Gretchen Budde
Gretchen Budde was a candidate for at-large representative on the Waukesha School Board in Wisconsin. Budde lost in the general election on April 5, 2016.[1]
Elections
2016
Three of the nine seats on the Waukesha School District school board were up for general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbents William Baumgart and Ellen Langill faced challengers Gretchen Budde, Amanda Medina-Roddy and Gregory Deets. Baumgart, Medina-Roddy and Deets won election to the three available seats. Board member Steve Edlund did not file for re-election.[1]
Results
| Waukesha School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Amanda Medina-Roddy |
22.79% | 11,924 |
| William Baumgart Incumbent |
21.98% | 11,503 |
| Gregory Deets |
19.46% | 10,181 |
| Ellen Langill Incumbent | 18.23% | 9,538 |
| Gretchen Budde | 16.70% | 8,741 |
| Write-in votes | 0.85% | 444 |
| Total Votes (100) | 52,331 | |
| Source: Waukesha County Clerk, "2016 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary," accessed April 5, 2016 | ||
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Gretchen Budde 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 March 14, 2016:
| “ | Technology Integration standards, increasing safety in the schools, staff enrichment and retention, and development of all schools within the system to be a top choice school. These are top priorities for me but also I want to provide the best learning environment so that when students graduate from the Waukesha school district they are prepared and able to be competitive in today’s global society. To me this means blending together the growing technology driven world we live in with a balance of non-technological skills while meeting budget constraints, ensuring safe schools, and while striving to provide a learning environment that enables ALL students to achieve academic success. I would also like to see on a board level how we can ease the transition for young families and new families into the Waukesha public school system.[2][3] | ” |
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 |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Rankings are always difficult and without explanation of reasoning can be misconstrued. I believe these 7 issues are important in achieving the end goal, of providing the best learning environment so that when students graduate from the Waukesha school district they are prepared and able to be competitive in today’s global society. To me this means blending together the growing technology driven world we live in with a balance of non-technological skills while meeting budget constraints, ensuring safe schools, and while striving to provide a learning environment that enables ALL students to achieve academic success.[3] | ” |
| —Gretchen Budde (March 14, 2016) | ||
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.) |
|---|
| No. |
| 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. Since the school board is an elected goverance I believe there is benefit to having a balance. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized test capture a snapshot of student achievement, but leave out additional areas such as the arts. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common Core Standards and Common Core methods are commonly misconstrued as the same and I think it is important to understand the difference between the two before discussing an issue that has the potential to be so divisive. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. 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. With established SMART Goals for the teaching staff this allows for clear standards and expectations. The use of additional methods such as additional training opportunities, mentorship programs and probationary period allow for adjustments and opportunities to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I believe there are appropriate exceptions to this in the case that the public school system is unable to meet the needs of a student. But if these circumstances I believe that the money or voucher system is a temporary fix until the system can work to resolve as to why student needs are not being met and how best to meet these needs. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| .... |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement All of these are important factors in success in the classroom. I believe in the elementary grades teachers, student -teach ratio and parent involvement are critical to building a strong foundation for students academic success. As student progress through the education system factors will shift as long as strong foundations continue to be created in each stage. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Gretchen Budde' 'Waukesha School Board'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Waukesha Now, "Five seeking three seats in Waukesha School Board race," January 5, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Gretchen Budde's responses," March 14, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Waukesha School District Elections | |
| Waukesha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, William Baumgart • Incumbent, Ellen Langill • Gretchen Budde • Amanda Medina-Roddy • Gregory Deets |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
