School Board candidates answer questions ahead of primary
This was originally published on Jan. 29.
Metro Wire Staff
Seven candidates will appear on the Feb. 20 primary ballot for the Stevens Point Area Board of Education: incumbents Meg Erler, Judy Rannow, and Miguel Campos, and newcomers Bob Larson, Will Scheder, Jim Lepak, and Heidi Sorensen. Sorensen withdrew from the race after the deadline but is not seeking office, but in missing the deadline she triggered the inclusion of the race on the primary ballot.
The top six voter getters will advance to April for the three open seats.
Questions by the League of Women Voters of the Stevens Point Area
Miguel Campos
Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that help you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board?
I am a graduate of UWSP, and a Pointer since 2004. I have two children currently enrolled in the school district. Having served on the current school board this past year, I have been fortunate to work on numerous initiatives that have made a positive impact on students and staff. I have advocated for wage increases, reviewed contract renewals, identified ways to increase assistance for teachers, found more ways to increase transparency and open communications amongst teachers, staff, and taxpayers —and actively review our spend on programming to ensure its timely and relevant. My ability to actively listen, withhold judgment and opinion, and engage in constructive debate have all contributed to the development of a respectful, open-minded, and positive environment for our current Board to continue to work toward moving our district forward together.
Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish?
I am running again to continue the meaningful work I have been a part of over the past year. I hope to continue my current efforts on the development of, and advocacy for, a more robust financial literacy curriculum in the K-12 spaces. Moreover, I am aware of the financial hardships threatening most school districts in the State, and I believe strong leadership, a balanced mindset, and open-minded leadership is critical to get us through these difficult times; all of these are core values I possess.
What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them?
The top issue facing the District right now is the financial cliff we are currently teetering on. The April 2ndreferendum will be instrumental in moving the District forward. The Board and Administration have worked together for the past year to ensure the District capitalized on all possible advantageous funding sources, while reducing spend when and where it made sense. Another ongoing concern is attracting and retaining excellent teachers. I have been a part of many excellent conversations, and Board decisions, that have helped increase staff wages, including better compensation for our Special Education Educational Assistants. I have also expressed my desire to open conversations about how best to deal with behavioral issues that NO teacher should ever have to deal with. These are all issues that either help or hinder the process of attracting and retaining great staff, and our District is quickly becoming one of the best places to seek employment because of the work I have been a part of this past year; less turnover always equates to financial savings, and better served students. Lastly, I think we are still facing an ever-looming concern of stagnant enrollment, and for numerous reasons, most outside our control, but the Board and Administration are acutely aware of the many variables affecting enrollment and actively seeking solutions to maintain and increase enrollment.
Meg Erler
Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that help you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board?
My education, background and life experiences as listed below make me uniquely qualified to continue to be a proven leader serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board. I have served on the Board since July of 2014 in numerous leadership roles and will continue to do so if reelected to the Board.
Family – 4 children who are now young adults; 3 are public school teachers; all are lifelong learners
Education – Bachelor of Arts – Social Work (BASW), University of Wisconsin – Madison; Juris Doctor (JD), University of Minnesota Law School
Public Elected Service – Village of Plover Trustee, April 1990 to April 1992, Portage County Board of Supervisors, April 1992 to April 1995, Village of Plover President, April 1995 to April 1999, Stevens Point Area Public School Board Member, July 2014 to present, Stevens Point Area Public School Board President, April 2015 to April 2022
Work Experience as an Adjunct Instructor at Mid-State Technical College, Development Director at the Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools (now Pacelli Catholic Schools), and UWSP Foundation Employee and Consultant
Current Community Service – Vice President, Boys & Girls Club of Portage County, Vice President, Portage County Legal Aid Society (PCLAS), Member of the Department of Public Instruction Professional Standards Council for Teachers
Past Community Service on the Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) Policy and Legislative Committee and the Board of Directors for United Way of Portage County, Community Foundation of Portage County, Ministry Healthcare (now Ascension Healthcare), Portage County Business Council, Healthy Beginnings of Portage County, Right From The Start of Portage County
Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish?
