Election Preview: Greendale School Board

The top three vote-getters will take seats on the board.

Candidates are incumbents Tom Slota, Melanie Kuzmanovic and Vicki McCormick, and challengers Roger Dalkin, Kathleen Wied-Vincent and Katie Mevis.  (Click on link for biographical information on each candidate).

To provide residents with the most information on where they stand on the issues facing the village, Greendale Patch invited readers to submit questions that we posed to the candidates. 

Here, in their own words, are the candidates' answers to those questions as well as some posed by Patch.

Why are you running for School Board? Roger Dalkin Since my retirement from the USBC I now have the opportunity to become involved in my community and wish to give back to a school district that has given so much to my family. I will bring extensive experience in executive and leadership positions from a non-profit environment, similar to that of a school district.  The knowledge developed in a business where outcomes and missions are more important than profits and where essentially volunteer boards work with professional staff, provides me with a unique perspective to help the school board with its responsibilities. Also my most important attribute is a common sense approach to addressing complex issues learned through many years of dealing with multiple constituencies and conflicting visions. Tom Slota I first ran for the board because I wanted to contribute to my community by  making sure that the children of Greendale received the same type of quality education that I had benefited from.  Since then, I have always been proud to run on my record as an elected official.  I have helped our district to attain outstanding academic success, while being fiscally conservative and efficient in operation.  I am so proud that Greendale has a state-wide reputation of excellence and that I have played a valuable role in our district team. Melanie Kuzmanovic I’ve been preparing for this position for about two decades.  My journey began with becoming a high school counselor and impacting the lives of thousands of students who have come through my office.  Once my first child entered school, I became a devout volunteer.  Working closely with teachers, administration, support staff, students and parents, I developed a commitment to keep our district moving forward.  The school board position was a natural “next step” for me.  I was appointed to the Greendale School Board last June and would like to continue the work that I’ve begun. 
Kathleen Wied-Vincent I have chosen to run for the Greendale School Board because of my lifelong commitment to our community and our schools. I have an in-depth understanding of the needs of children and the leadership necessary to bring our district and community together to ensure the continued success of our public schools. My goal as a Greendale School Board member will be to involve all members of the community in the planning and decision making necessary to continue our high level of academic excellence.

Katie Buszkiewicz-Mevis

Greendale needs strong, visionary leaders who collaborate with administration, staff, and community members to evaluate new educational approaches in today’s rapidly changing landscape, while focusing on the overall goals of the district. As the parent of young children, my goal is to make sure Greendale remains a top ranked, high student achievement school district, through a program of fiscal responsibility, accountability, transparency, and community engagement. District leaders must work with parents and residents to keep Greendale Schools strong. We cannot rely on past accomplishments to guarantee future success; we must explore what makes for successful educational outcomes in today’s environment. 

 Victoria S. McCormick
I believe in public education and its capacity to create the foundation of a democratic society.  I am running for another term to help assure our Greendale students graduate with the skills and attributes they need to be college and career ready, to live a life of quality with the ability to have choices and to be engaged and participating members of their communities.  For these outcomes to happen, I want to continue to be part of the governing team that has, and continues to make, astute decisions regarding the implementation of our Strategic Plan through resource allocation. What is the biggest issue facing the school district? Roger Dalkin The biggest issue facing the district is maintining the high standards of our district while making the necessary adjustments to assure continued improvement within tight financial constraints. The best way to achieve that is two fold.  Hire and retain the best and the brightest professionals at all levels of the district and adhere to the philosophy that the strategic plan is a living document to be modified to address the changing environment. Tom Slota The district has previously been been very successful in coordinating statewide standardized testing, state educational standards, and our own curriculum.  With new national standards and testing being developed, we will need to shape our curriculum to fit these future academic goals.  At the same time, public school districts all face new financial restraints. These challenges are best met by an experienced school board that has already successfully navigated through similar situations.  I am already familiar with curriculum, assessments, teaching methods and cost effectiveness.
Melanie Kuzmanovic The biggest issue is how to continue to be a high performing district in light of budgetary constraints in a post Act 10 state.  After students, we have to remember our bread and butter: teachers and staff. As a board we're currently working in collaboration with our teachers to define a fair pay schedule so that we continue to attract and maintain high performing teachers.  We also look at ways we can continue to find savings in the budget.  In the past year we've used insurance co-ops, refinanced a long term loan and procured grants to name a few. Kathleen Wied-Vincent I believe that the biggest issue facing the Greendale School District right now is the budget. With recent changes and cuts to money being allocated it is imperative that our district explore all ways to creatively and responsibly allocate the money available for our public schools. Leadership is very important to the success of our schools and the role of each Greendale School Board member will be to hold accountable our new superintendent, Dr. John Tharp.

