Monte Schmiege
Monte Schmiege was a member of the West Bend School District school board, At-large in Wisconsin. Schmiege assumed office in 2015. Schmiege left office in 2018.
Schmiege ran for re-election to the West Bend School District school board, At-large in Wisconsin. Schmiege lost in the general election on April 3, 2018.
Biography
Schmiege works in the information technology departments of The West Bend Company and Regal Ware. He earned his bachelor's degree from Doctor Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn. Schmiege is married and has three children. He has worked in finances at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.[1]
Elections
2018
Two of the seven seats on the West Bend School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Appointed incumbent Tim Stellmacher did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Incumbent Monte Schmiege was defeated in the general election by challengers Kurt Rebholz and Chris Zwygart. Mary Weigand also ran in the general election.[2][3] A primary election was schedule for February 20, 2018, after more than two candidates filed for each seat. Carl Lundin filed for election but withdrew on January 17, 2018. A primary election was still held, and Lundin's name appeared on the ballot.[4]
General election
General election for West Bend School District school board, At-large (2 seats)
Chris Zwygart and Kurt Rebholz defeated Mary Weigand and incumbent Monte Schmiege in the general election for West Bend School District school board, At-large on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chris Zwygart (Nonpartisan) | 30.2 | 5,509 |
| ✔ | Kurt Rebholz (Nonpartisan) | 28.2 | 5,144 | |
| Mary Weigand (Nonpartisan) | 23.6 | 4,296 | ||
 | Monte Schmiege (Nonpartisan) | 17.6 | 3,213 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 59 | ||
| Total votes: 18,221 | |||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for West Bend School District school board, At-large (2 seats)
Mary Weigand, incumbent Monte Schmiege, Kurt Rebholz, and Chris Zwygart defeated Carl Lundin (Unofficially withdrew) in the primary for West Bend School District school board, At-large on February 20, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mary Weigand (Nonpartisan) | 29.6 | 2,740 | |
| ✔ | | Monte Schmiege (Nonpartisan) | 22.5 | 2,088 |
| ✔ | Kurt Rebholz (Nonpartisan) | 21.0 | 1,943 | |
| ✔ | | Chris Zwygart (Nonpartisan) | 20.6 | 1,912 |
| Carl Lundin (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew) | 5.4 | 505 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 82 | ||
| Total votes: 9,270 | |||
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2015
Two at-large board seats were up for election on April 7, 2015. Incumbents Vinney Pheng and Therese Sizer sought re-election against challenger Monte Schmiege. Sizer and Schmiege won the election defeating Pheng.
Results
| West Bend School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Monty Schmiege |
35.9% | 3,702 | |
| Nonpartisan | Therese Sizer Incumbent |
32.5% | 3,355 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vinney Pheng Incumbent | 31.6% | 3,264 | |
| Total Votes | 10,321 | |||
| Source: West Bend Community Television, "School Board April 13 2015: Clerk's Report: Canvass Report from April 7 Spring election," April 14, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Schmiege reported no contributions or expenditures to the West Bend School District in this election. He filed as exempt from campaign finance reporting.[5]
Endorsements
Schmiege received no official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2015
The West Bend Current interview
The West Bend Current interviewed all three candidates in the 2015 election. The questions and Schmiege's responses are below:
| “ | What is your view of Common Core and what would you do about it?
Well, I would like to get rid of Common Core, but I realize that it’s pretty much embedded right now and it’s probably not going to change for several years. A lot can happen in that time. One of the things that I discovered somewhat recently is that the policy that the board has in place calls for the district to adopt the state standards, period. That’s not what the law requires. The law requires that the district adopt standards acceptable to the superintendent of public instruction. That’s a little different. So in Germantown we have the Germantown school board creating their own standards. So it’s not necessary for the district to adopt the state standards at this time. And it wasn’t when Common Core came out. But that’s the policy of the district. That’s one policy I would like to change. But if we change it, that means they could keep Common Core if the state adopts something else.[6] |
” |
| —Monte Schmiege (2015)[7] | ||
| “ | What is your stance on the amount of standardized testing and is there any action you would take on that?
