Candidate Profile: Ray Schaffart For New Berlin School Board

NEW BERLIN, WI—The 2021 election is heating up in Wisconsin and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office. Voters will also decide the outcome of state representative, senate seats and local government and school boards.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Two people will be elected to the New Berlin School Board in April.

Ray Schaffart of New Berlin hopes to be elected for the New Berlin School Board.

Age (as of Election Day)

45

Position Sought

New Berlin School District School Board Member

Party Affiliation

Family

Spouse - Alison, married 22 years; Three kids - Daughter 14 (Eisenhower), Son and Daughter 11 (Ronald Reagan)

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Marquette University - Bachelor's in Business Administration

Occupation

Marketing professional. 23+ years of experience

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Campaign website

https://rayforschoolboard.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

As an involved dad in the New Berlin school district, I have been unhappy with the direction of the school board the last several years. After watching hundreds of hours of board meetings, witnessing what seemed like crisis after crisis, I felt it was time to step in. I want to improve the board and shape it in a manner that I would enjoy seeing as a parent, teacher, student, and taxpayer in the district.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I feel communication is the most pressing issue facing the district right now. “Communication” means lots of things, too. It is how parents receive information about a potential school closure or high school consolidation. Are obvious questions being addressed and are the answers being delivered to parents? When a proposal is being investigated to modify school start/stop times up to 30 minutes, are parents and teachers being sought out for input? When members of the community attend board meetings and speak, are they being given the proper respect by sitting board members – eye contact, paying attention, listening? Also, are existing board members actively talking to members of the community, or does it seem like they so not want to be bothered with hearing what they have to say both in-person and on social media?

These are just a couple examples of areas I’ve found disheartening over the last several years, particularly from the incumbent and the other board member who opted not to run for re-election. The good news is that these are things I’ll do – and community members will see – on Day One taking office.

I will be an empathetic ally for parents. I will be sure we are transparent with them. I will listen to what they have to say and look them in the eye. I will hear everyone out and never talk down to them or discount their opinion.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

A critical difference between myself and two other candidates - including the incumbent - is that I am not running strictly on political ideology. School board positions are non-partisan for a reason. They are not supposed to be about ideology or a political litmus test. I am not interested in the labels of liberal values or conservative values.

I care so much more about our New Berlin values. That is why I’ve been communicating my priorities and plans for this district, while two opponents only want to talk politics and offer no plan or vision. This is about the kids. This is about their future. That is why I’m running in the first place. I will work hard when on the Board, making sure that I investigate, study, and ask questions of every issue we face, then making a decision based on facts.

On the issues, I believe our school district was wrong not to have had Open Enrollment over the last decade. This would have filled unopen seats and brought in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the district at a time we sorely needed it. We finally re-launched the program last year, but the incumbent was only one of two members that voted against it. I feel we should investigate expanding the program now, too, because we have empty seats that could be filled. The incumbent and his ally in this election are against this, too.

I am firmly against any talk of changing our current school structure, such as consolidating our high schools and closing one of our elementary schools. The incumbent and his ally want to keep consolidation and school closures on the table as an option to consider.

And finally, I feel that we need to do more to make our students feel safe when they walk down the halls of our schools. It is clear there is a problem right now and we need to do more to investigate it. Two of my opponents do not think there is an issue at all and do not see any problems.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

One of the reasons I am running is because of the numerous ways our incumbent has failed the community over the years.

If a school board member is doing their job, nobody should really know about them outside of the local community. I make the analogy all the time – People don’t go to Green Bay Packers games to see their president of operations or their general manager. Sure, those positions play a significant role in the team’s performance but that’s not who people come to see and interact with. They go to see superstars like Aaron Rodgers or Davante Adams.

When it comes to our schools, it is the teachers who the superstars! They are the reason parents - and kids - line up to come to New Berlin. They are the reason for our high property values.
The incumbent up for re-election has embarrassed the city locally, regionally, and nationally. His name is known all over, and not for the right reasons. This has placed a microscope on our community and damaged our reputation both inside and outside our borders. As a member of the school board, I will never embarrass our city with such actions.

Another failure of the incumbent is his refusal to put in the work. He is the only board member that is not currently, nor has he ever, participated in one of the three operating Committees. Ironically, he is also now actively trying to eliminate these Committees, despite the proven success they have had the last three years.

Finally, last summer, when the COVID crisis hit, school boards across the country were forced to make decisions they probably never thought they would have to do. It was paramount that, as badly as we all wanted our kids and teachers back in school, we must implement a plan that made their safety a top priority.

When New Berlin faced this challenge, I spoke out at our school board meeting pleading with board members to make masks mandatory. I felt that doing so would be the only way we could safely open schools to in-person learning in the Fall. Instead, the incumbent voted to re-open schools for five days in-person education without any sort of masking mandate in place. His vote came after he had been publicly questioning proven science and health experts who all showed masking was the most critical component to combating the virus. When it comes to the safety and health of our students and teachers, I’ll pledge to follow the advice of experts and science to guide my decisions.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Since the school year began, I think our local administration, teachers, students, and parents have performed admirably this school year! Overall, I think New Berlin has been a huge success story in the region. Grades seem to be holding steady, failure rates are nowhere near what other communities are seeing, and most importantly, we never had to close our schools. This accomplishment will have benefits that will be felt for years.