Katie Buszkiewicz-Mevis

The many changes that have impacted our schools at federal, state, and local levels present both a challenge and an opportunity. We are asked to do more, offer more, serve more, all with potentially fewer resources to do so. In order to meet this challenge we must consider new ways to approach education. New perspectives and out-of-the-box thinking is needed to address this challenge. Partnerships and collaboration with administration, teachers, community members, and local business, as well as exploring new uses for technology and ways to further personalize education for each student will offer new ways for students to excel.

Victoria S. McCormick Greendale schools, along with every other Wisconsin school district, faces a dramatic change in what constitutes academic standards (Common Core) in Reading and Mathematics and how those standards will be measured through the new Smarter Balanced Assessments beginning May, 2015.  The common core standards have been included our curriculum and professional staff development has focused on the standards as well as use of daily, formative information to guide personalized instruction. The significance of these measures, along with others on the state School Report Cards, is the trend to reward schools financially for performance as seen in the Governor’s budget. 

As state aid continues to decline, how can the district continue to provide quality education while continuing to keep a lid on property taxes?

Roger Dalkin As a member of the district's citizen budget committee I have been directly involved in the financial belt tightening necessary to achieve success with reduced funding.  In all organizations there are opportunities to adjust, change or eliminate programs that, while traditional, do not serve the needs of today's educational process.  In my previous positions in the non-profit sector I was not afraid to take on those "sacred cows" in the face of a vocal constituency, to assure and improve the financial solvency necessary to maintain high standards.  Tom Slota As a board member, I have been dealing with cost controls since their inception in 1992. The fact that our district has soared academically since then is a testament to the ability of the administration, teaching staff and board to introduce costly new technologies in a logical, integrated fashion, to update curriculum efficiently, and to control personnel costs through innovative health insurance measures.  We are fortunate to have retained a business manager with an unparalleled record of fiscal restraint and creativity. We are mindful of the needs of our taxpayers as well as our students and parents, and we welcome input from them. Melanie Kuzmanovic Combining resources with other districts is something Greendale already does and will continue to do.  We'll have to continue to collaborate with our parent groups such as GPABC and Friends of Music to supplement extracurricular programs.  The Greendale Education Foundation is also preparing to increase efforts to offset state aid shortcomings.  I'm proud of the 8% decline in school tax levy this year and will continue to support ways to keep taxes down while keeping quality high. Kathleen Wied-Vincent As I previously mentioned, it will take a creative and responsible approach to continue the success of the Greendale Public Schools. I believe that on-going public listening sessions, input and research are necessary to keep the lid on property taxes. It is important to understand what other districts are doing and carefully consideration of what will meet the needs of our Greendale and all students. It's equally important to engage the entire community in understanding the options available prior to making critical decisions. Katie Buskiewicz-Mevis

The combined challenge of limited budgets and the need to attract and retain top educators will require community engagement and collaboration. We must find creative ways to achieve the district’s goals and remain a destination district with limited resources. I believe that community engagement and creative approaches will allow us to continue to offer an exceptional educational experience while being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars.

Victoria S. McCormick Greendale Schools has a long history of conservative budgeting.  A defined budget process based upon budget assumptions guides financial decisions.  Our Strategic Plan serves as the road map for resource allocation.  Over the past decade on average the tax levy has increased 1/2 of 1% each year.  With the help of the Citizen’s Budget Committee and staff input, alignment of resources to specific goals is achieved.

Has Act 10 been good or bad for the school district?