I am running for this office because I want to continue to make a positive difference for our students, staff, families, and community. I have gained considerable knowledge of our District during my time on the Board that will continue to enhance my effectiveness as a school board member. I believe that education is the key to the future success of each of our students and to the future of our community. A large majority of our students remain in our community or return to our community in the years following their high school graduation. They become our young families, our employees, our volunteers, our business owners, our community leaders. They make our community what it is now and for the future. It is our responsibility as a school board to further our District Mission “to prepare each student to be successful” for their futures and the future of our community. I will continue to work collaboratively with my fellow school board members, District administration, and District staff to make forward progress in the most important issues facing our District over the next 3 years.
What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them?
I believe the three most important issues facing our District right now are:
- Improving and Increasing student achievement and decreasing student achievement gaps;
- Recruiting, hiring, and retaining the best teachers and staff we can, and providing them with ongoing support, professional development opportunities, and competitive wages and benefits. Excellent and dedicated teachers and staff are essential to our District Mission “to prepare each student to be successful”.
- Providing our District with the financial resources necessary to support and enhance student achievement. This continues to be incredibly difficult due to the current State of Wisconsin funding formula for public education. Our District continues to operate each year with a structural budget deficit. It is essential for our District and community that our District residents vote yes to support the operational referendum that will be on the April 2024 election ballot. Our District will not be able to achieve substantive progress on the above-described issues without sustainable financial resources.
If re-elected, I will continue to work collaboratively with my fellow school board members to set goals and policies focused on the major issues facing our District that will guide our Superintendent’s day to day operation of our schools. As a school board member, I will continue to ask questions, monitor progress in achieving the goals our Board sets, pursue educational opportunities for myself to better understand the issues facing our District, and do my best to inform our District community about the ongoing importance of supporting our public schools. Our local public schools provide the foundation for our students, families, and community for now and for the future. I believe that “education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of their students” (Solomon Ortiz).
As a Board member, I will continue to make decisions that support student learning and achievement, that support recruitment and retention of great teachers and staff, and that provide the necessary financial resources for our local public schools.
Bob Larson – No Photo Available
Please Share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that help you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board?
Veteran/Graduated UW Stevens Point/Retired from Kraft Heinz in 2001/Elected twice to the Stevens Point School Board.
Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish?
Let the voters know why I am voting NO on the Stevens Point School District $14 million Operational Referendum. And how I plan to solve the dollar shortfall.
WHY?
If it should pass, the referendum would raise taxes as follows:
- A house valued at $200,000 would see the property taxes go up $88.00 in the first year.
- The second year the property taxes would go up $182.00.
My own property taxes have already increased $627.00 because of the recently completed reassessment of all properties in Steven Point.
HAVE YOUR TAXES ALSO INCREASED?
The following are some reasons why our taxes are increasing.
In 2022:
- The highest salary at the Stevens Point Area Public School District was $176,384.
- The number of employees in the Stevens Point School District was 588.
- The average annual salary was $61,657.00 and median salary was $59,410.00.
- The Stevens Point Area School Public School District average salary was 32% higher than the USA average.
- The median salary was 37% higher than the USA median salary.
In the USA, the average Teacher salary is $60,825.00.
By comparison, in Stevens Point School District there are:
- 44 Teachers that make over $80,000.00 per year. *
- 85 Teachers that make over $70,000.00 per year. *
- 88 Teachers that make over $60,000.00 per year. *
- 266 Teachers are below the $60,825.00 national average. *
- One District Administrator makes $176,384.00. The USA average is $140,077 per year for this same position.
- One Business Manager makes $144,970.00. The USA average is $84,402.00 per year for this same position.
