recall elections were held in 2020. The boards job is to focus on getting our students the best education possible and work (as our vision states) to become Unrivaled.. There is an opportunity to advance learning opportunities through improved online platforms that can serve both students and assist parents. I was part of that majority. I am currently a human resources director for a company in Merton. Recall supporters had 60 days to collect signatures from citizens in the school district. Thiel:You might not know this, but Oconomowoc has a separate special curriculum for those that want to be completely virtual, and I think that is a great program for those who have selected it. Chad E. Schraufnagel (i) andBill Thiel (i). Delavan - Darien School District's DD Tech Administrator and CTE Coordinator, Michael Rick, discusses educational opportunities.