001grassroots organization that promotes informed and active participation in government. As a nonpartisan group, the League never endorses a political party or a candidate. A healthy democracy relies on engaged citizens. So, we thank you for taking the time to learn about the candidates. The spring election will be held April 7th, and early voting began yesterday. You may request absentee ballots for all or specific 2026 elections online at myvote.wi.gov. The other election dates are August 11th or November 3rd. We have information about voter registration, voter ID requirements, and the League at the table near the entrance. Information uh can also be found at the state-run website myvote.wi.gov. That's a really great website. Please also visit our the League of Women Voters website at vote411.org, which is run by the National League of Women Voters with help from
002hundreds of local leagues. The vote411 website has election information as well as candidate Q&A, where the responses are printed verbatim. And I think most of you did respond and are on vote411, so you can look up what they said on that website. We also welcome you to join the League of Women Voters, which despite its name does welcome all. Questions for today's forum were submitted online over the past several days, and with tonight's 1-hour format, uh actually 1 hour and 15 minutes. Um we already have more questions than we will have time to ask. Nevertheless, if you would like to submit a question, you can write it on the cards that are available. Um where are the cards? All right, at the table back there, and pass it to one of our volunteers. Questions cannot
003be directed to just one candidate. Every question will go to all candidates, and we will focus on questions pertinent to the office of the school board. Our questions orders will be marking duplicate questions, which are common, sorting by category, and may write on the cards to combine questions. Or some of the questions that we received uh were similar, so we combined them. Um we ask that the audience refrain from cheering or other demonstrations in support of or against any of the candidates. Please also refrain from any distracting activities, including the use of any electronic devices. The forum is being live-streamed in its entirety and available for viewing on the Whitnall YouTube channel. Is that correct? Whitnall YouTube channel? Thank you. Five candidates are vying for three seats on the school board, and they are Rachel
004Shearer, Don Geiger, Jessie Jahowiak, Cassie Rayner, and Joseph Herkman. The candidates will be addressed by their first names. Each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond to every question. The candidates uh will be addressed in the order that they are on the ballot, but we will rotate the order of first response among the candidates. Our timers are Marissa, Riley, and Jenna from the school uh student council, and they will let you know when you have 30 seconds remaining and when you must stop. With the audience and the candidates honoring the guidelines for the forum, we will make the best use of our time. >> [snorts] >> Okay, we will begin with 1-minute opening statements, [clears throat] and Rachel will go first. All right, first of all, thank you so much all of you for being
005here tonight and for the League of Women both voters for hosting us all here tonight. My name is Rachel Shearer, and I'm proud to be a current uh member of the Whitnall School Board up for re-election. One thing I want everybody to know is that I um live this work every single day. I am an educational consultant uh that is that specializes in literacy, continuous improvement, and gifted and talented students. I'm someone who has spent 26 years in public education, including 16 of those years as a high school and middle school English teacher. So, what this means is I don't just talk about schools, I live them. I work directly still with students. I still support teachers, and I partner with districts to improve their outcomes. I see what's working, where we're growing, where districts
006are growing, and where they also need to go, where we can push forward. Ooh, that was fast. 1 minute stuff. It's hard. Okay, Don. I'm Don Geiger, one of the challengers in the race. I'm recently retired after a 34-year career in public education. I'm running for a few reasons. One, my future grandson will be attending and maybe some more grandchildren will be attending this district. And two, as a taxpayer of the district, I would like to see Whitnall get to the next level of excellence, and what I mean specifically by that is I would like to see Whitnall in the future on future state report card data that's issued for all school districts achieve significantly exceeds expectations. With the referendums that have recently been passed and the amount of community community support, I think it's