- One Director of Instruction/Program makes $144,860.00. The USA average is $115,000 per year for this same position.
* In the Stevens Point Area School District – Teachers work approximately 193 days per year for salaries noted above.
I could go on and on with positions in this school district that are making well above the national average, but I believe as people read this information, they will agree the Stevens Point School District needs to reassess their pay scales and bring them in line with national norms. Passing this referendum would just continue to fund these high salaries and will solve nothing.
I PROPOSE that the Stevens Point School District freezes all salaries that are over the USA average and caps them in the future. THEN we should consider a smaller referendum so we can bring our teachers that are below the USA average up to a comparable wage.
What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them?
Stevens Point School District budget deficit Have resources available to retain quality staff. Improve our District Report Card.
Voting NO on the referendum, freezing all salaries that are over the USA average and cap them in the future then we should consider a smaller referendum so we can bring our teachers that are below the USA average up to a comparable wage. This would solve the first two issues. In 2016-17 the Report Card overall score was 74.7 exceeds expectations. In 2023 the Report Card overall score was 63.7 meet expectations. WE need to fix this.
Sources of information:
https://govsalaries.com/salaries/WI/stevens-point-area-public-school-district
(Stevens Point School Calendar): https://www.pointschools.net/Page/5677
Jim Lepak
Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that help you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board.
I believe my education, diverse background, and life experiences will be beneficial to a leadership role on the Stevens Point Area School District Board because I have become a very well-rounded individual over my 50+ years of life. I have a B.S. in Biology from UW-LaCrosse and a B.S. in Physician Assistant from UW-Madison. I have served the community as a Boy Scouts Assistant Scoutmaster, a Big Brother with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and President of Lion’s Club. I have been active in state of Wisconsin legislative issues related to physician assistants and state regulations. I have lived in Stevens Point with my wife and two children since 2008.
In my professional life, I have been working as an Orthopedic Physician Assistant in Stevens Point since 1997. I interact with many individuals daily. I enjoy instructing and helping people of all different backgrounds. I understand that everyone is different with unique experiences and challenges which require customized treatment plans and approaches.
Education is an integral part of my job whether it be educating patients, families, staff, or medical students. This daily experience gives me insight into what an educator encounters daily with students. I believe a student’s success is individual and student outcomes are very different based on many variables.
Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish?
I am running for this position because I feel diversity of thought and background brings a more robust and vibrant school board overall. I have two children in the school district, and I have viewpoints and perspectives that those in administration and the current board may not have. I feel very strongly that the school board should be overseeing and voting on more decisions made in this school district. It is important that the individuals elected to this board represent the voices of all community members. In addition, I feel transparency and open communication is needed.
My hope is to be a school board member who works with the community, advocates for transparency, open communication, and brings our community needs/desires to this board in order to move forward with academic excellence. I intend to present innovative ideas that would put academic proficiency at the forefront of priorities in this district. I would like to collaborate on ideas for this district to be financially responsible.
What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them?
I feel the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District are allotment of funding, continued decrease in academic achievement, and staff retention. I would address the funding similar to how a family budgets their money. We have to start living below our means in this school district. A big part of the funding is the pending referendum. If it passes, we need to be certain that the funds are utilized wisely and make sure we shore up emergency funds. If the public votes no, then painful decisions will have to be made. My hope would be that any cuts made would focus on areas outside of the classrooms as much as possible.
The decline in academic achievement is a huge concern. We have to stop putting so much blame on COVID, as the decline started well before COVID. This problem needs urgent attention. It takes a properly interested student, a supporting adult at home, and quality delivery of education to attain success. Parents need to be involved and informed.
These are some ideas that I would like to present as a school board member. The district should utilize the available parent portal for Schoology. This would help with educational transparency and encourage parent involvement. During Covid, a middle school Algebra teacher created videos of his daily lessons. These were uploaded to our students Schoology. As a parent, I found these to be extremely helpful in understanding the lesson and assisting my student in her work at home. This concept could be expanded to allow parents better ability to assist their students.
