Jim Coursey

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Jim Coursey

Nonpartisan

Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education Area IV

Tenure

2024 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

0

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

April 1, 2025

Appointed

December 2, 2024

Education

High school

Palatine High School

Bachelor's

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1992

Personal

Birthplace

Holland, Ohio

Profession

Consultant

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Jim Coursey is a member of the Middleton-Cross Plains School District school board in Wisconsin, representing Area IV. He assumed office on December 16, 2024. His current term ends on April 27, 2026.

Coursey ran in a special election to the Middleton-Cross Plains School District school board to represent Area IV in Wisconsin. He won in the special general election on April 1, 2025.

Coursey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Jim Coursey was born in Holland, Ohio. He earned a high school diploma from Palatine High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1992. His career experience includes working as a consultant in health and human services, with the Maryland Department of Health Services, and with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Elections

2025

See also: Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, Wisconsin, elections (2025)

General election

Special general election for Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education Area IV (2 seats)

Incumbent Robert Hesselbein and incumbent Jim Coursey won election in the special general election for Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education Area IV on April 1, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Hesselbein (Nonpartisan)	52.3	11,773
✔		Jim Coursey (Nonpartisan)	46.8	10,544
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	190

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 22,507
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jim Coursey and incumbent Robert Hesselbein advanced from the special primary for Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education Area IV.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Coursey in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jim Coursey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Coursey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a proud father of two students attending school in the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District, as well an exchange student from Indonesia who is spending the year with us. Our family is thrilled to be part of a community that values education for students of all backgrounds. I have a career in health and human services (HHS) program and IT modernization, helping state agencies improve outcomes for social safety net programs (child welfare, public health, health care, etc.). My spouse and I love spending time outdoors (even in Wisconsin winters!) and our favorite activity is long walks in the beautiful Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• My philosophy of public education is that it should support each student in pursuing their potential. That potential may look different from student-to-student, which is a good thing. Our American democracy is kept healthy through a plurality of voices, not cookie-cutter opinions.
• I will work with the MCPASD administration and education professionals to find evidence-based initiatives to help close the performance gap among traditionally underserved student populations, including multi-lingual and immigrant students, students living with poverty, and students with diagnosed disabilities.
• For every initiative and issue we address as a School Board, I will base my vote on policy (does the solution meet District, State, and Federal standards?), fiscal sustainability (can we afford the solution?), and equity (is the solution fair to the community?).

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Securing stable funding for school programs,

2. Addressing the performance gap among traditionally underserved student populations,
3. Advocating for increased State support for special education services, and

4. Promoting a curriculum that prepares students for emerging employment opportunities.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

American Nations by Colin Woodard

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

1. Integrity. Assume positive intent in all MCPASD stakeholders treating them with respect.

2. Experience. Knows our community and the people who have helped make MCPASD the excellent district it is today.

3. Compromise. Many of the decisions the Board will be making in the coming years will include hot-button issues such as school vouchers, referenda for operating budgets, and managing declining student populations. These issues will invoke passion in the community and among Board Members. We each should listen to all sides of the debate and works to define solutions that represent the best results for community as a whole.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Effective school board membership requires addressing multiple, overlapping challenges at the same time. I don't plan to be a single-issue candidate; rather, I am interested in working with my fellow board members, MCPASD Administration, and the public to create consensus around near-term decisions that will shape education in our community for the next decade.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to know that my service made a difference in the lives of students and their families. This sort of personal connection has always been important to me. Several years ago, when I was the Chief Operating Officer of the Medicaid Agency in another state, I made sure to take constituent calls at least once a month. My daily responsibilities were complex and policy-driven, so talking to service recipients kept me grounded and focused on why the work mattered. It also helped me look for ways to improve service delivery in my agency--it was very eye-opening to learn how our rules, processes, and IT systems made something as simple as verifying service eligibility so complex. I'd like to bring that same spirit of inquiry to my role as a board member, and take time to learn about how the services, supports, and educational opportunities we offer at MCPASD schools give individual students a path to their future.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

To represent the interests of the residents of their School District, working to ensure that students are given the opportunity to meet their individual potential, educators are supported in their mission, and budgets are managed to facilitate continuous improvement for year to come.

Who are your constituents?

Everyone who lives in the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District, whether or not they have students attending our schools. Everyone who pays taxes in the district makes our excellent educational programming possible, so everyone should be represented in how we conduct the District's business.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

It is the Superintendent's responsibility, as the executive of the District, to establish budget priorities. The Board's responsibility is to work with the Superintendent and her administration to evaluate those priorities from three perspectives: compliance with policy, fiscal sustainability, and equity (fairness).

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Other survey responses

Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Coursey completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.

• Vote411 Voter Guide

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