007very achievable and very sustainable for the future, and I would like to offer my educational experience in helping the board and the district achieve that. Thank you. Jessie. My name is Jessie Jahowiak. I am a Whitnall graduate. I've been on the board for the past 6 years. I am the current current board president. I've held a treasurer role in the past. Um I've found that Whitnall provided me with a lot in my time here, and it was an easy choice for me to move back into the district with my wife and my kids and have them start their Whitnall journey here. Um that's how much I believe in Whitnall, and I found this as an opportunity to give back to a district that gave me a lot, uh is currently giving my children a lot,
008and I want to continue that and expand that as much as I can. I have a lot of experience on the board, the most experience out of the candidates so far, and I want to apply that. We have a lot of initiatives that are currently underway that I am familiar with, that I know are going to require further attention, and I think they're important, our strategic plan being one of them, and a referendum that's currently in place. I want to make sure that we handle both of those successfully. Thank you. Cassie. Hi, I'm Cassie Rayner, and I'm seeking re-election because I'm so proud of the work of my first term and deeply invested in Whitnall's continued success. I'm a proven leader, honored to have served as board president, vice president, and treasurer. As president, I
009strengthened collaboration. As treasurer, I'm proud to support Whitnall's tradition of fiscal responsibility. Today, community trust in the board is stronger, staff satisfaction is strong, and our district's growth score for students surpasses 90% of districts statewide. Professionally, I lead global leadership and development for a Fortune 150, and I manage results, budgets, and culture daily. And I bring this disciplined, strategic approach to my school board work. I'm a Hales Corners homeowner, a mom of two Whitnall students, and an involved volunteer in our schools and community. I'm driven to get results for each of you. I ask for your vote so we can continue building on this momentum together. Okay. Rock and roll. For those who don't know me, I'm Joe Herkman. Uh I am running for the same reason I do just about everything, for my boys.
010Um I've been a district resident since 2013, and when I moved here with my lovely wife, we came here specifically after researching uh school districts. And um because it's been such a a pleasant experience, I've um got on the PTO over there Corners. I'm I run one of their uh fundraisers. I am the commission chair for the Cub Scout Pack 574 over there. And uh my professional background is industrial maintenance where I've I've been everything from a regular maintenance tech all the way up to a tech services manager dealing with million-dollar budgets, capital projects from start to finish. Um and I really think that in the world of the referendum um that expertise could help considerably. Thank you. Don, you will get the first question and go first. How do you intend Oh, how have
011you recently engaged with students, teachers, or school events to understand what is happening in classrooms today? And how has it shaped your perspective on student needs and district priorities? Um over the years uh and living here over 10 years, I was able to see both my stepson and stepdaughter attend the schools here from kindergarten through grade 12. I was able to go to numerous events in terms of athletic um um other events um for the district. I recently um had the opportunity to tour all the schools. Um the superintendent was gracious enough to let me tour all four schools and go around and see what's going on as far as different curriculums. Um also made a great case for the referendum improvements of why the referendum had to be passed and took me to each
012school to show me specifically why that was. Um so that was probably the biggest thing. Um I've I've had the opportunity also I'm I'm a member of the local YMCA here. And definitely talking to a lot of the taxpayers there and people that have kids in school here, just engaging with them in terms of also what they think about the referendum and what they think about the school district. Jesse. Uh done that in about bunch of different various ways. Uh one of them that comes to mind that involves all of the people that you had mentioned is our strategic plan. There was a lot of work that was put behind engaging the community, staff, students, anybody that has a stake in Whitnall. There were meetings with all of those people to determine what was most
013important to all of them. Individually, I have um volunteered at different events, met different people that are from different PTOs. Um I am a member of the middle school PTO. Uh both my children are at the middle school, so I provide them with board reports uh every meeting. And they provide me with some feedback and ask me questions. I always indicate to people when I do speak to them if somebody I haven't met before to reach out to me with questions that they may have. Um very open to doing so. We also have surveys that go out to our students and to our our staff that indicate hey, how are we doing as a district so far? Are students satisfied? Do they feel safe in school? What are some of the things that they like?
