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Stephanie Emons
Stephanie Emons was a member of the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board At-large in Wisconsin. Emons assumed office in 2015.
Emons ran for re-election to the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board At-large in Wisconsin. Emons won in the general election on April 3, 2018.
Emons participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey.
Biography
Emons has lived in West Allis for 12 years. She has a son who attends district schools, and she is active in the PTA.[1]
Emons earned both a B.A. in mass communication in 1999 and a graduate certificate in nonprofit management in 2005 from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is employed as a senior client service manager with Annex Wealth Management.[2]
Elections
2018
Three of the nine seats on the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Incumbent Patricia J. Kerhin did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Incumbent Stephanie Emons and newcomers Christine Klug and Gary Schultz defeated incumbent Sue Sujecki.[3][4]
General election
General election for West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board At-large (3 seats)
Gary Schultz, Christine Klug, and incumbent Stephanie Emons defeated incumbent Sue Sujecki in the general election for West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board At-large on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gary Schultz (Nonpartisan) | 27.7 | 4,553 |
| ✔ |  | Christine Klug (Nonpartisan) | 25.5 | 4,198 |
| ✔ |  | Stephanie Emons (Nonpartisan) | 24.8 | 4,071 |
 | Sue Sujecki (Nonpartisan) | 22.0 | 3,609 | |
| Total votes: 16,431 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
2015
Three at-large seats were up for election on April 7, 2015. Incumbents Patricia J. Kerhin, Sue Sujecki and Darlene Ziemendorf faced challengers Wendy DuBois and Stephanie Emons in their re-election bids.[5] The race gained another contender when William Ustruck began campaigning as a write-in candidate in early March 2015.[6]
Kerhin and Sujecki retained their seats in the election, but Ziemendorf was defeated. Emons won her first term on the board as the second-highest vote recipient behind Sujecki and above Kerhin.
Results
| West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Sue Sujecki Incumbent |
22.8% | 2,819 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stephanie Emons |
20.1% | 2,486 | |
| Nonpartisan | Patricia J. Kerhin Incumbent |
19.2% | 2,365 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wendy DuBois | 18.4% | 2,266 | |
| Nonpartisan | Darlene Ziemendorf Incumbent | 15% | 1,852 | |
| Nonpartisan | William Ustruck (write-in) | 4% | 492 | |
| Nonpartisan | Heather Justham (write-in) | 0.5% | 64 | |
| Total Votes | 12,344 | |||
| Source: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, "2015 Election Results," accessed April 22, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Emons reported no contributions or expenditures to the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District in this election. She filed as "Exempt from Filing Campaign Finance Records" on her campaign registration statements.[7]
Endorsements
Emons received no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2018
Emons responded to questions from the journal sentinel. The questions are bolded below, followed by Emons' answers:[8]
The nation is experiencing an astounding number of school shootings, resulting the undermining of safety on school grounds. What actions are needed to prevent this national nightmare from happening locally?
| “ | It’s impossible to provide a worthy answer to the question in this small space. The most important concepts to consider: Empathy, willingness to address all facets of this complex issue and an unwavering ability and desire to collaborate. | ” |
| —Stephanie Emons | ||
What makes you the strongest of the four school board candidates to serve in public office?
| “ | Since joining the school board in 2015, I’ve learned about the complexities of school finance, the pains of budget cuts, and the intricacies of considering various constituencies on any given decision. Being a board member isn’t just about my opinion or my beliefs; it’s truly about working with all interests to build a better school district. | ” |
| —Stephanie Emons | ||
Should public education mainly be a resource for general education or should it take on a more aggressive role in vocational job training?
