Bart Hobson
Bartholomew "Bart" D. Hobson was a candidate for at-large representative on the Wausau School Board in Wisconsin. He was defeated in the general election on April 7, 2015.
In the fall of 2014, Hobson was outspoken against the use of school vouchers, an issue which surfaced in the district as school choice advocates sought access to student information.[1]
Biography
Hobson earned his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and is a physician at the Marshfield Clinic.[2] He also served as the treasurer for State Assemblywoman Mandy Wright's (D-85) 2014 re-election campaign.
Elections
2015
- See also: Wausau School District elections (2015)
Three at-large seats were up for election on April 7, 2015. The terms of Patrick McKee, Michelle Schaefer and Kathi Whalen-Geiger ended in April 2015. Schaefer, however, did not file to seek re-election.
McKee and Whalen-Geiger faced challengers Bart Hobson, Jeff Kocha and Jean Martin.[3] McKee and Whalen-Geiger retained their seats, and Martin won her first term on the board.
Results
| Wausau School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Kathi Whalen-Geiger Incumbent |
24.2% | 5,869 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jean Martin |
23% | 5,574 | |
| Nonpartisan | Patrick McKee Incumbent |
18.9% | 4,569 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bart Hobson | 17.3% | 4,198 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Kocha | 16.6% | 4,028 | |
| Total Votes | 24,238 | |||
| Source: Wausau School District, "2015 Certificate of the Board of Canvassers - School Board," accessed May 28, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Hobson reported no contributions or expenditures to the Wausau School District in this election. He filed as "Exempt from Filing Campaign Finance Records" on his campaign registration statements.[4]
Endorsements
Hobson was endorsed by Wisconsin Progress.[5]
Campaign themes
2015
Hobson wrote a column titled "How vouchers will undermine private schools, too" for the Wausau Daily Hearld on November 1, 2014. In the column, Hobson argued that school vouchers puts public money into private operations that the public cannot hold accountable as they can public school boards. He said:
| “ | I have paid Wisconsin taxes to support public schools for 35 years. Only in the last eight years have I had children in public school, but I have always had a voice in the schools I help pay for.
Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Legislature have now brought taxpayer funded vouchers to our community. Vouchers that go to private schools. Over $7,000 per student has been diverted from our community school system to these private schools. Yet the community has no say in the operation of these schools. These private schools do not have publicly elected school boards answerable to the voters. Should a teacher or student complain about a policy, no meeting of local residents need be called to comment. No one outside the school administration and the families it serves will have any say. As a taxpayer now required to support these schools, this troubles me. And — if they don't want the public involved in their schools — it should trouble the private schools and the parents who send their students there. Even Republican legislators are now saying the schools that receive vouchers should be held accountable in some way. Some want to impose standards like those public schools must meet: curriculum standards, testing standards, teacher training standards. But as more taxpayers like me realize we have no say in the way these schools use the tax revenues that support them, we will demand public input into all operations of these schools, just like we do our public schools.[6] |
” |
| —Bart Hobson (2014)[1] | ||
Recent news
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See also
- Wausau School District, Wisconsin
- Wausau School District elections (2015)
- Hot tub Gatorade, turnout in Peoria and the Wisconsin state...
- Wisconsin school districts 2014 review
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wausau Daily Herald, "How vouchers will undermine private schools, too:column," November 1, 2014
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Bart Hobson," accessed February 5, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Cassie Peck, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Wausau School District," January 7, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Cassie Peck, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent of Wausau School District," August 25, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Progress, "OUR ENDORSEMENTS FOR SPRING 2015," accessed February 25, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2015 Wausau School District Elections | |
| Marathon County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Patrick McKee • Kathi Whalen-Geiger • Bart Hobson • Jeff Kocha • Beth Martin |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