I would like to see much less. Currently there’s standardized testing I believe from [grades] three to eight, maybe beyond. In the past it was something like four and eight. Some people prefer that. There’s a lot of push back on the assessments in other states. And some are proposing the return to the four and eight type of thing, where you have a couple of tests throughout the eighth grade experience. Some people would like to eliminate them all together. After all, they don’t really directly, as far as I can tell, help the student. They provide data to the state, and data to the federal government, and any feedback is long after the tests have actually been taken. When I was teaching, we administered the Iowa Basic Skills Test. And we could score that test ourselves. And we could then see where the students were strong or weak. And we could report that to the parents. You can’t do that with these tests, these assessments that are out there today. So the purpose of the testing isn’t to directly help the student, but to help the state and the federal government measure the accountability of the district. So we’re subjecting these children to a lot of time spent on testing and a lot of time not spent on learning, for somebody else’s goals. So I’m opposed to the assessments and I would take any reduction that we could achieve.[6] |
” |
| —Monte Schmiege (2015)[8] | ||
| “ | What do you see as a possible solution for the recent tension between high school students and administration?
I’m not terribly familiar with all of the ins and outs of that particular experience. I think from what I’ve heard there was more to it than just hall passes. I know there’s a mural situation and I guess I can be sympathetic to that mural situation. I don’t think there was any intention to do harm in removing it. I think that must have been some kind of snafu because I saw it on your website and it looked very, very nice. I don’t think there was anything objectionable about it or anything so I think it was just some mistake somewhere along the line. I think the student protest that arose is probably more related to change. Changes that were coming down the line and the students reacting, maybe you know more and you could tell me, but that’s the only thing I can see right now. Now, was it handled appropriately or was it handled best? I don’t think anybody expected it to happen and therefore without expecting it, without a plan it’s hard to deal with that type of a situation and mistakes can be made on both sides. So there were something like 100 students who were punished in some way. Well, I guess the video tells the story on that. I know a lot of time was spent looking it over so I’m going to have to side with the administration on that. On the students side, I think the students need to project their feelings through whatever means are available that are already in place. Not through protests like that. I mean you do have a student council, presumably, something like that could be mentioned there. There must be other vehicles for citing objections.[6] |
” |
| —Monte Schmiege (2015)[9] | ||
Campaign website
Schmiege provided the following statements on his campaign website:
| “ | I attended and observed committee and school board meetings for the past year. I’ve addressed the board in public participation opportunities and consulted with board members and administrative staff. My interest in the West Bend School District stems from objections to Common Core standards, related assessments and data mining of personal and private student data. The children of the West Bend School District are subject to all of these.
I have three focal points, transparency, accountability and integrity. Some related goals include:
I want curriculum and instruction to be the best we can achieve. The West Bend School District aims to be a destination of choice for all students in the area. To do so, we must build on the academic, arts and athletic achievements made so far. I respect the work that is done in the West Bend schools, especially under the current conservative leadership, and I hope to help preserve and improve that work for the sake of the children of West Bend, our future.[6] |
” |
| —Monte Schmiege's campaign website (2015)[10] | ||
See also
- West Bend School District, Wisconsin
- West Bend School District elections (2018)
- West Bend School District elections (2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Citizens for Monte Schmiege, "Home," accessed February 6, 2015
- ↑ Washington County Insider, "Five people apply for 2 open seats on West Bend School Board," January 2, 2018
- ↑ Washington County, Wisconsin, "Election Summary Report," April 3, 2018
- ↑ Washington County Insider, "West Bend School Board candidate pulls out of race. Primary still going forward," January 17, 2018
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Deb Roensch, Executive Assistant to the Superintendent, West Bend School District," August 25, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The West Bend Current, "Full Transcripts: Board Candidates on Common Core," March 22, 2015
- ↑ The West Bend Current, "Full Transcripts: Board Candidates on Testing," March 22, 2015
- ↑ The West Bend Current, "Full Transcripts: Board Candidates on Tension at WBHS," March 22, 2015
- ↑ Citizens for Monte Schmiege, "PRESS RELEASE," December 3, 2014
| West Bend School District elections in 2018 | |
| Washington County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Monte Schmiege • Carl Lundin • Kurt Rebholz • Mary Weigand • Chris Zwygart |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2015 West Bend School District Elections | |
| Washington County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Vinney Pheng • Incumbent, Therese Sizer • Monte Schmiege |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