014What are some of the things that they don't like? Same thing with our staff. What's important to our staff so we can plan around that. And that's really what has been my focus over the past 6 years. Cassie. Can you repeat the question, please? How have you recently engaged with students, teachers, or school events to understand what is happening in classrooms today and how it has shaped your perspective on student needs and district priorities? Thanks. I would say I'm in the schools pretty regularly. I'm a very active part of the Hills Corners Elementary PTO, so I'm there often. I volunteer kind of any chance I can. So I'm seeing the kids. I get to know kids even in my kids' school in their grade or not uh and build relationships with them, with with staff
015in a friendly parent-teacher kind of way. Uh I also attend as many events in other buildings as I possibly can. So I was just recently at the art show. I attend plays. I attend concerts. And I do this because I really enjoy it, but it also informs [clears throat] my perspective as a board member and allows me to see the work in action and to build the relationship with the community in the product that we are delivering to them, which is their school environment. So I'm a very, very engaged uh parent, very engaged board member, and um welcome any opportunity to be in our buildings. I'm also very actively interested in our curriculum and our learning outcomes. So when things come to us as a board member around curriculum, I'm always um accessing our demo
016sites and um the sites where we can play in the sandbox to see what curriculum we're offering so that I'm very informed before making decisions and uh being a active member of the community. Don. So in the last couple of months uh as far as talking with teachers and students, um very active in the Edgerton Elementary PTO. I was recently called an institution there, which made me feel old. And uh but [snorts] uh and I you know, with the Cub Scouts too and talking with the people. And a lot of times I pick up my kids every day from school. I uh I'll while they play in the playground, I'll be talking with their friends' parents, things like that. And uh you know, recently just knocking doors cuz I'm not a social media guy. I'm
017a face-to-face kind of person. So uh you know, I'm out knocking doors and just talking with people what their concerns are. And uh you know, as far as the referendum, as far as what's going on in schools, and having honest conversations with a lot of people that may or may not actually know what's going on. So. Rachel. Um So I see this question twofold. One in Whitnall specific and then one in education um as well. So I'll answer two parts. Whitnall, I have um two current daughters at one at the middle school, one at the high school. Um and then one who's just recently graduated. So um I'm very active in their activities. We just completed a very successful um year of dance. So I've been a part of all um her dance events. I
018get to be here if I'm volunteering for concessions um or just speaking with families, speaking with kids um there as well. And then with the my middle school daughter at her events, I'm there um also listening to um kids, being in the hallway, attending uh the art things, the theater shows. So just really involved and active. Around 6 years ago, I Oh my gosh, I'm running out of time. I talk too much. Um that about 6 years ago, I co-founded the Leo Club here at Whitnall High School and um I still follow up with them on occasion as I'm a member of uh the Lions Club. Now, on the second part, I'm in schools every day as part of a continuous improvement work. I work with C&I directors. I work with superintendents and principals. But
019then I also run my own academy for gifted and talented students. So I get to work with students as well. >> [clears throat] >> Um okay, Jesse, you get this one. How do you intend to work with district educators to ensure that those who teach and actually work with students directly have a meaningful seat at the table? How would you consider student input? I think we as a district and as as a board member, we review staff surveys uh pretty consistently. And they are quite extensive. They ask questions from you know, do you like coming to work every day? Uh are you happy with what you're getting paid? Uh what's the culture like? Do you, you know, agree with the direction that leadership is taking? We get those surveys presented to us as as board
020members and review that information. And I'm happy to say that our employee satisfaction overall since I've been on the board uh 2020, um it went from uh 3.22 to a 3.94 out of a scale of five, which is phenomenal for our staff. So I think that we've done a good job of listening to that. I take that very seriously. If there's something that needs to shift, I ask questions of the people that are tied to those buildings. So we get presentations from builder building leadership committees uh that allows us to actually have those conversations as well as board members. So I always make sure to ask them questions that are outside of the survey. And then if I do come across students like my my kids or other people's kids, I just kind of ask
021them like, "Hey, how are things going at school? Is there anything going on that you like? You know, is there anything that's bothering you right now?" Cuz it gives me a good gauge of whether kids are happy to be there and what their what's important to them. Cassie. I'll echo a lot of what Jesse said. One thing that I think is really strong and has has especially been strong recently, but preceding my time on the board as well, is that there are uh building leadership teams in all of the buildings that are the liaison between the general staff and the district administration and then also the school board. So some built-in mechanisms that we use to get staff input are uh what we call gallery walks. Several times a year, Staff come in and they
