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Dave Guckenberger
Dave Guckenberger is a former at-large incumbent on the Oconomowoc Area School Board in Wisconsin. Guckenberger advanced from the primary election on February 16, 2016. Guckenberger lost his re-election bid in the general election on April 5, 2016.[1]
Guckenberger served on the board from 2009 to 2012. He was defeated in his April 2012 re-election bid. Guckenberger was reappointed effective July 2015 to replace Susan Kay.[2]
Biography
Guckenberger is the owner of Polymath Inc.[3] He served on the Ashippun Town Board from 2001 to 2003. Guckenberger and his wife have three children.[4]
Governing majority
2017
| Oconomowoc Area School Board, 2017 |
|---|
| Donald Wiemer |
| Sandy Schick |
| Kim Verhein Herro |
| Dan Raasch |
| John Suttner |
| Steve Zimmer |
| Jessica Karnowski |
From May 2017 to January 2018, the Oconomowoc school board voted unanimously to approve 92.06 percent of the 63 motions brought forward by board members. The board approved all of the 86 motions brought forward during this time, excluding procedural, roll call, and adjournment votes. There was no discernible governing majority in 2017 due to the absence of a voting pattern for specific members.
Dissenting votes
Five of the board's 63 votes were not unanimous. Three of those votes related to a motion to approve a schematic design and development work for the Meadow View Elementary School, Oconomowoc High School East Campus, and Oconomowoc High School Main Campus. Herro voted "no" on all three votes and Raasch voted "no" on one.
One non-unanimous vote was about base wage negotiations with the Oconomowoc Education Association. Another vote dealt with a bid for interior demolition and asbestos abatement at the Oconomowoc High School East Campus. Raasch voted "no" on both votes.
Absences
John Suttner was absent from six of the board's 11 meetings in 2017. Dan Raasch was absent from two meetings, and Jessica Karnowski and Steve Zimmer missed one meeting.
Issues
Votes on board procedures accounted for 20 motions or 31.75 percent of all motions brought before the board in 2017. District procedures accounted for 17 or 26.98 percent of votes, fiscal matters accounted for 14 or 22.22 percent of all motions in 2017. The board voted on 7 motions related to personnel matters in 2017. The remaining 5 motions dealt with curriculum matters and teacher salary decisions.
2016
| Oconomowoc Area School Board, 2016 |
|---|
| Donald Wiemer |
| Sandy Schick |
| Mike Bickler |
| Kim Verhein Herro |
| John Suttner |
| Steve Zimmer |
| Jessica Karnowski |
From January 2016 to December 2016, the Oconomowoc school board voted unanimously to approve 100 percent of the 93 motions brought forward by board members. These totals exclude motions to approve board minutes or procedural votes. There was no discernible governing majority in 2016 due to the absence of a voting pattern for specific members.
Board changes
Kim Verhein Herro defeated Dave Guckenberger in the board's election on April 5, 2016.
Dissenting votes
There were no dissenting votes by board members in 2016.
Absences
John Suttner was absent from six of the board's 13 meetings in 2016. Steve Zimmer was absent from four meetings, Sandy Schick missed two meetings, and Mike Bickler was absent from one meeting.
Issues
Votes on district procedures accounted for 37 motions or 39.8 percent of all motions brought before the board in 2016. These votes included approval of new or revised policies and vendor agreements. Twenty-three votes on fiscal matters accounted for 24.7 percent of all motions in 2016. The board voted on 17 motions related to personnel matters in 2016. The remaining 16 motions dealt with board procedures, curriculum matters, and teacher salary decisions.
2015
| Oconomowoc Area School Board, 2015 |
|---|
| Donald Wiemer |
| Sandy Schick |
| Mike Bickler |
| Dave Guckenberger |
| John Suttner |
| Steve Zimmer |
| Jessica Karnowski |
From January 2015 to December 2015, the Oconomowoc school board voted unanimously on 93.5 percent of the 77 motions brought forward by board members. The board approved 100 percent of the motions recorded during regular meetings in 2015. These totals exclude motions to approve board minutes or procedural votes. Because of the high rate of unanimous votes, a governing majority could not be determined.
Dissenting votes
Dave Guckenberger opposed all five measures that were not unanimously approved in 2015. His opposing votes came on measures dealing with a keyless entry system for the high school stadium, participation in a regional school alliance, and a mobile technology plan for district schools. Sandy Schick and Jessica Karnowski voted with Guckenberger to oppose a measure approving changes to the 2016-2017 school calendar in November 2015. These were the only dissenting votes from board members other than Guckenberger in 2015.
Absences
Steve Zimmer was absent from four of the 12 regular meetings held in 2015. John Suttner and Jessica Karnowski each missed one meeting during the year.
