Gail Radonski
Gail Radonski is a former at-large representative on the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board in Wisconsin. First elected in 2011, Radonski lost a re-election campaign in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017.
Biography
Radonski studied culinary arts at Waukesha County Technical College and Maxim's School for Culinary Arts in France. She previously worked for her family's catering company, Executive Catering. Radonski works as an insurance referral specialist with Aurora Cardiovascular Services. She has two children who graduated from district schools.[1][2]
Elections
2017
Three of the nine seats on the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. In their bids for re-election to the board, incumbents Dan Bailey, Diane Narlock, and Gail Radonski ran against challengers Brian Keller and Noah Leigh.[3] Bailey won re-election to the board, and Keller and Leigh won the other two seats on the ballot.[4]
Results
| West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, At-large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Noah Leigh |
22.73% | 4,455 |
| Brian Keller |
22.61% | 4,431 |
| Dan Bailey Incumbent |
18.51% | 3,627 |
| Diane Narlock Incumbent | 18.23% | 3,573 |
| Gail Radonski Incumbent | 17.92% | 3,513 |
| Total Votes | 19,599 | |
| Source: West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, "School Board Election Results," accessed April 19, 2017 | ||
Funding
Radonski 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.[5]
Endorsements
Radonski was endorsed by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans.[6][7]
2014
Gail Radonski ran against Kristi Bonaparte, Diane Narlock and Dan Bailey in the general election on April 1, 2014.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Dan Bailey Incumbent |
26.9% | 2,645 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gail Radonski Incumbent |
26.3% | 2,587 | |
| Nonpartisan | Diane Narlock |
25.8% | 2,537 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kristi Bonaparte Incumbent | 20.5% | 2,021 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.5% | 49 | |
| Total Votes | 9,839 | |||
| Source: Information submitted to Ballotpedia through e-mail from LaVonne Kirchner on May 12, 2014. | ||||
Funding
Radonski did not report any contributions or expenditures to the school district office.[8] State law allows candidates to claim exempt status from campaign finance reporting if contributions and expenditures do not exceed $1,000 during a calendar year.[9]
Endorsements
Radonski did not receive any official endorsements for her campaign.
2011
| West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, At-large General Election, 3-year term, 2011 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Gail Radonski |
19.1% | 5,515 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dan Bailey |
17.9% | 5,179 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kristi Bonaparte |
16.8% | 4,853 | |
| Nonpartisan | James Blask | 16.6% | 4,809 | |
| Nonpartisan | Barbara Suleiman Incumbent | 14.9% | 4,315 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jane Edgar Incumbent | 14.7% | 4,263 | |
| Total Votes | 28,934 | |||
| Source: West Allis Now, "Faces change on WA-WM School Board," April 6, 2011 | ||||
Campaign themes
2017
Radonski participated in a survey conducted by the Greenfield West Allis Now. The questions provided by the Greenfield West Allis Now appear bolded, and Radonski's responses follow below.
School discipline has been raised as a concern, what do you think might be done to keep better order in the classroom?
| “ | Teachers have a job to do, and that is teach. Teachers are expected to teach students about character, acceptable social morays, finance, and relaxation/behavior. These lessons should be taught at home. Students should not be allowed to stay in the classroom if they are a distraction to other students' learning.[10] | ” |
| —Gail Radonski (March 20, 2017)[11] | ||
School achievement is another concern; do you support any initiatives in that area?
| “ | Wisconsin's legislature has implemented mandates for reporting student achievement. I believe with IEP’s, personalized learning plans for all students, interventions, testing and data collection, there are multiple mechanisms to meet student needs. The students have to apply themselves and do the work to achieve success.[10] | ” |
| —Gail Radonski (March 20, 2017)[11] | ||
Aside from those two issues, do you think the schools need to take a new approach in any area, or is the board on the right track and why?
| “ | We need to restructure the 1:1 technology initiative. This has been a huge expense. We tried it, and the iPad was not used the way we envisioned. Lack of adequate control of access, which I and other board members asked for, was partly why. Poor teacher training was another factor.[10] | ” |
| —Gail Radonski (March 20, 2017)[11] | ||
2014
Radonski explained her reasons for running in 2014 in an interview with West Allis Now:
| “ |
The best reasons to vote for me is because I do care about our community families and the education that students in our district receive. I will always respond to any concerns, and discuss it with district administrators and/or board members. I will encourage community members to come and speak before the board at our public meetings, where they can have their comments videotaped and on TV to communicate with others in the community.[10] |
” |
| —West Allis Now (2014)[2] | ||
See also
- West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, Wisconsin
- West Allis-West Milwaukee School District elections (2017)
- West Allis-West Milwaukee School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, "Board of Education Biography Info," accessed April 17, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 West Allis Now, "General election voters guide for West Allis-West Milwaukee School Board," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Suzette Zimmerman," January 4, 2017
- ↑ West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, "School Board Election Results," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Suzette Zimmerman, Executive Assistant to the Board and the Superintendent of the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District," March 28, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin AFL-CIO, "Spring Election Endorsed Candidates," March 9, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, "WIARA Spring Election Endorsements," March 17, 2017
- ↑ Information submitted through email from LaVonne Kirchner on April 23, 2014.
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Overview: Local Candidates," May 2010
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Greenfield West Allis Now, "West Allis School Board candidates differ on discipline," March 20, 2017
| West Allis-West Milwaukee School District elections in 2017 | |
| Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Dan Bailey • Incumbent, Diane Narlock • Incumbent, Gail Radonski • Brian Keller • Noah Leigh |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
| 2014 West Allis-West Milwaukee School District Elections | |
| West Allis, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 1, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Dan Bailey • Kristi Bonaparte • Diane Narlock • Gail Radonski |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