| “ | There should always be a balance between general education, college preparation and vocational job training. Our jobs as public educators is to provide students the best opportunity to succeed in a post high school world. That has to take on many forms. Public education does our students a disservice by failing to prepare them for whatever situation comes next. | ” |
| —Stephanie Emons | ||
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Emons participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | As noted above, rebuilding the trust with the community. More and better communication with the residents. Working on a long-range plan to curb enrollment issues (reviewing building plans, projected attendance, curriculum, staff/admin review). We have come to a point where people don't want to send their children to certain schools. That's unacceptable. All of our schools must be improved so that all children in the district can receive the same high quality education regardless of what school they attend. [9] | ” |
| —Stephanie Emons (2015)[10] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Wisconsin. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Modifications are required before they are implemented." | |
| "No." | |
| "No." | |
| "They gauge memory or testing during a specific set of circumstance. They don't gauge learning. They can be helpful but should not be the only metric for anything." | |
| "Our district currently implements personalized learning plans at most of the elementary and intermediate schools. I think this can be expanded into the high schools. It allows students to work up to their level, and continues to challenge students at all levels. It gives teachers the chance to connect with each student and work with them on their specific needs/aptitude." | |
| "Expulsion should be used for serious offenses to ensure the safety of other students as well as the integrity of education at district schools." | |
| "Review all curriculum plans
Review and evaluate all staff and administration | |
| "Yes." | |
| "Offer additional training options." | |
| "Right now there is no trust between the board and the community. The board needs to work diligently to repair this. A combination of more communication, transparency and involvement from the board with the residents is needed. Taking board meetings to schools and public places, becoming more accessible (current board members don't respond to emails or phone calls) and having easy access to board and district information. All of this must be done quickly and effectively for the trust to be rebuilt in our district." |
Campaign website
Emons provided the following statement on her Facebook campaign page:
| “ | People have asked what I stand for as a candidate for the School Board. These are ideals I believe in, and ideals that I believe the current Board is lacking:
- Accountability: We cannot afford any further decline in test scores or discipline. The Board must research decisions before they implement, and be held accountable for the results. The voters of West Allis/West Milwaukee elect the board for a reason, to create and enforce policies that are designed for the benefit of the district. The current board is not fulfilling that role. - Transparency: The parents of the children need to know more about what is being done. They deserve to be asked what it is that they want done. Taxpayers should know how the budget is being spent, for what reason, and what are the results. - Reform: Enough is enough. Our board has lost touch with our community and families. We have reached a point where many parents do not want their children to attend certain schools. All of our schools must be improved so that all children in the district can receive the same high quality education regardless of what school they attend. Forcing children to attend a school that their parents don’t approve of is not acceptable. - Communication: The Board and the district lack it. It's time for new leadership and more communication from the district to the residents of West Allis/West Milwaukee. I'd love to bring these ideals to our district's School Board.[9] |
” |
| —Stephanie Emon's Facebook campaign page (2015)[11] | ||
See also
- West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, Wisconsin
- West Allis-West Milwaukee School District elections (2018)
- West Allis-West Milwaukee School District elections (2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Stephanie Emons for School Board: About," accessed February 5, 2015
- ↑ West Allis Now, "West Allis School Board candidates reveal views on new superintendent, future of district," March 17, 2015
- ↑ West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, "2018 School Board Election," accessed January 20, 2018
- ↑ Milwaukee County Elections, "Spring Election Unofficial Results," accessed April 3, 2018
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Suzette Zimmerman, Executive Assistant to the WAWM Board and Superintendent," January 8, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Bill Ustruck for West Allis-West Milwaukee school board: Wall Post," March 10, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Suzette Zimmerman, Executive Assistant to the WAWM Board and Superintendent," August 26, 2015
- ↑ journal sentinel, "Tighter security, better relations cited by WAWM board candidates as solutions to school shootings," March 18, 2018
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Stephanie Emons responses," March 25, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Stephanie Emons for School Board: Wall Post," March 10, 2015
| West Allis-West Milwaukee School District elections in 2018 | |
| Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Stephanie Emons • Incumbent, Sue Sujecki • Christine Klug • Gary Schultz |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2015 West Allis-West Milwaukee School District Elections | |
| Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Patricia J. Kerhin • Incumbent, Sue Sujecki • Incumbent, Darlene Ziemendorf • Wendy DuBois • Stephanie Emons • William Ustruck |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
