Age: 54
Address: Blanchardville
Family: Wife Jill, three children: One son is a junior at Marquette, a daughter in 11th grade and another son in fifth grade.
Education: Bachelor of science in biochemistry, UW-Madison, PhD. Plant Pathology, UW-Madison
Occupation: Self employed. Spouse is a researcher at USDA-Forest Products Laboratory, Madison.
Previous elected positions held: 2+ terms (7 years) Pecatonica School Board.
Community involvement: Adult Leader 4-H, Also teach AP Chemistry Lab at Pecatonica High School
What are the top issues facing this board/council and how would you resolve them?
I think the top issue facing any board is keeping long-term goals in place in the face of unstable leadership at the state level. School boards have to think in 14 year windows: That's how long you have a student in your system. Your elected leaders on the other hand last a much shorter time (some as short as one year). They make decisions based on two-year budgetary and election cycles. Long-term is not in their mentality. And lately, neither is public education. So the challenge is to learn how to overcome this short-sighted outlook (and its related political shenanigans) and maintain your long-term perspective. Our board has been fortunate in this regard in that the two communities in our district have strived to attract young families into our district. In the past years we have had major volunteer efforts for our parks, libraries, ball fields, swimming pool and school buildings. And our local businesses and governmental units have fully supported these efforts as well. Our teachers and staff made major concessions in this last budget year, yet continue to teach with the same enthusiasm and professionalism they always have. And when the time came for a major referendum last year (during the heart of the state budget battles) 60 percent of our voters gave their support. All of that sacrifice and hard work translates to a "young families welcome" philosophy that is critical to the economic viability of small rural communities. That attitude and support gives the board a clear target to work toward. It has allowed us to avoid layoffs and program cuts. We've been able to add classes, including three AP classes. Our enrollment numbers have stabilized. And thanks to the referendum, we're now able to address our building maintenance and technology issues. For as long as I've been on the board we have never had strong support from Madison, and I'm not naïve enough to think there won't be some bumps in the road. Yet we've never abandoned our pro-growth attitude or long-range goals, and I don't see that changing.
Address: Blanchardville
Family: Wife Jill, three children: One son is a junior at Marquette, a daughter in 11th grade and another son in fifth grade.
Education: Bachelor of science in biochemistry, UW-Madison, PhD. Plant Pathology, UW-Madison
Occupation: Self employed. Spouse is a researcher at USDA-Forest Products Laboratory, Madison.
Previous elected positions held: 2+ terms (7 years) Pecatonica School Board.
Community involvement: Adult Leader 4-H, Also teach AP Chemistry Lab at Pecatonica High School
What are the top issues facing this board/council and how would you resolve them?
I think the top issue facing any board is keeping long-term goals in place in the face of unstable leadership at the state level. School boards have to think in 14 year windows: That's how long you have a student in your system. Your elected leaders on the other hand last a much shorter time (some as short as one year). They make decisions based on two-year budgetary and election cycles. Long-term is not in their mentality. And lately, neither is public education. So the challenge is to learn how to overcome this short-sighted outlook (and its related political shenanigans) and maintain your long-term perspective. Our board has been fortunate in this regard in that the two communities in our district have strived to attract young families into our district. In the past years we have had major volunteer efforts for our parks, libraries, ball fields, swimming pool and school buildings. And our local businesses and governmental units have fully supported these efforts as well. Our teachers and staff made major concessions in this last budget year, yet continue to teach with the same enthusiasm and professionalism they always have. And when the time came for a major referendum last year (during the heart of the state budget battles) 60 percent of our voters gave their support. All of that sacrifice and hard work translates to a "young families welcome" philosophy that is critical to the economic viability of small rural communities. That attitude and support gives the board a clear target to work toward. It has allowed us to avoid layoffs and program cuts. We've been able to add classes, including three AP classes. Our enrollment numbers have stabilized. And thanks to the referendum, we're now able to address our building maintenance and technology issues. For as long as I've been on the board we have never had strong support from Madison, and I'm not naïve enough to think there won't be some bumps in the road. Yet we've never abandoned our pro-growth attitude or long-range goals, and I don't see that changing.