Roger Dalkin While this is a polarizing issue to many, from the perspective of providing the school districts with the flexibility to operate in the new financial environment in which we live, it was almost a necessity. In my previous position at a non-profit organization, we had to eliminate a defined benefit pension program and require the staff to pay 25% of their health costs to assure the continued financial health of the organization. Those are the tough decisions for organizational stability that sometimes have to be made and that is what Act 10 did. Tom Slota Act 10 required employees to pay half of the annual contribution to the state retirement system, which benefited all school districts.  Our teachers had already been paying a significantly higher share of their health insurance premiums than most other districts for many years, so that change in state law did not effect us as much.  The tight revenue cap in the Act does not allow for even an inflationary increase in spending, and in the long run may severely hamper a district's ability to maintain reasonable class sizes, to retain quality staff, to purchase needed technologies and to maintain our facilities. Melanie Kuzmanovic Both.  While we were able to save the district  $1.8 M in salary and benefits, the financial burden shifted to the teachers.  Consequently, teacher morale has been affected which has been a state-wide problem.  As a district, we will have to explore other ways to improve morale.  Flex time, meaningful inservices and quality and affordable professional development opportunities are just a few ways to show appreciation to our staff which will also have positive outcomes for our students. Kathleen Wied-Vincent Act 10 is what local districts now have to work with. That being said,   Greendale was able to save approximately $1.8 million dollars while working closely and respectfully together with the administration and staff. If elected to the Greendale School Board I will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure the continued high quality standards that Greendale has prided itself upon.

Katie Buszkiewicz-Mevis

Act 10 has opened up new possibilities for the Greendale School District. We have realized substantial cost savings. It is our responsibility as a community to continue to do this in a manner that engages and values our educators. Act 10 has also posed fiscal challenges to the district. Tough, common sense decisions will need to be made that put student achievement at the forefront. With strong district leadership that focuses on student achievement and approaches challenges in a collaborative manner, I believe we can continue to achieve our goals.

Victoria S. McCormick Act 10 provided the district with savings related to WRS employer contributions and retirement benefits.  For many years the district has had a health insurance premium that was higher than other districts with the ability for staff to lower the premium through participation in our wellness initiatives.  The relationship between the district and the unions has been and continues to be positive and focused on student outcomes.   With the need for each district to recreate compensation systems for professional staff post Act 10, the ability to recruit and retain may be affected in the short term.

Has the district been responsive enough to recent issues like bullying and security threats in the schools?

Roger Dalkin There is a very fine line the school district has to walk between confidentiality for individuals and the public's right to know. I would have to believe that the administration is very cautious about release information that could be used in future litigation dealing with privacy. However, I do appreciate that the school district has engage the community on identifying strategies to improve the responsiveness with the Cultural and Climate Task Force. Their work has resulted in the anonymous reporting button on the school website allows students to report incidents without fear of retribution. There is always more to do, but I commend the proactive approach that is being take to address the issues.  Tom Slota Our district has long had updated policies on bullying and harassment, including cyberbullying, and each of our school buildings have detailed character education programs, of which students and parents are very aware.  Recently, events have suggested the need to consider new approaches to the problem of bullying, in addition to the steps in place.  The culture and climate task force has produced a plan primarily involving students, but also parents and staff, to prevent, identify and remediate bullying in creative and meaningful ways.  Also, we are continually reviewing and improving our security measures, in collaboration with the police department.  Melanie Kuzmanovic Greendale has taken a systemic approach to address this issue, unlike other districts.  I observed the Climate and Culture Task Force and learned that there are many programs in place throughout all our schools. With the student, parent and community voices all being heard, programs are being created and we will continue to make strides forward.  Security is always being evaluated and improved in our district and I support funding for measures that keep our children safe such as surveillance cameras, secured entries and reasonable police presence. Kathleen Wied-Vincent I believe that the Greendale School District has been responsive to recent issues such as bullying and security. That being said I also believe there is also always room for continued work and improvement. It is the responsibility of the school district to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for all students and staff. I have recently been involved with the community based group Greendale Against Bullying Now (GAB Now).  It is important that all members of our community support the mission of our district including helping students feel safe and supported in the school environment. Through ongoing feedback and engagement between the school and community I believe our schools will be a safe place for all.

