Voters infuse new blood, new money into Wisconsin school districts
April 8, 2016
By Abbey Smith
On the same day that they voted against the Democratic and Republican front-runners in the presidential primaries, Wisconsin voters decided to keep the makeup of their school boards relatively consistent. Incumbents ran in each of the state's largest school districts that held elections, and all but one district saw at least one incumbent re-elected. The one exception was the West Bend School District, where Randy Marquardt, the only incumbent to run for another term, was defeated by more than 700 votes. A total of 110 incumbents ran to retain their seats, and 88 were re-elected.
Though school boards retained 80 percent of their representatives, voters also elected new members to boards almost every time they had the chance. The 32 seats that were left open for newcomers in this election were spread out across the state, allowing at least one new member to be elected in all but 10 of the 49 districts. Nine of those districts had all of their incumbents running unopposed, giving voters little opportunity to add new blood.
The youngest winning newcomer was Noah Roberts, a recent high school graduate and current university student. He won an open seat on the Verona Area School District Board of Education, defeating Charyn Grandau, a veteran school board member. Other newcomers elected in these races included healthcare professionals, historians, educators, and advocates.
This election finalized changes in board governance for two school districts. In the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, two new seats were added to bring the board from five to seven members. The decision to boost the board's size was put to the community at the school district's annual meeting on August 24, 2015. The community group YES for Oak Creek Schools pushed for expanding the board's membership and also got involved in the election, publishing report cards with letter grades based on knowledge, vision, experience, and leadership for each candidate. Frank Carini, the only incumbent who was re-elected in the race, received an "A." None of the three newcomers elected to the board received as high a grade as Carini, but Amy Mlot, who won a one-year term, received an "A-." Elizabeth Sparks, who received the second-highest number of votes and won a three-year term, was given a "C+," and Darin Grabowski, who won a two-year term, received a "B-."[1][2]
In the Racine Unified School District, elections were held by district for the first time. Prior to the 2016 election, the board had conducted elections at large. The change was made by state legislators due to concerns about village representation within the district. Because of the change, all nine of the board's seats were up for election. Candidates had to run in the districts where they lived, a requirement that pinned former incumbents against each other in some districts. Though all nine incumbents ran for re-election, it was impossible for all of them to win, as six lived within three districts. Two other incumbents were defeated by challengers, leaving the district with four retained incumbents and five new members.
Spotlight district: Racine Unified School District
Prior to Tuesday's election, the Racine Unified Board of Education essentially had a 5-4 majority that was supportive of policy changes proposed by Superintendent Lolli Haws. Those proposed changes included issuing financial penalties for teachers who left their positions before the end of the school year and changing the pay structure for work done beyond classroom hours.[3]
With those contentious policy changes as a backdrop, the board was also fraught with conflict on other issues throughout 2015. Members could not agree on how to create a district map for the upcoming election or whom to appoint to fill a vacancy on the board.[4] State legislators provided a temporary solution to the vacancy issue, allowing a board president to fill a vacancy if no choice was made two months after a vacancy was created.[5] Board President Melvin Hargrove, a supporter of Haws' reforms, appointed John Koetz in October 2015 and in doing so gave reformers a deciding vote.[6]
Local organizations weighed in on the board's conflict. The Racine Education Association (REA) opposed Haws' policies as well as the lack of public input on the issues involved. Closer to the election, the union challenged the filing paperwork of four candidates.[7] The Wisconsin AFL-CIO and The Journal Times endorsed opposing candidates for each of the eight contested seats. Seven of eight labor-endorsed candidates won election; the lone Journal-endorsed candidate to win was Robert Wittke in the open District 9 race. Both Hargrove and Koetz lost their bids for re-election.[8][9][10]
Referendums
In addition to holding school board elections, six districts also had referendum questions on the ballot. Eight of the nine questions were approved by voters. Details of the referendums can be found in the table below.
| Referendum questions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | Cost | Reason | Voter decision |
| Hudson School District | $8.2 million | High school renovations and new athletic facility | Approved |
| Hudson School District | $7.9 million | Middle school additions, renovations, and upgrades | Approved |
| Hudson School District | $74.3 million | High school additions, renovations, and upgrades | Approved |
| Menomonee Falls School District | $3.75 million | Operational funding | Rejected |
| Menomonee Falls School District | $32.7 million | Facilities improvements | Approved |
| Mukwonago School District | $49.5 million | High school improvements | Approved |
| Mukwonago School District | Annual funding through 2037 | High school maintenance | Approved |
| Muskego-Norway School District | $42 million | Facility updates | Approved |
| Superior School District | $92.5 million | Additions, renovations, and upgrades to facilities | Approved |
Candidates
Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.
Footnotes
- ↑ YES for Oak Creek Schools, "Home," accessed July 29, 2015
- ↑ Yes for Oak Creek Schools, "OC-F School Board Candidate Report Card," accessed February 12, 2016
- ↑ Journal Times, "Union leaders slam Haws for how proposed handbook changes were released," April 15, 2015
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Racine Unified secret ballot vote was apparent violation of state law," July 17, 2015
- ↑ CBS 58, "Walker signs bill allowing Racine School District President to fill Board Vacancies," October 23, 2015
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Tiebreaker: Hargrove Appoints John Koetz to School Board," October 26, 2015
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Unified to respond to election challenges," January 11, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 10, 2016
- ↑ The Journal Times, "Journal Times editorial: Journal Times endorses eight candidates for Racine Unified School Board," April 3, 2016
- ↑ Racine Unified School District, "Racine Board of Education Unofficial Election Results," April 5, 2016
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