I want Oconomowoc to be a destination school district for families outside of our boundaries. We can always do more and better in supporting studentswellness. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. "But where you start off with the entrenched ideological conflict, thats where its just destructive it makes governing impossible.". Look at our band andtheater programs, our internship and apprentice programs, all top in the state. Ballotpedia tracked 29 school board recall efforts against 64 board members in 2020. If we fail to support the best teachers, then we will miss them when they are gone. ", RELATED:Two incumbents who favored virtual school lose their seats on the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District Board. Some of the activities include Boy Scouts, robotics, band, choir, theater, soccer, ski team, gymnastics, track, tennis, and we even hosted quite a few exchange students. Community involvement: Five O's Baseball coach, youth football coach, and we lead the annual Anderson Family Holiday Gift Drive supporting local families, Contact info: 414-426-4114;andrew1anderson@hotmail.com, Address:N64 W37630 Woodcrest Drive, Oconomowoc, Community involvement:Current appointee to Oconomowoc School Board since September 2021;volunteer, Downtown Business District, past board member, OconomowocArea Baseball Club, Past political experience:19+ years on the school board Oconomowoc Area School District, Community involvement: Oconomowoc Area School District, Okauchee Lions Club, Boy Scouts former merit badge counselor, Contact info:schick.sandy@yahoo.com; 262-567-2725 (home), Address: N53 W37160 E. Madison St., Oconomowoc, Past political experience: Sat on the HeadStart Board, Champaign, Illinois, 2003-05. 2986-Oconomowoc Town Police Dept-Police Officer | WILENET Believe it or not, that small step over time will also help us become a better district. We can have a vigorous discussion, take our voteand all feel good about what we have accomplished. All rights reserved. Meeting Schedule / Notices / Agendas/ Meeting Summaries. FOX6 News reached out to all three former members but none were available for an interview Monday. Michael Ford, a professor of public administration at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a member of the Oshkosh City Council, said theres a concept called "school board capture" that refers to boards being overtaken by interest groups a union, for example, or particular business interests. "It created immediate, aggressive reactions, not only by those two board members, but also a faction of the community that they were aligned with," said Grothaus. [8] Place An Ad - Call 262-306-5000/email: Conleyclass@conleynet.com, Three Oconomowoc School Board members resign, cite toxic board behavior, Cite hyper political, partisan culture as reason for stepping down, Submit an Obituary Wash. & Oz. Nondiscrimination: The Oconomowoc Area School District provides assurance that no student is discriminated against because of the student's sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability. An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Oconomowoc Area School District school board in Wisconsin did not go to a vote in 2020. Footnotes. A majority voted to keep requiring masks indoors through the end of the year, though kids could ditch them when they were outside. "That began a tremendous attack on the board at that point about not having the kids full five days a week face-to-face, back in the schools.". James Wood (Wisconsin) - Ballotpedia Schick:I wanted to provide experience and leadership in the hiring of the new superintendent, selling of the old Meadow View School site, and general district operations. The candidates are:Andrew Anderson,Neal Ninmann (i),Sandy Schick (i),Paula Schmitz,Chad E. Schraufnagel (i) andBill Thiel (i). Since being on the board we have been able to begin the process of selling the old Meadow View building, we have hired a new superintendent, and increased student growth during the pandemic. I would have run then, but I wanted to make sure that the candidates I supported were elected (they did) and I didnt want to dilute the votes we needed. Around the same time, a group of parents chased the school board around the hallways of Burlington High School after the unruly crowd forced the suspension of a meeting. "No quality candidate is going to step up and put their reputation on the line when it really comes down to what camp are you in, what team do you play for. The Oconomowoc School Board asked the district's administration to begin the RFP process for the property in October 2021 and approved listing the property for sale in December 2021. I am a good fit for this role as I can work well with a variety of people, and I can agree and disagree with them without allowing it to become personal. Herro was in the last year of her term, which expired April 2022. The current make of the board has moved past the previous issues and is focused on policyand governance and supporting the work of the administration and teachers. questioned one parent. 556 likes. OCONOMOWOC The Oconomowoc Area School Board appointed three new members in Neal Ninmann, Sandy Schick and Chad Schraufnagel last Wednesday to replace the three board members who had resigned last month. Students can grow and develop these mindful skills in a fun-filled environment that departs from the classroom and uses a common space like the cafeteria, the gym, and/or some outdoor space on campus or in the community. An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Oconomowoc Area School District school board in Wisconsin did not go to a vote in 2020. If you say, 'I don't want to play for a team, I want what is best for the students,' it won't make a difference because your name is going to be slandered if you're not on the right team. Hopefully our community will rise up and demand to hire a quality superintendent who can provide enough positive leadership to overcome the current state of leadership for the district, the letter states. Grothaus and Raasch both had about a year and a half left in their terms which expired in April 2023. The effort failed after the group did not get enough signatures. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The results are not official until they are canvassed. United States. We need to bring this same level of excellence to the areas that still need improvement to get us there. 4.) U.S. Congress | Anderson:Im proud and humbled to be endorsed by the teachers of the district through the Oconomowoc Education Association. [1], The recall effort began when recall supporters filed paperwork with the school district on September 17, 2020. In previous decades, concerns about the teaching of sex education and evolution, as well as issues like school vouchers, have prompted angry public discourse and division among school board members. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that Oconomowoc Public Education Foundation (OPEF). A majority voted to keep requiring masks indoors through the end of the year, though kids could ditch them when they were outside. Federal courts | OCONOMOWOC - Three Oconomowoc Area School Board members have announced they will be resigning from the board due to the other board members and the interim superintendents unwillingness to collaborate in good faith, a letter from the members states. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. School board members resign in COVID-19 protest - Yahoo! News What a concept! Duration: 01:58 8/16/2021. 37214 Delafield Rd, Oconomowoc, WI 53066 | Zillow Roehl said he also preferred an in-person learning model, but that it needed to be phased in to ensure the safety of students and staff. Sell the old Meadow View to fulfill the promise of the past board. COVID-19, though, lit a match under the existing tensions and "consumed everything," said Grothaus. By following the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions guidelines around wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing, he said most were able to remain open all school year. Finding ways to increase open enrollment into our school district. James Wood took over as the Oconomowoc School Board president following the 2021 election, in which he was elected to a second term after receiving Kleefisch's support. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. A- Accountability- Do what you say you are going to do. When the board and district make student achievement their top priority, the district and community win. The OASD School Board holds a regular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at the Oconomowoc High Schoo East Campus, starting at 6:30 p.m. >> Click here for the 2021-22 Regular School Board Meeting Schedule 3 Oconomowoc school board members resign, major decisions ahead - WITI Are we using it? Each candidate responded to our questionnaire about their experience and what they see as priorities for the district. SHARE. ", RELATED:Two incumbents ousted in a Waukesha School Board race partly defined by unrest over virtual learning. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern, indem Sie auf unseren Websites und Apps auf den Link Datenschutz-Dashboard klicken. Stay up-to-date on all the latest Oconomowoc news with a print subscription to The Enterprise: https://bit.ly/ocoent_sub. Then in November, board member Scott Roehl left after moving out of the district and saying in a Facebook post that he and his family did not feel safe in their home. "Who in the world would want to be superintendent of a community and work with a school board that is unwilling to listen to all points of view?" powered by finalsite About Us The boards job is to focus on getting our students the best education possible and work (as our vision states) to become Unrivaled.. If elected, what are your priorities for the district? School Board Meetings and Agendas - oconomowoc.finalsite.com A statement says the board members felt their constituents weren't being heard on matters like health and safety, and that the board is influenced by a hyper-political group. The county seat is Waukesha. I believe strongly that serving as a representative of the community is a primary focus for a school board member and is the reason I am a good fit for the position. ContactAlec Johnson at(262) 875-9469 oralec.johnson@jrn.com. Incumbent Jessica Karnowski and newcomers Juliet Steitzer and James Wood defeated incumbents John Suttner and Donald Wiemer. I will continue this trend of performance if electedto the board in April. Anderson:We all hope to get back to life as it was before masks. I have also served on both local and national boards of directors. Students need to take in oxygen to learn and stay perky at school, not carbon dioxide by exhaling inside a mask. "We will never know if we did too much, but we will most definitely know if we did too little," said one parent. Three-layer cotton masks, 26.5 percent efficient," another parent said. Coronavirus: Oconomowoc School Board votes to send kids back to - WISN Counties | Steitzer became a board member in 2018 and said this year's election became overwhelmingly partisan. "We will use mandated masking as a layered mitigation strategy when our data proves it necessary," said Dr. Kristen Taylor, interim superintendent. Instead, we firmly believe that the vast majority of people living in our community value respect, decency, thoughtful collaboration, common courtesy, consideration for others, and caring for the common good. My heart sunk. Schweitzer said she ran agrassroots, parent- and taxpayer-focused campaign. We are in a good place right now and I want to make sure that we continue being financially strong. We build futures through partnerships, accountability and transparency. . Six candidates are running for four seats on Oconomowoc School Board supports HTML5 video. I led program development initiatives expanding outreach, involvement, and resources for both students and . The board did take a vote on replacing the three board members who left. Thetwo candidates with the highest number of votes will takethree-year terms of office, and the candidates with the third and fourth highest number of votes will take one-year terms. "Were losing some really good people because of the contentiousness, and Im concerned that we may lose some more teachers in the process, or more administrators, that we already know we have a shortage of.". There is a list of health precautions including daily sanitizing of . Office Incumbent Term School Board Member-at-Large VACANT 3 years (Begins April 25, 2022) School Board Member-at-Large Neal Ninmann 3 years (Begins April 25, 2022) Schmitz:As an educator and wellness researcher, I believe there are negative effects to breathing inside a mask. The candidates are (top row, left to right):Andrew Anderson,Neal Ninmann (i),Sandy Schick (i); (bottom row, left to right)Paula Schmitz,Chad E. Schraufnagel (i) andBill Thiel (i). 5.) The board vice president said the news caught him by surprise as he turns his focus to the future. Schmitz:I like to call my priority number one Student Mental Fitness instead of student mental health. "I have worked on behalf of good government, and am proud of the work I have spearheaded and accomplished in my time on the board," Steitzer stated. "Thank you for those who supported my campaign. Schraufnagel:Since the appointment of myself and the threeother new board members, our meetings are focused on improving the school district. The letter states that the three members are also concerned about how Interim Superintendent Kristen Taylor and remaining board members are responding to the pandemic. She said the reason was to cheer up one of them who had lost a 13-year-old niece to suicide. In a democratic society, we will agree and disagree on different matters, and that is healthy;variety of perspectives enriches the board.