School Board Election: Teacher Evals, Unified School District and Teacher/Board Relations

With the spring election quickly approaching, four candidates for Fox Point-Bayside School Board weighed in on key local issues in a forum Monday hosted by the district parent teacher organization. 

Four newcomers Tom Hayssen, David Smulyan, Michael Weidner and Libby Wick are running for two open seats on the board. The election is set for April 2. School Board President Mike Weiss and member Eliz Greene are not seeking re-election.

The forum allowed for an introduction and closing statement from each candidate, in addition to questions from the moderator and audience members. 

Why they're running

Wick, owner of Libby Montana Bar and Grill in Mequon, said she moved into the district several years ago because of the quality of the schools, but she has wondered if she would make the same choice today. 

"The happy, enthusiastic, creative and outgoing teachers and staff of 13 years ago are often a stark contrast to the staff of today that often seem defeated and unappreciated," she said. 

She said it too easy to limit the reasons behind staff morale to Act 10, the state law that curtailed collective bargaining right for public workers. She said she hopes to serve on the board to listen to constituents and ensure budget cuts are made in a way that least affect the classroom. 

Smulyan, who has lived in Bayside with his family for six years and is founder and president of a management consulting company, said his desire to run stems from his growing involvement and interest in public education.

"I want to give my time and energy to organizations I'm passionate about," he said. "I want to be a board member so I can help provide leadership, and to help shape the future of our children's education."

He said he went on a listening tour of sorts, meeting with groups of stakeholders to get a better understanding of the district. He added the district has some important decisions to make in the coming months, including selecting a new superintendent.

Weidner, a Nicolet math teacher for nearly 20 years, said he moved into the district to send his children to Fox Point-Bayside and he wants to keep it a high quality district. With years of experience in education and someone who has been trained in school administration, Weidner said he has a unique understanding of school finance and implementation of district-wide changes. 

"I think I could bring quite a bit to the School Board," he said. 

Hayssen, president of a Racine-based manufacturer, said he has three children in the school district, and when he started attending School Board meetings, he discovered the district desperately needed guidance and leadership. 

"I was looking for others who could run, but later realized I could be of help," he said. 

Top changes facing Fox Point-Bayside 

Act 10, as it has the biggest cost component to the district, and the emergence of online learning and the need for new technologies will bring about the most change in the district over the next five years, Hayssen said. 

"Online learning has taken off everywhere, and it’s all a matter of how the district implements that," he said. 

Smulyan said new state and federal mandates including changes in math and English curriculum and new teacher evaluations are large changes coming down the pike. 

"I believe teachers are a bit uneasy about this (new teacher evaluation system), and I don't blame them," he said. "It's a new system and it relies on student test scores."

"However, I believe if it was used effectively by those administering it, it can help the teachers, from a professional development standpoint, and in turn positively affect the students."

Weidner said he also saw the changes in curriculum to be a big change, in addition to public funding of schools. He said the budget process has been flipped on its head with the introduction of the revenue limit. 

While federal mandates like the revised version of No Child Left Behind can positively affect the district, Wick said, it creates an environment where teachers end up teaching to the test.

"I think that is a challenge, because in the mission statement for the district, it says that one of our values is to develop the whole child, academically, socially and emotionally, and teaching strictly for academics does not result in that," Wick said. 

A unified school district

With ever increasing costs, resulting in budget woes, candidates were asked whether they would ever consider a unifying neighboring Fox Point-Bayside and Nicolet. 

Fox Point-Bayside is a small, community-based district, Hayssen said, and he would hate to lose that unless it absolutely had to happen. 

Weidner said many like that Fox Point-Bayside is a small district where you have the ability to make connects with principals, the superintendent or educators. But, with both districts searching for new superintendents, maybe school officials should explore options there. 

"I'm not saying I'm in favor of that necessarily, but I think ideas like that need to be explored," he said. "My initial thought is, if it came down to cutting a teacher or going to a half-time superintendent, I would tend to lean toward a half-time superintendent."

Smulyan said he would echo Weidner's sentiments, but he would also add, nothing is off the table. 

"My sense is it's a challenging time, so I go in with the idea that any reasonable option, whether it reduce expense to increase revenue, needs to be reviewed," Smulyan said. 

Wick said if there are some redundancies that can be eliminated to maintain class sizes and avoid hits to teacher's salaries and benefits, they should be explored. 

"I think it would be foolish and irresponsible not to look into it," she said. 

Teacher/school board relations

An audience member said in talking with teachers in the district, many educators are frustrated and they don't feel like their voice isn't being heard, and asked what the candidates would do to repair that relationship. 

Having a workforce that is happy to come to work everyday is key, Hayssen said, adding, a good relationship between the two groups is critical to the success of the district. 

Smulyan said while visiting with teachers, he learned that some things happened in the district affecting the teachers and some didn't feel like they were part of the process.

"At the end of the day, teachers are the most important resource that we have, so it is important to have them feeling like they are included in the process and that they are appreciated, so to me it's a no-brainer," Smulyan said. 

Wick said the energy when you walk into the district is so drastically different than a few years ago. 

"You used to be able to walk into the school and tell, not just from the conversations that you had, but interactions you had with the principals, with the administrators and the teachers," Wick said. "Every loved to be here. The biggest asset are the teachers; they are what makes children excited to go to school."

Weidner said it’s vital for teachers to feel empowered and allow the freedom to be creative. He said as a teacher, he would bring that point of view to the table.