Katie Buszkiewicz-Mevis

Greendale is a unique, tight-knit community. News travels fast and speculation runs rampant in the absence of information and communication from the District. I would prefer to see us use incidents such as these as an opportunity for community engagement, dialogue, and input. These types of issues can provide opportunities to publicly ensure we are doing all we can to address bullying, safety, and similar topics. Simply reiterating an existing policy or procedure without taking the chance to re-visit its effectiveness misses an opportunity for community engagement and possible improvement. District leaders should be present and visible in reaction to crisis.

Victoria S. McCormick As has been past practice, whenever a problem or issue surfaces, the opportunity to improve is embraced.  With the Task Force on Culture and Climate a group of stakeholders including students, staff, parents and citizens led by two citizen co-chairs worked with a facilitator to better understand bullying. The most telling finding was that bullying is a community issue as demonstrated by the support for the GAB event this past week.  The security of our schools continues to be managed with excellent collaboration between the school and police, as well as facility security enhancements.

Evaluate the type of job John Tharp has done as superintendent.

Roger Dalkin How would you rate Aaron Rodgers performance after the first half of the season following Brett Favre's departure? And now? That is analogous to this question.  Having been in the position of a new CEO I understand that the first 6 months is more about listening and learning rather than making sweeping changes.  It is a no win situation, if you make quick sweeping changes the criticism is you acted on impulse.  If you study the situation, you are criticized for not doing anything.  The bottom line is that the School Board made an extensive search and selected the best candidate.  Time will tell, but a little over 6 months is a limited snapshot upon which to judge such an important position. Tom Slota Dr. Tharp began his position here by listening and observing, to learn as much as possible and as soon as possible about our unique school district and community.  I am impressed by his knowledge of educational issues and ability to grasp new information. He is a familiar figure in all our school buildings and is very personable and approachable.  I would invite all residents of Greendale to get to know John and I believe they will find him to be a welcome addition to the educational partnership that has served our district so well. Melanie Kuzmanovic Dr. Tharp began his career in Greendale doing what the board asked him to do:  listen and learn about what this high performing district does and then implement what he feels will advance our school through this next chapter of challenging times.  I believe he's evolving into the role at an appropriate pace.  Bumps in the road are a normal part of the learning process, especially since his predecessor was in place for 16 years. Kathleen Wied-Vincent In the brief time that we have had to get to know and observe Dr. John Tharp, I believe he has been supportive and responsive to the needs of our district. I have had the opportunity to meet and listen to hundreds of students, parents, teachers and staff over the past several months. Although not everyone has always agreed with every decision made by Dr. Tharp the feedback that I have received (and observed) has primarily described Dr. Tharp as a good listener, supportive and willing to respond. Dr. Tharp has been willing to admit mistakes and use that experience to build upon. This all being said it is the responsibility of the Greendale School Board to hold Dr. Tharp accountable to the needs of the district and the community. This is a responsibility which I take very seriously and know that I can fulfill for our community. I can't speak to the evaluation process used to extend Dr. Tharp's contract but I do know that the role of the school board will be to engage ongoing input and evaluation to ensure that Dr. Tharp is successful in carrying out the mission of our district.

Katie Buszkiewicz-Mevis

Change is difficult, especially after many years with a successful leader. There is certain to be unease and second guessing with any change. Greendale is a unique culture for someone not familiar with our "Bubble". Dr. Tharp has faced a number of challenges in his first few months in his position. I would like to see a focus on improving community engagement and responsiveness, however. We must remember that the responsibility lies with both Dr. Tharp and the community to engage, listen, and learn from each other in an open, honest environment.

Victoria S. McCormick When the school board hired Dr. John Tharp as Superintendent, we asked that he take the first months in his position to learn about Greendale.  Dr. Tharp engaged in a “Listen and Learn Tour” in which he visited classrooms, met staff, parents and citizens to hear what they had to say about our schools.  His observations were presented as a “State of the District” address in numerous venues.  He outlined eight elements that shaped his vision and has been discussing each in his Superintendent’s Message on our website.  Dr. Tharp is invested in successful learning for every child.