Veronica Baricevic
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This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates. |
Veronica Baricevic was a candidate for at-large representative on the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board of Education in Wisconsin. Baricevic ran for the seat in the primary election on February 16, 2016.[1] She received the third-most votes in the primary, which allowed her to advance to the general election on April 5, 2016.[2] She lost the general election.[3]
Baricevic participated in Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. To see her responses, check out the "2016 campaign themes" section.
Biography
Baricevic is the vice president of total rewards at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. She has worked for the company since September 1993. Baricevic earned a bachelor's degree in business and business management from Alverno College and a master's degree in management from Cardinal Stritch University.[4] She has two daughters—one who graduated from the district and one who attends school in the district.[5]
Elections
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.[6] Incumbent Frank Carini and challengers Veronica Baricevic, Joshua Borzick, Jeffrey Gassenhuber, Darin Grabowski, Elizabeth Sparks, Amy Mlot, and Beth Waschow won the primary election.[1][2] They faced off again in the general election, where Carini, Sparks, Grabowski, and Mlot were elected to the board.[3]
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.[1][3]
Incumbent Jonathan Jossart and challengers Rosemarie Annonson, Sean Kingston, Thomas Kroon and Gregory Loreck were defeated in the primary election.[1][2]
Results
| Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, At-Large General and Special Elections, 3-, 2- and 1-year terms, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Frank Carini Incumbent |
17.20% | 5,131 |
| Elizabeth Sparks |
13.16% | 3,926 |
| Darin Grabowski |
12.42% | 3,705 |
| Amy Mlot |
11.78% | 3,514 |
| Jeffrey Gassenhuber | 11.44% | 3,412 |
| Joshua Borzick | 11.34% | 3,382 |
| Beth Waschow | 11.30% | 3,371 |
| Veronica Baricevic | 10.86% | 3,241 |
| Write-in votes | 0.51% | 153 |
| Total Votes | 29,835 | |
| Source: Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, "Official Results of the General Election," April 11, 2016 | ||
| 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 | ||
Endorsements
Baricevic was endorsed by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.[7]
Funding
Baricevic filed an exemption statement detailing she would not spend or receive more than $2,000 toward her campaign. Because of this, she did not have to file additional campaign finance reports for this election.[8][9]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Veronica Baricevic participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on February 13, 2016:
| “ | As a parent and taxpayer, like you, I expect our district to provide a high quality education for our children using resources responsibly. With over 25 years of experience in human resources and a deep understanding of compensation and benefits, I want to ensure our district is positioned to retain our talented educators and recruit the best and brightest talent available. I have experience in strategic planning and budgeting with strength in creative and collaborative problem solving. As you may know, the board compensation is $5,000 per year. I commit to donate the board compensation back to the district through affiliated programs. I will fulfill the obligation to the community as a true volunteer board member. Priorities as a school board member: Ensuring our curriculum supports our students with 21st century learning programs and technology and making sure our educators receive training to deliver the latest programs. Our curriculum needs to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of our students, community and employers. Our students are entitled to strong and diverse educational programs. Although we have a strong graduation rate in our district – 98%, there is opportunity to improve our student performance on tests. Our reading and math performance on state standardized tests are outside of the top 10% of all school districts in the state. We need improvement to ensure our children are ready to pursue opportunities whether through trades or post high school education. Communication has improved recently with the hiring of a communication specialist. There is still room for improvement. The administration, faculty and staff and parents and the community should be working together to define how those improvements should be made. The board should ensure there are strong and effective lines of communication district wide. I am open minded, am willing to listen and learn through discussion with students, faculty and families in our district. I would love to hear from you - my email is vbaricevic06@gmail.com.[10][11] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Wisconsin. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Our students are entitled to strong and diverse educational programs. In order to improve achievement and readiness post high school, we must ensure our curriculum supports our students with flexible learning programs and technology. We must make sure our educators receive training to deliver the latest programs. Our curriculum needs to be responsive to the changing needs of our students, community and employers.[11] | ” |
| —Veronica Baricevic (February 13, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. Currently, there is not a need for a charter school in our district. I do believe there may be a time in our future where the need for a charter will require careful evaluation to ensure the needs of our diverse student population. I am in favor of charter schools where creative solutions support student needs while contributing positively to the long term success of the community. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. While measurement of achievement is important in many aspects of life, standardize tests are only one way of reflecting outcomes. Critical thinking, adaptability and problem solving, which is not typically measured via standardized tests, are foundations for students to become adult lifelong learners. Tests help to support educators in understanding the needs of their students and support changes to improve outcomes. Mostly importantly, our teachers need to find personal fulfillment in educating our students rather than teaching for a test. Our children need preparation and need to understand, in appropriate terms, the point of the test, and what it says about what they need to learn as opposed to what it says about the individual being tested. