Monroe School Board
There are five candidates for three seats on the Monroe school board. Nikki Matley, Cheryl McGuire and incumbents Michael Boehme, Brian Keith and Jim Plourde are running.
Position sought: Monroe school board
Age: 49
City/town of residence: Monroe
Family: Wife Betsy, school cook in Argyle; Son Spencer, 2012 MHS graduate, Petty Officer 2nd Class in the US Navy; Son Grant, 2014 MHS graduate, junior at UW-Madison; Son Mitch, 2016 MHS graduate, freshman at UW-Madison; Daughter Grace, junior at Monroe High School
Education: 1986 MHS Graduate
1990 Graduate of UW-La Crosse, finance and accounting degrees
Occupation: Controller for White Hill Cheese in Shullsburg
Previous elected positions held: Initially elected to Monroe School Board in April 2007. Ten Years of school board experience after being re-elected three times. Treasurer of the School Board for the past three years.
What are the top issues facing this district/municipality and how would you work to resolve it?
We need to make the Monroe School District the "District of Choice." There is a lot of competition today between school districts for students and staff. For each student that transfers to another district, the home district loses approximately $6,500. This loss of funding is critical to supporting the Monroe School District financially. We need to do a better job highlighting all the advantages that Monroe has including the varied classes for both college bound and non-college bound classes that students attending surrounding smaller schools do not. In addition, Monroe offers 1-1 technology, strong music and art programs and a broad range of extra-curricular groups and learning opportunities at each school level that need to be celebrated. Hiring and retaining staff is also critical. With the elimination of seniority rights, teachers now can change districts with no concern about being the first position eliminated. This has put Monroe at a disadvantage as growing districts surrounding Madison are offering higher wages that Monroe cannot match. To attract and retain staff we must emphasize and market all the good things happening in the Monroe School District like our collaborative environment, exceptional professional development opportunities, great students and tremendous support from the community.
What are other key issues facing the district/municipality, and how would you work to resolve them?
Fiscal Responsibility remains another key issue that the Monroe School District will continually need to address. The current state school funding formula negatively impacts districts like Monroe that have stable or declining enrollment. While Ron Olson and the district have been fiscally responsible over the past 10+ years, the Board needs to still look at every decision made and hold itself financially accountable to keep the trust and support of the community that just approved a new three year referendum last November. Just like I have done on the Board since being elected in 2007, I will continue to question spending, recommend alternatives and provide a strong financial conscience to all Board Decisions. In fact, after the 1st referendum was approved by the community back in 2006 for $2M per year for 4 years ($8M total), I pushed the Board to NOT levy to the full referendum authority after Ron made some substantial changes to Monroe's financial processes. I was able to get agreement from the Board to only levy 1/2 the authorized amount which helped save the taxpayers of Monroe $4M.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I feel that I am the best candidate for the Monroe School Board because:
1. I bring a wealth of diverse experience, management leadership and a strong financial background to the Board after working 25+ years in several industries. While I have the ability to see the big picture when making decisions, I can also address details required to make tough choices impacting employees and coworkers.
2. I have 10 years of Board experience that has included the hiring of 3 different District Superintendents as well as being a member of the Board's negotiation committee for bargaining with Monroe's Teacher and Support Staff Unions. For the past 3 years I have been the Board Elected Treasurer, and chair of the Employee Relations Committee that worked closely and collaboratively for 18 months with our teachers and administration to restructure the salary schedule. It is now more sustainable to the district as it increased the number of years it takes for professional staff to reach the top from the previous 14 years to the new 25 years.
3. With 3 children graduating from the district in past 5 years and a daughter still attending the High School, I am still connected to what is happening on a daily basis with the district.
Age: 49
City/town of residence: Monroe
Family: Wife Betsy, school cook in Argyle; Son Spencer, 2012 MHS graduate, Petty Officer 2nd Class in the US Navy; Son Grant, 2014 MHS graduate, junior at UW-Madison; Son Mitch, 2016 MHS graduate, freshman at UW-Madison; Daughter Grace, junior at Monroe High School
Education: 1986 MHS Graduate
1990 Graduate of UW-La Crosse, finance and accounting degrees
Occupation: Controller for White Hill Cheese in Shullsburg
Previous elected positions held: Initially elected to Monroe School Board in April 2007. Ten Years of school board experience after being re-elected three times. Treasurer of the School Board for the past three years.
What are the top issues facing this district/municipality and how would you work to resolve it?
We need to make the Monroe School District the "District of Choice." There is a lot of competition today between school districts for students and staff. For each student that transfers to another district, the home district loses approximately $6,500. This loss of funding is critical to supporting the Monroe School District financially. We need to do a better job highlighting all the advantages that Monroe has including the varied classes for both college bound and non-college bound classes that students attending surrounding smaller schools do not. In addition, Monroe offers 1-1 technology, strong music and art programs and a broad range of extra-curricular groups and learning opportunities at each school level that need to be celebrated. Hiring and retaining staff is also critical. With the elimination of seniority rights, teachers now can change districts with no concern about being the first position eliminated. This has put Monroe at a disadvantage as growing districts surrounding Madison are offering higher wages that Monroe cannot match. To attract and retain staff we must emphasize and market all the good things happening in the Monroe School District like our collaborative environment, exceptional professional development opportunities, great students and tremendous support from the community.
What are other key issues facing the district/municipality, and how would you work to resolve them?
Fiscal Responsibility remains another key issue that the Monroe School District will continually need to address. The current state school funding formula negatively impacts districts like Monroe that have stable or declining enrollment. While Ron Olson and the district have been fiscally responsible over the past 10+ years, the Board needs to still look at every decision made and hold itself financially accountable to keep the trust and support of the community that just approved a new three year referendum last November. Just like I have done on the Board since being elected in 2007, I will continue to question spending, recommend alternatives and provide a strong financial conscience to all Board Decisions. In fact, after the 1st referendum was approved by the community back in 2006 for $2M per year for 4 years ($8M total), I pushed the Board to NOT levy to the full referendum authority after Ron made some substantial changes to Monroe's financial processes. I was able to get agreement from the Board to only levy 1/2 the authorized amount which helped save the taxpayers of Monroe $4M.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I feel that I am the best candidate for the Monroe School Board because:
1. I bring a wealth of diverse experience, management leadership and a strong financial background to the Board after working 25+ years in several industries. While I have the ability to see the big picture when making decisions, I can also address details required to make tough choices impacting employees and coworkers.
2. I have 10 years of Board experience that has included the hiring of 3 different District Superintendents as well as being a member of the Board's negotiation committee for bargaining with Monroe's Teacher and Support Staff Unions. For the past 3 years I have been the Board Elected Treasurer, and chair of the Employee Relations Committee that worked closely and collaboratively for 18 months with our teachers and administration to restructure the salary schedule. It is now more sustainable to the district as it increased the number of years it takes for professional staff to reach the top from the previous 14 years to the new 25 years.
3. With 3 children graduating from the district in past 5 years and a daughter still attending the High School, I am still connected to what is happening on a daily basis with the district.