Virtual lessons would help during e-learning days, provide better lesson plan delivery when a substitute teacher is needed and decrease learning loss on those days. According to our recent academic report card, our district has elementary schools at varying levels of achievement. For instance, Bannach’s score for proficiency in English and Math is 82.9%. The remaining schools ranged from 71.5% to 51.2%. The district should attempt to replicate the academic achievement of Bannach. The state of Wisconsin recognized that Mississippi made substantial gains in reading proficiency by implementing a phonics program, and the state proposed allocating funds to use similar concepts here in Wisconsin. That approach is how we find ways to improve.
Staff retention will be easier with passage of the referendum, but we have to look at additional methods beyond improvement of compensation. The local medical delivery model utilizes Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants to deliver care and increase a physician’s efficiency and productivity. This model could be translated to the education arena by utilizing educational assistants in a more efficient and valued capacity. Our school district has challenges in retaining EA’s. The district should utilize EA’s in K-3 classrooms-teaching under the supervision of the educator. This would take some work burden off of the teachers, allow for more one-on-one teacher/student instruction, and increase workplace satisfaction for those in these supportive roles. Improving success in K-3 would improve academic achievement overall.
We must always remind ourselves what public schools are here for: academic excellence.
I look forward to serving on the Stevens Point Area School Board. I would appreciate your vote!
Judy Rannow
Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that help you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board?
I have a Masters in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. I have worked for K-12 and higher educational institutions, non-profit, for-profit, and governmental organizations. The majority of my professional career has focused on understanding individual, organizational and community needs, and providing opportunities for diverse groups to come together to learn and work collaboratively. I currently serve as the SPAPSD Board Treasurer and Chair for the Business Services/Human Resources Committee.
Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish?
I am running for school board because I was asked to run. I operate on the premise that a school board’s mission is greater than any one person or group. As such, I have a strong track record of looking at issues from all viewpoints before making strategic and logical decisions based on all available information. Further, a functional school board models how to work collaboratively and engage in respectful conversations with others who may or may not have the same views or beliefs. I hope to continue supporting the school district in this way because education is critical for individual and community success.
What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them?
The top three issues are not anything new, in fact, they are things we have been talking about for quite a while, and all the issues are interconnected.
Funding is always an issue. Without funding we are unable to maintain buildings, have educational resources, support mental/behavioral needs, or ensure safety and security for those in our facilities. While supporting the referendum will go a long way in funding education, we also need to be fiscally responsible and thoughtfully administer the funds entrusted to us by the communities we serve.
Student success is the reason we have schools. We need to provide a safe environment where students feel they belong and can connect with others. Success will look differently for all students. In addition to looking at test scores and student growth, we need to support mental/behavioral initiatives to create a safe learning environment and provide meals, so hunger doesn’t supersede learning. We need to be focused on the whole child with the ultimate goal of preparing them to be successful after they leave the school district.
Equipping staff to help students succeed. As a board, we need to work with and support administration in ensuring that our staff have what they need. This may mean additional professional development to help them provide mental/behavioral support for students, providing educational resources, allowing time for collaborative planning, taking staff feedback into account when making decisions, or looking critically at staffing and programming. Ensuring staff have what they need will require trust and the ability for all of us to work collaboratively toward our common goals.
Will Scheder — No Photo Available
Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that help you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board?
My name is Will Scheder. I went to Somerset High School, located in western Wisconsin, and from there attended UW-Stevens Point. I graduated Summa Cum Laude with bachelor’s degrees in political science and environmental science. While at university, I earned the Chancellor’s Leadership Award. I was also given the Albertson Medallion, which is awarded to less than 1% of each graduating class. I served for four years in the student government, as a senator, vice president, speaker of the senate, and president. I am now working as a substitute teacher and special education aide, from kindergarten to 12th grade, and in every classroom setting.