That being said, the reason the schools remained open to begin with had nothing to do with the decisions of the School Board last July. At that time, the Board voted 5-2 to offer virtual learning and in-person learning for five days WITHOUT requiring masks. I am grateful the administration stepped in to override this poor decision and listened to health experts and scientists who said, if we want the schools to be safe, masks had to be worn at all times.

While the end result of our coronavirus response has been beyond satisfactory, I was left underwhelmed by the lack of communication and transparency by the administration last year leading up to the decision to re-open schools. While neighboring school districts were in constant contact with parents communicating to them who was making up their committees and guiding their decision-making, nothing was transparent in New Berlin until the final decisions were being announced in late July. This lack of transparency and communication added to the growing anxiety that lasted throughout the summer. It is something I’m pledging to improve on day one. It’s the right thing to do and it will help build trust in the community.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

In addition to promoting more open communication and transparency, my priorities include:
Proactive Planning – It is not as exciting as some priorities, but it is so important. It is the foundation for every decision the board must make. It requires careful study, deliberate decision-making, and good faith collaboration with other board members and the administration. It is about planning for tomorrow as we work together today. Unfortunately, over the last several years, New Berlin seems to be stuck in a reactive loop. Each year has brought with it a new challenge or crisis that was made due to poor planning in the past and prior board members continually kicking the can of debt down the road.

Retain and Attract Teachers –Do teachers feel like their voices are being heard? Do they feel they have the freedom to express any concerns they may have? Are they seeing actions being taken because of their concerns? Do they trust the administration? Based on the hundreds of discussions I’ve had throughout the community the last several years, the answer to these questions is unfortunately, “no”. The negative consequences of this are that it makes it much more tempting for teachers to leave our district. I want to promote more communication with our teachers and ensure their voices are being heard. Like parents, this will promote trust within the district and keep our awesome teachers from going elsewhere.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

As a marketing and business professional with nearly 25 years of experience, there are two tenets I would bring with me to this role. The first is having the ability to compromise.

Anytime a key decision needs to be made, I know sales, marketing, engineering and customer service all need to be on the same page. We do not all have to agree – and often don’t – at first. But we need to be empathetic of where each other is coming from. From there, we start building on points we can agree on until our plan can be finalized. This is a trait I would bring with me to the board. If elected, I will be only one of seven board members so it is critical that to be an effective leader, I will need to compromise and work with the other six individuals. I am sure there are areas we do not agree, and that’s when votes will be taken. I will base these decision on facts, research and working through differences with other board members.

In addition to compromise, I have found it helps the decision-making process to put things into two categories – must-haves and want-tos. Must-haves are things I absolutely cannot live without. Want-tos are things I would like very much to have, but if I can not get them, we can still move forward. This played a critical role last summer shaping my opinion of our return-to-school plan.

Last but certainly not least, I have been a youth soccer coach and basketball coach for years here in New Berlin. Many of the traits I ask of these 5- to 12-year-olds could transfer their way to our board. Making eye contact when speaking or being spoken too. Not talking over others. Not doing anything as an “individual” to hurt the “team” success. If you have seen many of our board meetings the last several years, this is sadly something that seems to be lacking at times.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

My dad had a saying he used all the time. As a kid, I never understood it much. But now, every year, it becomes more and more important. He used to say, “The worst thing you can ever do is not tell someone the WHOLE truth.” His point was simple. Be open. Be transparent. Tell people what you know. Do not selectively leave out information you dislike or find uncomfortable. Own your answer. Failure to do this breeds distrust. And once you lose trust, you lose credibility. These are words I will bring with me – and act upon – if elected to School Board.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

As you enter the voting booth next week, vote in-person absentee this week, or complete your mail-in ballot, know that I am more than just a local dad. Being a "dad" helps, but is not a lone qualifier for this important role in New Berlin.

Things that I am? I am an involved dad in the community. I am a volunteer soccer and basketball coach. I am a board member of the New Berlin Soccer Club. I have been a long-time advocate for our schools for years, actively attending meetings and speaking out. To summarize, I am a dad looking to improve the future of our schools.

I am not running for a partisan office. I am not presenting myself as an ideologue. I have communicated my priorities, knocked on doors, sent out mailers I paid for, legally passed out information throughout the city and talked to hundreds of people the last three months who all feel the same way I do. I did all of these things after the outpouring of support I received from New Berlin parents, students and retirees. All of them are looking for a new direction for our school board.

I endorsed Scott Jentsch, and he has endorsed me. By marking your ballot "One (Scott) and four (Ray) and out the door", you will help ensure New Berlin schools are in good hands.
Scott and I know it is about planning for tomorrow, while working together today. We hope to earn your vote.