Issues
Votes on curriculum issues accounted for 23 motions or 29.8 percent of all motions brought to the board in 2015. District procedures accounted for 20 motions or 25.9 percent of total motions, while personnel decisions represented 20.7 percent with 16 motions. The remaining motions included 13 fiscal issues, three board procedural votes and a scattering of discplinary and teacher contract questions.
Elections
2016
Two of the seven at-large seats on the Oconomowoc Area School District school board were up for general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbents Dave Guckenberger and Steve Zimmer faced challengers Kim Verhein Herro, Jason Kelly and James Wood in a primary election on February 16, 2016. Guckenberger, Zimmer, Herro and Wood faced off in the general election. Herro and Zimmer defeated Guckenberger and Wood for the two available seats.[1]
Results reported by Fox 6 on the night of the February 16 primary indicated that Kelly beat Wood for the final spot in the general election. The figures reported by Fox 6 were inaccurate, with Waukesha County Clerk Kathleen Novack providing correct results showing Wood's victory over Kelly by February 18, 2016.[5]
Results
| Oconomowoc Area School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kim Verhein Herro |
34.73% | 5,400 |
| Steve Zimmer Incumbent |
25.71% | 3,998 |
| Dave Guckenberger Incumbent | 19.91% | 3,096 |
| James Wood | 18.97% | 2,950 |
| Write-in votes | 0.68% | 105 |
| Total Votes (100) | 15,549 | |
| Source: Waukesha County Clerk, "2016 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary," accessed April 5, 2016 | ||
| Oconomowoc Area School District, At-Large Primary Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kim Verhein Herro |
32.10% | 1,837 |
| Dave Guckenberger Incumbent |
21.00% | 1,202 |
| Steve Zimmer Incumbent |
17.72% | 1,014 |
| James Wood |
14.75% | 844 |
| Jason Kelly | 14.43% | 826 |
| Total Votes (100) | 5,723 | |
| Source: Fox 6, "Election Results," accessed February 16, 2016 | ||
Funding
Guckenberger reported no contributions or expenditures to the Oconomowoc Superintendent's Assistant and Deputy Board Clerk as of February 15, 2016.[6] He filed as exempt from filing campaign finance reports when he filed for his candidacy.
2013
Dave Guckenberger and Steve Zimmer won election without opposition on April 2, 2013.[7]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
David Guckenberger participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on January 27, 2016:
| “ | Continue to be a voice for the students, the parents, the community and the employees of the district. I want to represent these people at the Board table, in discussions within the community and in contact with state officials.[8][9] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Wisconsin. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. Charters create unique learning environments as well as get others engaged in the education process. Charter school are great for communities. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should defer to school board decisions in most cases. Depends on the item. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes. The student needs to realize that the results of the test are important. An ACT test is an excellent measure for the following reasons: 1) the student WANTS to do well to get into a college of choice; 2) the test is paid for by the student; 3) it is standardized and comparable among students, schools, districts, and states. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| agree with it, implementation I question |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. Help them, if it doesn't work then terminate them. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| A proper learning environment is the most important thing for education - drugs, weapons and contraband have no function in schools. Expulsion helps to keep the environment safe and healthy for education. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement |
Additional themes
Guckenberger provided the following responses to questions about the 2016 election to Lake Country Now:
| “ |
What do you think is the most important issue currently facing the school district? What do you foresee as the biggest future challenge for the school district? What differentiates you from your opponents? |
” |
| —Dave Guckenberger (2016), [3] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Dave Guckenberger Oconomowoc School District Wisconsin. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Oconomowoc Area School District, Wisconsin
- Hot tub Gatorade, turnout in Peoria and the Wisconsin state...
- Wisconsin school districts 2014 review
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lake Country Now, "The spring election will host some challenges," January 7, 2016
- ↑ Oconomowoc Today, "Seven Seek OASD Board of Education Post Vacated by Susan Kay," May 17, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lake Country Now, "Two OASD board members face three challenges in primary election," February 5, 2016
- ↑ Oconomowoc Today, "David Guckenberger letter to Board President Don Wiemer," May 4, 2012
- ↑ Lake Country Now, "Discrepancy in vote totals causes error in Oconomowoc Area School District race," February 19, 2016
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Sue Snyder," February 15, 2016]
- ↑ Dodge County, Wisconsin, "Spring Election: April 2, 2013," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "David Guckenberger's responses," January 27, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Oconomowoc Area School District Elections | |
| Waukesha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Dave Guckenberger • Incumbent, Steve Zimmer • Kim Verhein Herro • Jason Kelly • James Wood |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