022showcase some of the really great things that are going on in the district and in their buildings. They talk about their priorities. They share their areas of growth and some things they want to keep watching for. We also frequently as part of the new strategic plan have increased the number of times that we bring students into school board meetings where we can see showcases of their good work. We hear from the student leadership committee, the student council at the high school, middle school, and then the student leadership teams at the elementary school. So we're giving them an opportunity to come see us and interact with us, which I think does two things. It allows us to hear from them, but it also encourages them to not see the board as a scary formality, but we're
023people in the community. Many of us have kids in the district or had kids in the district. And that just helps with the two-way communication so that everyone feels comfortable using us as resources and advocates for what they need to make their experience the best it can be here. Done? Could you repeat that question real quick, please? >> Sure. How do you intend to work with district educators to ensure that those who teach and work with students directly have a meaningful seat at the table? How would you consider student input? Well, firstly I would say um if I was elected to the board, I would have all these lovely tools that Jesse and Cassie are talking about. Um further, it's it's about building trust. Um I'm an open book. You can ask me anything. I'll
024tell you 100% honest what the answer is and I would like for the teachers to know that, you know, um our kids experience is largely tied to the teachers' experience. So to make their experience better, we have to make the teachers' experience as best it can be. Give them the tools they need, um whatever it might be. And you would have to build trust. You have to listen to their concerns. It's like any team building exercise, really. Listen to their concerns and then instead of, you know, don't be a talker, be a doer. Uh take what they they bring you and act on it. So they that they can see that you mean business and you're going to get things done. And uh cuz again, um you want to keep teacher [snorts] You want to
025keep teachers uh our job is like I would say like my job is to make their job easier so they can do what they need to do. And you just again, you have to build that trust. You have to do what you can for them. And and however they come with that information to me, if it's if you know, surveys and all that jazz, whatever. You just got to make sure you do something. Rachel? Um this is one area that I'm most proud of uh after 3 years. When I came in, I came in knowing that this is the area I wanted to strongly advocate for. Um so I came in um advocating immediately right away if our financial situation isn't so that we can become more competitive in our pay, then let's increase teacher
026value another way. So I proposed um giving teachers two days less of work a year so that their per diem actually raised. Um and and that that passed. So teachers saw an increase of value added there. Immediately started advocating for surveys. Let's hear what the teachers are saying. Don't just tell me this data, show me this data. Um before I ran my first time, I was um recruited by some teachers to be their voice to strengthen that culture here. And with the last survey results, I see that it's definitely happening. Teacher satisfaction is increasing. I also advocated um for a new compensation plan, which we it was very exciting that we voted in the first round. And again, you'll see me in open session constantly pushing what else can we do? Happy teachers equal happy
027kids, for sure. Done? Um the first part of your question as far as district educators having a seat at the table, I would echo what what Cassie talked about, the leadership teams. I would definitely reach out to all the leadership teams at all schools and meet with them personally if they were willing to have me in. Uh I would love to hear what they have to say and make myself available both in person or by email if whatever the case may be to listen to their concerns or or listen to things that are going well or things that aren't going well, especially as a new board member. I'd want to reach out to all them. And as far as the student input, again, I would want to reach out to the student council at the
028high school and the other councils at the schools and make myself available for their initial meetings, hear what they have to say, and at any point if they would want me to come in to attend a meeting, I certainly could do that. The advantage I have is being [clears throat] semi-retired, I have the time available to do that. And that's also part of the reason I'm running is I know I can I can put the time and commitment into it, whatever that takes as far as meeting personally with people. Thank you. Next question, um Jesse, you go first with this one. I think it's my turn. Oh. Okay. Right. >> [laughter] >> Yeah. I was saying I did go first last time. Okay, thank you. Okay, Cassie, your turn. What do you see as the
