Thomas Kroon
Thomas Kroon ran for election to the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education At-large in Wisconsin. Kroon lost in the general election on April 3, 2018.
Biography
Kroon's professional experience includes working in transportation. He has been affiliated with the Oak Creek Little League and the PTO.[1]
Elections
2018
Three of the seven seats on the Oak Creek-Franklin School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Incumbent Kathleen Borchardt did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Incumbent Sheryl Cerniglia and newcomers Jeffrey Gassenhuber and Leah Schreiber Johnson defeated incumbent Darin Grabowski and candidates Sean Kingston and Thomas Kroon in the general election. A primary election was held on February 20, 2018, after more than two candidates filed per seat. Juli Murphy and Jeffrey Sischo did not advance to the general election.[2][3][4]
General election
General election for Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education At-large on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeffrey Gassenhuber (Nonpartisan) | 19.2 | 2,846 |
| ✔ |  | Leah Schreiber Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 18.8 | 2,786 |
| ✔ |  | Sheryl Cerniglia (Nonpartisan) | 18.8 | 2,783 |
| Darin Grabowski (Nonpartisan) | 15.3 | 2,270 | ||
| Sean Kingston (Nonpartisan) | 14.5 | 2,146 | ||
 | Thomas Kroon (Nonpartisan) | 13.5 | 1,997 | |
| Total votes: 14,828 | |||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education At-large (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the primary for Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education At-large on February 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeffrey Gassenhuber (Nonpartisan) | 17.0 | 1,437 |
| ✔ | | Sheryl Cerniglia (Nonpartisan) | 16.7 | 1,406 |
| ✔ | | Leah Schreiber Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 15.9 | 1,337 |
| ✔ | Darin Grabowski (Nonpartisan) | 11.9 | 1,003 | |
| ✔ | Sean Kingston (Nonpartisan) | 11.7 | 990 | |
| ✔ | | Thomas Kroon (Nonpartisan) | 9.5 | 805 |
| Juli Murphy (Nonpartisan) | 8.8 | 739 | ||
| Jeffrey Sischo (Nonpartisan) | 8.5 | 717 | ||
| Total votes: 8,434 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2016
Four of the seven seats on the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on April 5, 2016. A primary election was held on February 16, 2016, to narrow the field of candidates from 13 down to eight.[5] Incumbent Frank Carini and challengers Veronica Baricevic, Joshua Borzick, Jeffrey Gassenhuber, Darin Grabowski, Elizabeth Sparks, Amy Mlot, and Beth Waschow won the primary election.[6][7] They faced off again in the general election, where Carini, Sparks, Grabowski, and Mlot were elected to the board.[8]
Two of the four seats on the ballot were up for election to regular three-year terms. The other two seats were on the ballot in order to increase the size of the board from five members to seven. Carini and Sparks, the top two vote-getters, won three-year terms. Grabowski, who came in third place, won a two-year term, and fourth-place candidate Mlot won a one-year term.[6][8]
Incumbent Jonathan Jossart and challengers Rosemarie Annonson, Sean Kingston, Thomas Kroon and Gregory Loreck were defeated in the primary election.[6][7]
Results
| Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, At-Large Primary Elections, 3-, 2- and 1-year terms, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Frank Carini Incumbent |
14.74% | 1,629 |
| Joshua Borzick |
9.20% | 1,017 |
| Veronica Baricevic |
9.14% | 1,010 |
| Beth Waschow |
9.08% | 1,003 |
| Amy Mlot |
8.10% | 895 |
| Darin Grabowski |
7.98% | 882 |
| Jeffrey Gassenhuber |
7.85% | 868 |
| Elizabeth Sparks |
7.19% | 795 |
| Gregory Loreck | 7.10% | 785 |
| Jonathan Jossart Incumbent | 6.70% | 741 |
| Rosemarie Annonson | 5.94% | 656 |
| Sean Kingston | 3.56% | 394 |
| Thomas Kroon | 3.41% | 377 |
| Total Votes | 11,052 | |
| Source: Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, "Official results for spring primary," February 22, 2016 | ||
Funding
Kroon filed an exemption statement detailing he would not spend or receive more than $2,000 toward his campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[9][10]
Campaign themes
2018
Journal Sentinel questionnaire
Kroon participated in the following survey conducted by Journal Sentinel. The questions provided by Journal Sentinel are bolded, and Kroon's responses follow below.
The school district is set to embark on a series of energy-efficiency projects totaling nearly $17.5 million. Do you agree with the scope of improvements and dispute that spending did not go to referendum?
| “ | The amount shows the mismanagement of budgets and surpluses over the last 20 years, and especially over the last eight years. This was supposed to be a $25 million referendum on the April ballot but the Oak Creek-Franklin School Board and superintendent rammed it through, under the radar, before it became illegal on Jan.1.[1][11] | ” |
| —Thomas Kroon, 2018 | ||
Should public education mainly be a resource for general education or should it take on a more aggressive role in vocational job training?
| “ | I believe vocational job training and work-study programs should be expanded more aggressively by incorporating more Milwaukee Area Technical College trades courses and more local businesses. Students involved should be given credits toward graduation based on both class and work performance. This would better prepare our students for the real world.[1][11] | ” |
| —Thomas Kroon, 2018 | ||
2016
Oak Creek Now asked the candidates in this race the following two bolded questions. Kroon's responses are shown below.
Why are you running for a seat on the school board?
| “ | To set up policies for the future that will not hinder the educational process of our children, but will also create responsible budgeting and forecast expenditures for the future.[11] | ” |
| —Thomas Kroon (2016)[12] | ||
What is one major change you would like to see within the district?
| “ | To never have anything as a referendum on any ballot for the school district or the city in the future.[11] | ” |
| —Thomas Kroon (2016)[12] | ||
See also
- Oak Creek-Franklin School District, Wisconsin
- Oak Creek-Franklin School District elections (2018)
- Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Journal Sentinel, "Oak Creek-Franklin schools race fueled by no referendum in approved $17.5M energy projects," February 2, 2018
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Candidates line up for Oak Creek, other school board seats in the southern suburbs," January 3, 2018
- ↑ Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, "2018 Election Results - Spring Primary (Unofficial Results)," accessed February 20, 2018
- ↑ Milwaukee County Elections, "Spring Election Unofficial Results," accessed April 3, 2018
- ↑ Oak Creek Franklin Joint School District, "School Board Election Information," January 6, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandidates - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, "Official results for spring primary," February 22, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Milwaukee County Election Commission, "Election Summary Final - Unofficial," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "Campaign Financing," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Jill Bebeau, Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District," February 15, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Oak Creek Now, "Oak Creek-Franklin School Board hopefuls state their views," February 3, 2016
| Oak Creek-Franklin School District elections in 2018 | |
| Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Sheryl Cerniglia • Incumbent, Darin Grabowski • Jeffrey Gassenhuber • Sean Kingston • Thomas Kroon • Juli Murphy • Leah Schreiber Johnson • Jeffrey Sischo |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2016 Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Elections | |
| Milwaukee County | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Frank Carini • Incumbent, Jonathan Jossart • Rosemarie Annonson • Veronica Baricevic • Joshua Borzick • Jeffrey Gassenhuber • Darin Grabowski • Sean Kingston • Thomas Kroon • Gregory Loreck • Amy Mlot • Elizabeth Sparks • Beth Waschow |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
