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Jo Ann Taube
Jo Ann Taube was an at-large member of the Kenosha Board of Education in Wisconsin. She was first elected to the board in 2008. Taube was defeated for re-election in the general election on April 1, 2014.
Biography
Taube earned a bachelor's degree in music education from Ouachita Baptist University. She later earned a master's degree in music from Northwestern University. Taube worked as a music teacher in the district for 40 years prior to her retirement. She is a former Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) member and president of the Kenosha Education Association.[1]
Elections
2014
Jo Ann Taube ran against five other candidates in the February 18, 2014 primary election. The top four vote recipients advanced to the general election on April 1, 2014.
Results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Dan Wade |
28.2% | 6,858 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary J. Kunich |
26.1% | 6,346 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Falkofske | 23.4% | 5,688 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jo Ann Taube Incumbent | 22.3% | 5,423 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 43 | |
| Total Votes | 24,358 | |||
| Source: Kenosha County Clerk, "Spring Election," April 1, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jo Ann Taube Incumbent |
19.7% | 1,917 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary J. Kunich |
18.7% | 1,826 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Falkofske |
18.1% | 1,764 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dan Wade |
17.3% | 1,688 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Nuzzo Incumbent | 13% | 1,271 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Kehoe | 12.9% | 1,255 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 21 | |
| Total Votes | 9,742 | |||
| Source: Kenosha County Clerk, "Spring Primary Election," accessed February 18, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Taube began the pre-election reporting period with an existing account balance of $737.91 from a previous campaign. She reported $2,759.00 in contributions and $1,165.20 in expenditures to the school board secretary, which left her campaign with $2,331.71 on hand.[2]
Endorsements
Taube was endorsed by the Kenosha Education Association ahead of the February 18, 2014 primary.[3]
2011
| Kenosha Unified School District, At-large General Election, 3-year term, April 5, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Jo Ann Taube |
31.1% | 10,757 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Nuzzo |
26.8% | 9,272 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tamarra A. Coleman | 22% | 7,608 | |
| Nonpartisan | Todd Jacobs | 19.4% | 6,724 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.6% | 219 | |
| Total Votes | 34,580 | |||
| Source: Kenosha County Clerk, "Election Results for 4/5/2011," accessed February 3, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
Taube explained her reasons for running in 2014 in an interview with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance:
| “ |
What are your qualifications to serve on the KUSD School Board? I am completing my second term on the KUSD School Board and currently serve as Vice-President, chair of the Audit/Budget/Finance committee and member of the Curriculum committee. How is KUSD preparing students for future opportunities in higher education? How are they (or, how can they better prepare) preparing students for future, high-demand careers? In addition to honors classes and the expansion of AP classes at the high school level, the district has two acclaimed STEM education schools. KTEC, a K-8 charter, will be more than doubling in size with expansion into the vacant McKinley Middle School, and Lakeview Technology Academy which is expanding to include an IT strand. The Southeast Wisconsin Connected Community is a collaborative partnership with KUSD, RUSD, Gateway Technical College and UW-Parkside as well as KABA and nonprofit leaders with the purpose of leveraging rather than replicating resources. While STEM education is a starting point for this initiative, this Connected Community hopes this collaboration will lead to strengthening the alignment between Gateway and UW-P and better education and career success for our students. What is the role of the school board in terms of working with the Superintendent and the administration? The School board represents the community in hiring and evaluating the Superintendent. We need to do a better job of developing and defining district goals and expectations prior to a new Superintendent assuming the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position. We all should work together to maintain effective communication and direct resources to improve classroom instruction for students. The Superintendent is responsible for the effective operation of the District and seeing that the Board receives information and needed reports to make informed decisions. I think all members of the board believe we could use some training on our role and collaboration. Given the financial realities facing education, where should KUSD invest its precious resources? The district should focus on providing for student success, recognizing the needs of at risk children, average students and gifted students. Our most important work occurs in the classroom. We need to be looking at recommendations from the recent curriculum audits and aligning KUSD curriculum with Common Core Standards. Change needs to be structured on a manageable timeline with significant involvement from staff who will actually implement it. What are the top three attributes KUSD must have in order to attract and retain businesses in our community? How is KUSD performing in this regard? Businesses considering relocation look at quality ratings of the school district. We need to work together to improve student attendance, graduation rates and preparation for post secondary education. Owners and top management want to know that their children will be challenged and prepared for higher education. They also want to know that we are work force ready and will work toward supplying graduates who can be educated to meet their needs, thus an initial vision of the Connected Community to expand Information Technology foundation courses to high schools. As a district KUSD can continue to work on improvement and market our successes. We need help from the entire community in connecting with our students and obtaining or leveraging resources. Would you favor or oppose moving teacher compensation towards a merit-based and away from seniority-based system? KUSD teachers received no seniority-based step this year and there will be no funding to grant step changes next year. Teachers are generally concerned that merit pay will create competitive rather than collaborative workplaces for teaching students. When you have documented research showing that merit pay has proven successful in improving student success, I am willing to look at it. How can the community - and specifically the business community - support KUSD and its success? The business community can work with employees to encourage completion of their own education, read with their children, attend parents teacher conferences and check to see if assignments are being completed. Children will try to live up to parent expectations and what they model. Our public schools need partnerships with the business to obtain adequate funding from the state. Wisconsin tax funding has been sliced and diced, creating larger classes and fewer opportunities. KABA does a great job with the student mentoring program, but we still have many students who would benefit by having a special adult in their life. |
” |
| —Kenosha Area Business Alliance, (2014) | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Jo + Ann + Taube + Kenosha + School + District"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Kenosha Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed February 5, 2014
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through email from Stacy Busby on March 25, 2014.
- ↑ Kenosha Education Association, "The Non-Endorsed Candidates for School Board," February 14, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kenosha Area Business Alliance, "Seven questions from the business community for the 2014 Kenosha Unified School Board Candidates," February 5, 2014
| 2014 Kenosha Unified School District Elections | |
| Kenosha, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 1, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Mike Falkofske • Gary J. Kunich • Jo Ann Taube • Dan Wade Candidates defeated in the primary: • Michael Kehoe • Robert Nuzzo |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