029district's biggest opportunity for improvement over the next 5 years? I will start by saying I'm really, really proud of where the district is and the growth and the progress in the last couple years. We've got a really strong strategic plan that just got put in place that um will guide us on our priorities. And the pillar that I think I will focus on for the answer to this question is our student engagement and um improving rigor and continuing the work that's already been started. So while we're in a very good place and we have a really strong growth score, I would say our biggest opportunity is to continue to increase proficiency for students in math and reading in particular, but all of our subjects. We're starting to see um focused changes to how we prepare
030students for the ACT as an example. There's a research-based um new literacy curriculum that's been implemented K8. We are um exploring acceleration for math at the middle school in particular and we're seeing really good progress. And so one great thing is that we're on the right path. We can see what is working and we should do more of what's working so that we can continue to grow that proficiency so that our students are really equipped to do well and make choices for themselves uh whatever that might be when they leave here. So biggest opportunity is to continue the work towards rigor and proficiency for our students. Done? Oh, fair enough. Um what I would like to or I guess what I would say would be the the place for more improvement cuz it things are
031going well, like you're saying, but there's always room for improvement and the the places I would like to see that would be uh again, with the student achievement. I'm going to pair Cassie on this. With uh you know, especially for the younger guys, you know, very young students for like reading and then you'd like to see math, things like that. >> [clears throat] >> Um further, like in the high school, uh good to be about high school age, I'd like to see um a push towards a wider range of um paths that you can choose, right? When I was a young man, uh you were told to go to college because that's what you did. You went to college. If you didn't go to college, you would went and worked in a factory that your
032dad worked in. Um I went into the trades after the military and uh to this day, usually I'm one of the younger guys on a crew. I'm 47. Um starting to change a little bit. So people are getting out there, but I would like the I would like to see other opportunities, like be it military service, be it trade schools, um apprenticeships, things like that. I would like to see that celebrated and uh pushed just as much as college. Thank you. Rachel? So I had the privilege of being part of our new strategic planning session with community members, students, um as well as staff. And what came out of it was four really strong pillars. And I would love to um see those continue to grow and um flourish. So engaging student experience, all in
033employee experience, operational excellence, and community connections and partnerships. If I had to pick one specific area that I heard echoed in that strategic planning session, it was parent and family engagement. I would love to see um a really strong, welcoming um connection between our schools and and parents and really build on that um to make sure that parents feel welcome. Um if they have a concern, uh the concern is validated. Um that we just really strengthen that culture. Done? Um as I was saying before, I think the ultimate goal for the district is on the state report card data that all districts are issued, all school districts in the state, to it to achieve that significantly exceeds expectations level as an entire district. Right now, the elementary schools have met that already. It's a matter
034of how can we tease out what other areas we need to look at to make the district reach that. And a big part of that is I'm thinking about the future of the district in that in this state right now, enrollments are down since 2017, 55,000 public school students. And the next 10 years, it's projected to go down another 10 to 15%. This will become a a school choice decision for parents as they look at that as enrollments decline. And I want Whitnall to be one of those 8% elite districts so that as individuals make choices about where to send their students to school, and as a district needs to make decisions about helping to offset the decline in enrollment, you are one of those first choice schools. And again, I think the referendums that
035have passed is a clear voice from the community, they support it, and this is a return on their investment for that. Jesse? There's a few pieces to it for me. Um one of them is trying to reduce the level of children that have to end up being on personal reading plans. Um that's a large process that's mandated by the state, and if you fall into a certain category, you have to be on one of those plans, and there are a lot of steps involved, and I'd like to see kids transition out of those and continue succeeding. From uh the high school perspective, I'd really like to see us keep up with the current job market. Uh there's a lot of things that are new and on the rise like artificial intelligence. I want to make
036sure that we are being able to meet kids' needs when it comes time to join the workforce and give them the tools to be successful. And then the last part of it is really our referendum that just passed, making sure that we are utilizing all of the improvements to the highest level that we can. So, there's going to be a whole new science wing, making sure that we are as creative as possible with what we can do with that wing and how we can educate our kids, and then at the same time building upon community engagement with all these new facilities, people are going to want to use them, making sure we're using them the right way, and making them open to everybody who wants to use them. Joe, you go first on this one.
