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Kurt Squire
Kurt Squire was a candidate for District 9 representative on the Racine Board of Education in Wisconsin. Squire lost the race for a three-year term in the general election on April 5, 2016.[1]
Biography
Squire earned his B.S. in business management from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He was a manager at UPS prior to his retirement.[2]
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.[3][4]
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.[4] 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.[5]
Results
| Racine Unified School District, District 9 General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Robert Wittke |
61.42% | 3,238 |
| Kurt Squire | 38.58% | 2,034 |
| Total Votes | 5,272 | |
| Source: Racine Unified School District, "Racine Board of Education Official Election Results," accessed June 15, 2016 | ||
Endorsements
Squire received the endorsement of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.[6]
Campaign themes
2016
Squire answered the following questions from The Journal Times:
| “ |
1) 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? Our Unified School District is made up of not only the organizations described above, but also our students and their families. In any scenario there has to be trust among all contributing organizations and people. Single points of accountability are a fact, but teamwork and effective communication are also necessary and sound practices for Unified to improve. In my business background, good faith cooperation and engagement are always the best guidelines for growth, change management and quality of education improvements. We have to accept the fact there is no “I” in Team and focus on what is the most important role of the School District which is the education of our students and the positive impact on our community that will result. 2) 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? As a member of the School Board I would like to understand the following:
3) 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? In my career I have learned that change is constant, necessary and something that is always difficult to implement. Effective change management includes teams working together with open, honest and regular communication to and from all necessary parties. Mandates from individuals typically are not embraced as well as utilizing effective communication and teamwork. That said I do believe block scheduling can be deployed in some form next school year. From my Point-of-View (PoV) building on successes, addressing lessons learned and adjusting as appropriate are better practices to follow than a “bing bang” implementation. 4) 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? As a member of the School Board I would not support communities breaking away from Unified. My family all attended and graduated from schools within the Unified School District. It was a rich and rewarding experience that assisted in shaping our lives and values. I also believe the costs associated with “breakaway” communities would be prohibitive and not something the taxpayers of the Unified School District will accept. 5) If elected, what is the most pressing change you would push for the district to make? |
” |
| —Kurt Squire (2016), [8] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kurt Squire' 'Racine School Board'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedlist - ↑ The Journal Times, "Newcomers square off for Unified 9th District," March 25, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednewmap - ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Journal Times, "Election filings, Racine County school boards," January 6, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbiemeck - ↑ Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 10, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Kurt Squire on the issues," March 24, 2016
