Position sought: Brodhead School Board
Age: 44
City/town of residence: Brodhead
Family: Wife Teresa, sons Kyle and Kody
Education: B.S. mechanical engineering; JD
Occupation: Patent attorney
Previous elected positions held: 2010-2013 Brodhead School Board
What are the top issues facing this district and how would you work to resolve them?
1) Financial: Declining enrollment and state funding changes result in less revenue for the district. My position is to adjust expenditures to revenue on a yearly basis. I advocate holding labor costs to 70 to 75 percent of revenue; maintenance 15 to 20 percent; savings 5 to 10 percent; while holding fund balance to 15 to 20 percent of expenditures.
2) Programs: Less revenue inevitably leads to program evaluations and possible reductions. I support ensuring funding of the core curriculum. I also support strong extracurricular activities, as fundamentals associated with these build character and provide opportunities for students to express themselves in ways that manner outside the classroom. I am not opposed to larger class sizes in exchange for a variety of options for our students.
3) Community Interaction: It seems our public school system and the taxpayers who fund it are at odds with one another. Trust is lacking on both sides. I am of the opinion that the taxpayers should decide what kind of school system they want in their community. As a taxpayer, I expect to hear from the leaders of our district advocating for what they think our students need in order to make them ready to enter college, the armed services or the workforce after graduation. From this, we, as a community, can decide what funding we are willing to provide to support this. The community may not always agree with the positions of the administration. I believe strongly this is the right of the community. With disagreement, I would like to see the administration adjust to the desires of the community rather than become defensive and disheartened. I would like to see the administration continue to argue its position and reinforce they are doing everything within their means to see to the educational needs of our students. This is what we hire them to do. Trust starts with accountability. As a board member, it is one of my goals to ensure the community knows we are not wasting the funds they provide us. If the community trusts us with their finances, I believe they will trust our recommendations for seeing to the needs of our students. For the community, it is our responsibility, at least in my opinion, to be engaged with our school system. That could take on many different forms. Some will volunteer. Some will support extracurricular functions. Some will provide donations. Some will stay informed and vote responsibly. If the community says no to extra funding, I do not believe that means the community does not support the school system. But, we have an obligation to the people we hire to show them they have our support. This does not always have to correlate to more money, although sometimes extra funding can be justified. If we want our employees to excel, we have to show them what they do matters and that we are in this together. As a board member, I encourage dialog and debate. Only with open communications and a willingness to explore various options will we find solutions that are acceptable to most of those involved, which should be all of us. We cannot be afraid of controversy. The community can trust me to push the envelope with the ultimate goal being the overall well being of our students, our employees and our community through the interaction of our school system with the paying public.
What are other key issues facing the district, and how would you work to resolve them?
Charter schools, vouchers, home schooling and alternative online educational options are increasing. In general, our public institutions do not accept these alternative models as viable options. I, on the other hand, embrace these choices for parents. Even so, public education has been and continues to be a foundation of the American way of life. I believe in public education. It is an extension of the community in which it exists. Rather than dismiss alternative models, we need to provide a system that parents choose for their children. We can do that by working with these alternative models. I believe that in supporting these options to help a student grow may lead his/her parents to reconsider enrolling their child in the public schools. Yes, funds will be diverted, but if we provide the best choice for most students, the funds will be there to continue to support and grow our public infrastructure.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I have challenged and will continue to challenge the status quo. Never will there be a situation where 100 percent of the people agree on everything. Compromise is built into our system of governance. In order to compromise, one must be willing to learn and attempt to understand the positions taken by people of differing opinions. I am willing to listen and I am also willing to stand behind what I believe in. I am willing to compromise, but first I demand advocacy for a point of contention. I would expect others to demand the same of me when I have an opposing opinion.
Age: 44
City/town of residence: Brodhead
Family: Wife Teresa, sons Kyle and Kody
Education: B.S. mechanical engineering; JD
Occupation: Patent attorney
Previous elected positions held: 2010-2013 Brodhead School Board
What are the top issues facing this district and how would you work to resolve them?
1) Financial: Declining enrollment and state funding changes result in less revenue for the district. My position is to adjust expenditures to revenue on a yearly basis. I advocate holding labor costs to 70 to 75 percent of revenue; maintenance 15 to 20 percent; savings 5 to 10 percent; while holding fund balance to 15 to 20 percent of expenditures.
2) Programs: Less revenue inevitably leads to program evaluations and possible reductions. I support ensuring funding of the core curriculum. I also support strong extracurricular activities, as fundamentals associated with these build character and provide opportunities for students to express themselves in ways that manner outside the classroom. I am not opposed to larger class sizes in exchange for a variety of options for our students.
3) Community Interaction: It seems our public school system and the taxpayers who fund it are at odds with one another. Trust is lacking on both sides. I am of the opinion that the taxpayers should decide what kind of school system they want in their community. As a taxpayer, I expect to hear from the leaders of our district advocating for what they think our students need in order to make them ready to enter college, the armed services or the workforce after graduation. From this, we, as a community, can decide what funding we are willing to provide to support this. The community may not always agree with the positions of the administration. I believe strongly this is the right of the community. With disagreement, I would like to see the administration adjust to the desires of the community rather than become defensive and disheartened. I would like to see the administration continue to argue its position and reinforce they are doing everything within their means to see to the educational needs of our students. This is what we hire them to do. Trust starts with accountability. As a board member, it is one of my goals to ensure the community knows we are not wasting the funds they provide us. If the community trusts us with their finances, I believe they will trust our recommendations for seeing to the needs of our students. For the community, it is our responsibility, at least in my opinion, to be engaged with our school system. That could take on many different forms. Some will volunteer. Some will support extracurricular functions. Some will provide donations. Some will stay informed and vote responsibly. If the community says no to extra funding, I do not believe that means the community does not support the school system. But, we have an obligation to the people we hire to show them they have our support. This does not always have to correlate to more money, although sometimes extra funding can be justified. If we want our employees to excel, we have to show them what they do matters and that we are in this together. As a board member, I encourage dialog and debate. Only with open communications and a willingness to explore various options will we find solutions that are acceptable to most of those involved, which should be all of us. We cannot be afraid of controversy. The community can trust me to push the envelope with the ultimate goal being the overall well being of our students, our employees and our community through the interaction of our school system with the paying public.
What are other key issues facing the district, and how would you work to resolve them?
Charter schools, vouchers, home schooling and alternative online educational options are increasing. In general, our public institutions do not accept these alternative models as viable options. I, on the other hand, embrace these choices for parents. Even so, public education has been and continues to be a foundation of the American way of life. I believe in public education. It is an extension of the community in which it exists. Rather than dismiss alternative models, we need to provide a system that parents choose for their children. We can do that by working with these alternative models. I believe that in supporting these options to help a student grow may lead his/her parents to reconsider enrolling their child in the public schools. Yes, funds will be diverted, but if we provide the best choice for most students, the funds will be there to continue to support and grow our public infrastructure.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
I have challenged and will continue to challenge the status quo. Never will there be a situation where 100 percent of the people agree on everything. Compromise is built into our system of governance. In order to compromise, one must be willing to learn and attempt to understand the positions taken by people of differing opinions. I am willing to listen and I am also willing to stand behind what I believe in. I am willing to compromise, but first I demand advocacy for a point of contention. I would expect others to demand the same of me when I have an opposing opinion.