037Uh this is from a parent in the district who says, "As a parent in the district, I see the increasing complexity of needs in our K4 and kindergarten classrooms. We are asking a single lead teacher to manage foundational literacy, social emotional outbursts, and a complex medical or neurodivergent needs, as well as increased paperwork demands. Without addressing this overload, we aren't just saving money, we are guaranteeing teacher burnout and compromising teacher safety. What is your specific plan to ensure staffing and aid staffing for our early childhood classrooms?" Well, I guess that goes back to talking to the teachers about their needs. Um I think I have an idea what you're talking about. Um It's a long one. Yeah. So, if they're talking about like the K4, there's one teacher and there and there's so many more
038kids that are coming in, um and with the special needs kids, that would be again harkening back to the earlier uh question about, you know, in engaging teachers, um that would be a very good opportunity to engage with those specific teachers and ask them what it is they need to make sure and and then you um if it comes down to we need an another teacher or we need you know, more classroom, you know, a or smaller [clears throat] classroom, however it has to be, um you got to make a plan and execute, and it has to be based off of the specific needs from those teachers like or that teacher specifically. And uh I would say um you can only have so so much uh you know, student wise and and uh >> [snorts]
039>> you you you just can't go over that limit. You can't burn people out. You have to identify that as an issue, and you have to plan accordingly to make sure that that doesn't happen, and re-engage with the teacher and ask, "Are you okay? Are you getting enough? What do you need?" You know, is there the right pairs and things like that? And thank you. Rachel, do you want me to repeat that? >> Yes, please. Okay. As a parent in this district, this [clears throat] is a parent talking, "I see the increasing complexity of needs in our K4 and kindergarten classrooms. We are asking a single lead teacher to manage foundational literacy, social emotional outbursts, and complex medical or neurodivergent needs, as well as increased paperwork demands. Without addressing this overload, we aren't just saving
040money, we are guaranteeing teacher burn burnout and compromising student safety. This is the main question. What is your specific plan to ensure aid staffing for our early childhood classrooms?" For aid? For specific plan for aid staffing, is that what it said? You can answer it any way you wish to, but basically listing everything the teachers are responsible for. Yes. Um and certainly with Act 20 and the importance of um the foundational early literacy skills, number one, um it's really important that all staff um in our early grades, K through 3, are trained really well in the science of reading and um the components of early literacy, and that includes all educational paras as well as we call them or however uh or aids, so that they can um support the work that that classroom teacher
041is doing. Um I would also suggest that we look at class size. Research There's an exorbitant amount of research that tells us small class sizes um really aids in building those early skills because we not only teach it explicitly, but we need to practice it. So, that's an an area I would also advocate for. Um we're very lucky in our superintendent that he's also a literacy expert. So, I would definitely um have a conversation with him um because I feel like uh his literacy knowledge would be um highly useful in this situation. I think too, the staff that we have, we could make sure that we're using well, um perhaps use the literacy coach immediately in that situation to offer support. Done? Um it's it's kind of personal for me in that our stepdaughter is
042a kindergarten teacher in a local public school district, is in her third year, and has a lot of needs in in this district. And and so some of the things you're describing we've seen firsthand. In in her building, and this would be I would want to do the same thing here, they try to get an ideal ratio based on the needs of that year. So, in this case, this last year, she's at a much lower student count than she did the year before based on the needs that are coming into her classroom that year. And it's and it's a school that has a higher percentage of special needs students in general. That'd be the first thing. Um the second thing, I'd want to make sure that are we hiring qualified aids to be in that
043in that situation? So, is there a way to somehow um incentivize the kind of aids you could get in there that have maybe that kind of experience from the past and or are interested in doing that kind of work. And on a bigger level, um I'm very supportive of what's happening at the state level right now. There's a bill that has been proposed for retired educators. Currently, myself as a retired educator, I'm limited to how many hours I can work in a school without jeopardizing retirement. There's a bill on the table to eliminate some of that or modify it, and I think that would be another way to bring back some staff that could be very helpful and are very interested, but limited by the current rules of the of the system. Jesse? It starts
044off by looking at your enrollment numbers. What we do as a district right now is we try and survey community members that have we know have 3-year-olds coming into the district saying, "What are your intentions for this 3-year-old? Are they going to start in 4K?" and try and get a very good idea of how many are going to be there. Look at these numbers frequently frequently enough so that we can provide the right amount of staffing required to teach these kids. Um as it relates to special education, uh each child that's in special education has an IEP, which is a plan specific to them, and that is on a case-by-case basis, so there may be a child that needs one aid or two aids, and we have to accommodate for that uh if they are