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| All schools and educators need standards to understand what is working and where to start if improvements are needed. The state of Wisconsin has adopted the Common Core State Standards and the implementation has begun which is the challenge. While there is great controversy surrounding the effectiveness, the vision for these standards are to ensure "every child is a graduate who has successfully completed a rigorous, meaningful, 21st century education that will prepare him or her for careers, college and citizenship". Most importantly, our educators need to be supported with training and resources to be successful in achieving this vision. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. Providing a mentoring program along with additional training options just makes good sense to support educators with potential. These types of investments in the personal and professional development of educators go along way to retain both the mentors and mentees and to increase the reputation of a district to recruit talent. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. All employees appreciate recognition and feedback on their performance in order to improve and develop personally and professionally. I am in favor of performance based pay where administrators and educators work collaboratively to develop measures and goals. With collaboration and understanding, administrators and educators can work to ensure fair and objective results. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. The success and record of voucher schools is mixed in terms of quality, student performance and community impact. I am not in favor of public funds diverting to support voucher programs. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| The safety of students and faculty is most important. Expulsion should be the last resort. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers An adept and dedicated educator manages many factors in their classroom to ensure success. Our educators need to be confident they have the best resources and tools available with a strong curriculum, along with an administration that collaborates and the involvement of parents to support them in the successful education of our children. |
Yes for Oak Creek Schools candidate profile
The group Yes for Oak Creek Schools published candidate profiles on its website. Baricevic's answers to the group's questions can be found below. The bolded text indicates the questions provided by Yes for Oak Creek Schools.
| “ | WHY ARE YOU SEEKING SCHOOL BOARD OFFICE AT THIS TIME? I am seeking a position on the board to expand my service to the community of Oak Creek. I intend to be an advocate for the students while ensuring our district is flexible and responsive to the needs of our community. I believe all students of the district are entitled to strong and diverse educational programs. I am open minded and have a willingness to listen and learn through discussion and interaction with students, faculty and families in the district. WHAT WOULD BE YOUR PRIORITIES AS A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER? |
” |
| —Veronica Baricevic (2016)[5] | ||
Oak Creek Now candidate survey (general election)
Oak Creek Now asked the candidates in the general election the following two bolded questions. Baricevic's responses are shown below.
Last summer, the school board agreed to spend $4.5 million to build a new auditorium "shell." How would you, as a board member, propose raising the additional $4 million needed to complete the project?
| “ | The process to finish the auditorium needs to be determined after discussion with the community and the board to understand what options can be considered and what will best work for all and what will be supported. This will be an important issue to address, as it makes little sense to have a "shell" that cannot be used.[11] | ” |
| —Veronica Baricevic (2016)[12] | ||
The school board has been criticized in the past for not being transparent enough. Do you agree? If so, how would you improve the district's relationship with the community?
| “ | Transparency and communication have improved recently with the hiring of a communication specialist. There is still room to improve transparency and communication. The administration, faculty, staff and parents along with the community should be working together to define how those improvements should be made and how to sustain them. The administration and board have the responsibility to ensure there are strong and effective lines of communication districtwide.[11] | ” |
| —Veronica Baricevic (2016)[12] | ||
Oak Creek Now candidate survey (primary election)
Oak Creek Now asked the candidates in the primary race the following two bolded questions. Baricevic's responses are shown below.
Why are you running for a seat on the school board?
| “ | To provide service to our community. Students need strong and diverse educational programs. I will advocate for students to ensure programs are flexible and responsive to the changing needs of our community. I am open minded, willing to listen and learn through discussion with our students, faculty and community.[11] | ” |
| —Veronica Baricevic (2016)[13] | ||
What is one major change you would like to see within the district?
| “ | The diverse needs of our students must be supported with 21st-century learning programs. Employers are struggling to find "employment ready" candidates to fill positions in a tight employment market. Our district should continue to expand partnerships with employers to support and develop "employment ready" students.[11] | ” |
| —Veronica Baricevic (2016)[13] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Veronica Baricevic' 'Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, Wisconsin
- Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District elections (2016)
External links
- Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District
- Campaign website
- LinkedIn page
- Yes for Oak Creek Schools Candidate Profile
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Franklin Now, "Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners and Oak Creek 2016 elections begin," January 5, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District, "Official results for spring primary," February 22, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Milwaukee County Election Commission, "Election Summary Final - Unofficial," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Veronica Baricevic," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yes For Oak Creek Schools, "Candidate Profile: Veronica Baricevic," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ Oak Creek Franklin Joint School District, "School Board Election Information," January 6, 2016
- ↑ WI AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," accessed March 22, 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
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Veronica Baricevic's responses," February 13, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 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 candidates address auditorium funding, district transparency," March 22, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Oak Creek Now, "Oak Creek-Franklin School Board hopefuls state their views," February 3, 2016
| 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 |
