Brian O'Connell

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Brian O'Connell

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Racine Unified School District Board of Education District 7

Tenure

2017 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

8

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

April 4, 2017

Education

Bachelor's

Marquette University

Graduate

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Personal

Profession

City official

Brian O'Connell is the District 7 representative on the Racine Unified School District school board in Wisconsin. O'Connell won a first term in the by-district general election on April 4, 2017.

O'Connell was a candidate for District 7 representative in 2016. He advanced from the primary election on February 16, 2016. O'Connell lost to incumbent Don Nielsen in the general election on April 5, 2016.

Biography

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O'Connell earned his bachelor's degree from Marquette University. He later earned his M.S. in urban affairs from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. O'Connell served as Racine's Director of City Development from 2002 to his retirement in 2015. He previously served as a long range planning manager for the City of Milwaukee.

Elections

2017

See also: Racine Unified School District elections (2017)

Three of nine seats on the Racine Unified School District school board were up for by-district general election on April 4, 2017. Seats in Districts 2, 3, and 7 were on the ballot. District 2 incumbent Dennis Wiser and District 3 incumbent Michael Frontier won re-election unopposed, while District 7 incumbent Don Nielsen did not seek a new term. Brian O'Connell, who lost to Nielsen in 2016, joined Wiser and Frontier on the board.

Results

Racine Unified School District, District 7 General Election, 3-year terms, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brian O'Connell  (unopposed)	100.00%	728
Total Votes		728
Source: Racine County, Wisconsin, "Final Unofficial Election Results 4-4-2017," accessed April 4, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.

2016

See also: Racine Unified School District elections (2016)

The 2016 election for all nine seats on the Racine Unified School District was the district's first using a by district system rather than electing members at-large. A primary election was held on February 16, 2016, for Districts 6 and 7 with the general election on April 5, 2016. Board candidates were required to live in their election districts. The change was enshrined in state law through legislation sponsored by State Sen. Van Wanggaard (R) and State Rep. Tom Weatherson (R), who represent districts that include Racine. The election districts approved by the school board on October 27, 2015, led to three races in 2016 where three incumbents were assured defeat because they faced fellow board members.

Candidates backed by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO won seven of the board's nine seats in 2016. Michelle Duchow in District 1 was not endorsed due to her unopposed race and District 9 winner Robert Wittke was endorsed by The Journal Times as a candidate who would stand up to unions.

District 1 candidate Michelle Duchow was the only unopposed candidate in the race. Dennis Wiser defeated fellow incumbent John Koetz in District 2, while incumbent Michael Frontier ousted fellow board member Pamala Handrow in District 3. Julie McKenna defeated Kim Plache to take the District 4 seat. Challenger Steven Hooper defeated incumbent Chuck Goodremote for the District 5 seat. Newcomer Matthew Hanser narrowly defeated board president Melvin Hargrove in District 8. Incumbent Don Nielsen finished first in the District 7 race against challenger Brian O'Connell. Nielsen and O'Connell defeated Adrienne Moore in the primary. Three newcomers were guaranteed to join the board after this election with no incumbents running in Districts 1, 6 and 9. John Heckenlively defeated Jim Venturini for the District 6 seat, while Robert Wittke defeated Kurt Squire in District 9. Ernest Ni'A was defeated by Heckenlively and Venturini in the District 6 primary. Bryn Biemeck was removed from the ballot in District 6 following a Wisconsin Government Accountability Board appeal by the Racine Education Association.

Results

Racine Unified School District, District 7 Special Election, 1-year term, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Don Nielsen Incumbent	59.17%	1,820
Brian O'Connell	40.83%	1,256
Total Votes		3,076
Source: Racine Unified School District, "Racine Board of Education Official Election Results," accessed June 15, 2016

Racine Unified School District, District 7 Special Primary Election, 1-year term, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Don Nielsen Incumbent	43.52%	420
Brian O'Connell	29.33%	283
Adrienne Moore	26.42%	255
Write-in votes	0.73%	7
Total Votes (100)		965
Source: Racine County Elections, "4th Unofficial Election Results 02-16-2016," accessed February 16, 2016

Funding

O'Connell reported no contributions or expenditures to the Racine Unified School District Clerk for School Board Elections as of February 15, 2016. He filed as exempt from filing campaign finance reports when he filed for his candidacy.

Endorsements

O'Connell received the endorsement of The Journal Times prior to the general election.

Campaign themes

2016

O'Connell provided the following responses to questions about the 2016 election to The Journal Times:

“	Last year, the School Board was divided for months on the district’s employee handbook. What role should administrators, unions and the board have in future handbook changes? The stalemates and delays on the board are what motivated me to run now. The district is under intense scrutiny to show rapid improvement. The delays and stalemates suggest to observers that the district is not up to the challenge. If I am elected, I will impress on my fellow board members the need for deliberation but prompt action. Had I been on the board, I would have offered a compromise that would keep the handbook committee but expand its membership beyond the employee groups. This change would protect the handbook and the committee from legal challenge. The district recently entered into a tentative agreement to buy the Sturtevant Sportsplex for $5.2 million, and the district is studying how to use and pay for the complex before the board’s May 10 deadline to approve the deal. If you are elected, under what conditions would you support the district buying the Sportsplex? Before I could support the purchase of the Sportsplex, I would need answers to three questions: 1) How does the purchase relate to district’s overall capital improvements needs? The Sportsplex purchase must not siphon resources from its other needs. 2) Does the purchase save money in the long term? I need assurance that future economies will offset any immediate costs. 3) What is Sturtevant’s position? Is the village agreeable to the removal of the Sportsplex from its tax base, particularly from its tax increment district? As the district implements block scheduling in high schools next year in preparation for new career academies, some have criticized the district for moving ahead on the change too fast, most notably employee unions. Should the district go ahead with block scheduling next year? Why or why not? Yes, the district should go ahead. The transition addresses the urgent need for improvement. The transition to the Academies of Racine and block scheduling has been in the planning stages for months. The 2016-17 school year is the appropriate time. Delay only raises questions about the district’s ability to advance. The question appears to be: are the teachers adequately prepared? If that is a concern, then extra, paid training should be provided — over the summer if necessary — to ensure the change is ready to launch in the fall. Over the last year, the villages of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant have been weighing whether to fund a study of leaving the Racine Unified School District. Would you support these communities breaking away from Unified? Why or why not? Greater Racine is stronger with the existing, unified school district. The push for villages to secede is an echo of the intercommunity friction that hindered Greater Racine’s economic advancement in the past. I base this opinion on my 13-plus years of experience in economic development here. Quality schools and career-ready workers are important for attracting jobs. That is why I am running for the board. Improving the schools is the means to achieve those goals, not splitting the district. A metropolitan area that has a reputation for advancing under a common agenda is a powerful magnet for private investment. If elected, what is the most pressing change you would push for the district to make? First is more outreach to all stakeholders. I will place a high priority on improving two-way communication and transparency with the whole community. Second is improving teacher morale. The changes that followed Acts 10 and 32 devastated morale. Yet the implementation of our goals depends on the people who have the one-on-one contact with the students. They will not be fully committed to our efforts if they do not feel appreciated and involved. Board members represent the whole community, not the employees, but I will also remember that teachers and staff are essential to the success of the district.	”
—Brian O'Connell (2016)

See also

• Racine Unified School District, Wisconsin
• Racine Unified School District elections (2017)
• Racine Unified School District elections (2016)

External links

Suggest a link

• Racine Unified School District