045a resident of this district. Um when we go and look at the enrollment numbers, if there are a lot of children enrolled, we have to consider whether we have to open up another section. Um another part of that is open enrollment. We would restrict that because the people living in our district are the ones that we have to serve first. That's just how it works, and we would cut off open enrollment at K4 if it was full. So those are some of the things that that we can take into consideration and then the last part would be the employee surveys and the BLCs and them coming to the resources and saying this is the help that I need and then listening as a board member and saying okay if we need that support that's what
046we need to provide to give them the best chance to be successful. Jesse. One thing that I think the starting point is that a board can do in a situation is if it's not already on the superintendent's radar that we would encourage the superintendent to make sure that it is on the radar. One thing I know is happening now is that our newer superintendent has noticed some things and is engaging in what might look like a time study or a how people are being deployed into their role so that they can put the best people with the highest need students. I'm a big believer in the best use of staff is as much as possible to put them directly with students. So I would say in the overall approach should be to assess the situation
047to keep a pulse on a new class that's coming in and see what the needs are watch them observe them observe the needs of the students observe what class is like for those students and this would be done by administrators most likely or our special ed staff if if that's what they think the need might be. And when they assess that there are greater needs I would also want the district to get as creative to take advantage of all the resources that are out there for funding for grants for creative ways to mix the kids up so that the needs are balanced out between classrooms across the district potentially and train the staff that we do have in aid roles so that they're very well equipped to handle high needs so that they can actually
048make a difference and make an impact for those students. Thank you. Rachel you get the first one or this one. Our community includes families with a wide range of beliefs and experiences. How will you ensure that no single group dominates the direction of the school board? >> [clears throat] >> This is another passion of mine. My slogan for re-election is united for Whitnall. This is one thing I'm very proud of that I can um reach across two very different perspectives and unite people into one common vision. I think that all families one thing they want is that all their kids are safe that they get the best experience possible and that they're supported and all their needs are met here in the school. I believe that's possible. I believe that we can listen to different
049community members and we can find a common ground. And the again the common ground is that we all want what's best for our kids and that's one thing I want and pride myself in being a public educator for the last 26 years is seeing that so many kids from so many families are still all the same. They have the same interests. They have the same funny little mannerisms. They act the same in middle school. That is what can connect us for sure. We got to find the common ground and the common vision. Don. Um part of the reason I ran for this I've never run for public public office but part of the reason I ran for this not only to give back to public education but because this is nonpartisan. That's exactly what I
050like about running for a board like this. Um it is beyond disappointing for me to see neighboring districts where I see signs put up right now for individuals that are supposed to be nonpartisan that say and they join together to say the conservative vote for this district. It's appalling to me. This should not have anything to do with one set political agenda. So I'm very proud of that and I'm very proud of the fact that I've never registered as a Democrat or Republican I've always been independent. Politics aside I think part of it is what's been echoed listening to everyone taking everyone's input but in the end deciding what is best for the district and what's best for the district's future especially in lieu of some of the trends that are happening around us right
051now back to the enrollment trend and others. Thank you. Jesse. My answer is pretty much simple. I approach it as what is best for our kids overall. We keep talking about the strategic plan that engaged the entire community. That is something that everybody was involved in and I look at it from the standpoint of does this fit the strategic plan that we have in place. If it doesn't explain why we should go around that and do something different. And I'm very much open to speaking to anybody about that and saying okay tell me what your main concern is. And a lot of times people just want to go straight to the school board and say here's my concern. Instead of following kind of the order of operation where it's if it's something in the classroom