I have spent the past several years working within education for the betterment of students, staff, and the community. I am used to working with many diverse stakeholders and uniting people behind a common goal, and my work at UWSP attests to this. While there, I worked to unite student governments across the state, create streamlined reporting for issues with classes, encourage vaccinations during the pandemic, address student success and retention shortfalls, and increase funding for buildings with the state legislature. I am a proven leader with successes in public education, and I hope to bring that success to the school board to serve this community.
Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish?
I am running because I have spent months in the shoes of teachers. I have worked as a substitute since September, and while I have always valued educators, it has opened my eyes to the needs of this district. Teachers feel unsafe, underappreciated, and undervalued. Educational aides work tirelessly for our students and feel similarly under-supported. I know the district has made good progress in some areas – but in others, there is still a long way to go. I want everyone in the district to feel supported, and to enjoy their time here. Teachers and aides do amazing work, day in and day out. They deserve a school board who sees that and understands what they’re going through, not one where we question if they deserve to get paid fairly.
And as for students, my experience as a substitute teacher has shown me that they need support now more than ever. It is clear to me that many are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, even two or three years later. Grades and GPAs do not align with test scores within the district, and many students are weeks or months behind in their schoolwork. The number of students who struggle with mental illness continues to grow. These are complex problems that I will not pretend to have all the answers to, but clearly more needs to be done. And I think this problem aligns with the teacher and aide issues – how are defeated, overworked, burned-out teachers supposed to give these students the support they need? These are compounding issues that need to be addressed. I hope to be able to bring a young, passionate voice to the school board and to explore new ideas that we haven’t tried in pursuit of addressing these problems.
What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them?
The number one issue facing the school district is student success. It is the district’s mission statement and the end goal of everything the Board should do. Students are struggling, and an under-resourced district combined with a stressed-out staff only compounds the issue. The district’s test scores are still not back to where they were pre-covid. More and more students each year are suffering from mental illness or other personal struggles. We need to do more to support our youth and prepare them to be successful. The board should be doing all in its power to empower educators and provide resources to improve outcomes. We need to put the control of education back into the teachers’ hands and stop getting in the way.
Staff in the district are also exhausted. I don’t think I have worked with a single teacher or staff member who feels truly supported or appreciated in the ways they want to be. I get it – the district is hurting for resources, and the general climate of our nation can be hostile to educators right now. But that is no excuse for so many teachers and staff members being constantly stressed and overwhelmed. The board needs to do more to increase salaries, make schools safer, and show teachers that we understand what teaching in today’s world is like. I would like to explore the idea of having non-voting, advisory roles on the board for a teacher and a staff member. This would require much discussion with the district administration, community, and teachers and staff. I believe, however, that it would go a long way to helping our teachers and staff feel heard.
Unsurprisingly, a lack of resources is another issue, and one that compounds the others mentioned above. I have worked in schools, from elementary to SPASH, and I have seen first-hand what a lack of resources does to students and staff. Students are forced to work with decade old textbooks. Technology for staff and students lags behind the current times. Lack of resources for staff means larger class sizes, burned-out teachers, and less personalized instruction. The arts and trades in our schools lack proper equipment. Even basic maintenance goes unaddressed, creating unsafe environments for students and increasing eventual repair costs. To address this, everyone – parents, candidates, and current board members – should be doing everything possible to encourage people to vote for the referendum on the ballot in April. Additionally, working with our state legislators to rework the current way that school districts are funded should be a priority of the board. We are not the only school district facing resource challenges, and there is room for a statewide effort to address this problem.
Overall, despite the above challenges, our district does amazing work – but we can always do more to support our staff and students. And I hope to be a part of that effort. Thank you for your time.
Heidi Sorensen
Heidi Sorensen has withdrawn from running for the Stevens Point Area School District Board, thus, she did not submit responses to the questions.