052did you talk to your teacher about it? If you talked to the teacher and you didn't get the resolution that you needed did you go to the principal? For some reason the principal didn't address what you needed you can keep going up the chain through the superintendent and then if for some reason it doesn't work out with the superintendent then you would come to the board. Um it's very simple. This is this is a business overall and the business is doing what's best for kids and not going into an operational referendum while doing it and that's really been my focus and that's how I plan to plan to achieve that going forward. Jesse. To the crux of the question about the wide range of beliefs and views in the community I think the makeup of
053the board currently actually is a really nice representation of that diverse and wide-ranging perspective. And one thing that I am very proud of in my time on the board is that when I was board president I really focused on strengthening collaboration and strengthening the group with different perspectives rowing in the same direction. You can row in the same direction without all falling in lockstep and being identical in your belief set. And that's what brings us to a place where we can push Whitnall to be the best it can be because we're not all looking through one perspective. We're challenging each other in a respectful way. And Jesse's as president now is doing a really great job continuing that and so I think that we are case study in fact in how you can be a
054wide-ranging group of different beliefs and different perspectives and still able to make sure that you're focused and oriented to the fact that we are here to make Whitnall the best it can be to push Whitnall to be the greatest possible place for people to live and people to work. And I'm really proud of the growth that the board has seen in the past couple years. As far as diversity goes and and all that you know politically religious however I personally consider that a very good thing cuz if you are a group of one mind um it's the work isn't I believe uh done in a in a way that is going to be healthy. So if you have different voices and you can communicate respectfully which shouldn't be that hard um you know respect others
055opinions and understand where they're coming from um you make a stronger board you make a stronger community. Um so I would just say I would listen. I hope everyone else would be respectful and um allow people to say their peace and remind everybody again that the the one goal we would have is to do what is best for the kids all the kids and that is full stop. Thank you. Hey Don you get the next question and you get to go first. Wisconsin has been putting increased attention on early literacy and evidence-based reading instruction. What role should a school board play in supporting strong literacy outcomes without micromanaging classroom practice? Well the state recently went to more of a phonics-based approach after a more of a sight word approach for a while. The results seem
056to be improved scores from what I've seen. Um as far as the board goes and this this was spoken at one of the board meetings that I see the board as providing an overall vision for the district and leadership for the district and not to micromanage the process. The the job of the board I see as we are we we need to be in compliance with state statutes and state direction we're state funded. But also part of that is hiring the administrators to trust them as professionals to hire the professionals to get the day-to-day done. I I think it's a mistake to get in the weeds of of all the direct curriculum at all times. I think it's more a more of a 50,000-ft view and you're providing the leadership, but again, you're providing the
057leadership to be accountable to the state and then allowing those true professionals that you've hired to do the day-to-day to implement. Thank you. Jess. It's kind of the same thing. There we hire professionals to do this job. I'm not a teacher myself. I have no experience in education. So, I rely a whole bunch on our wonderful staff to say, "Here is what we need to do. This is how we need to do it and provide us with options. Um we implemented a curriculum not too long ago that um was reviewed by our teachers, by our staff. They said, "Here are the options that we went through. Here's the information that we reviewed. Here's how much time we poured into this. Here's some of the materials." Now, do I need to look at the materials directly
058in you know, excruciating detail? No. But, it's making an informed decision saying, "Here's what the experts are saying that we need to do either because Whitnall needs it or because the state dictates it and then putting that into play into place so that we can support those people that are actually rolling those things out and delivering those things to our kids. So, unless somebody gives me a reason not to trust their expertise, I'm going to go with our wonderful staff that we have in place until something changes. And our administration has done a really good job of presenting us with things that are at a high level that aren't in the weeds and allows us to make informed decisions as a board and that has helped me significantly significantly in my time on the board.
059Cassie. As it relates specifically to literacy and Act 20 and some of that work, the strategic plan I think is the first step and we have a really good call outs in our strategic plan around increasing and improving literacy. And so that's uh mechanism the board can use to guide that work. I also think that the role of the board as it relates to this is to provide and push the district to be the very best and to stretch itself to be the very best it can be, but then provide the support and the resourcing to achieve that by listening to administration and by getting regular updates. The data should tell us how we're doing and we should use the data to say, "Are we on the right track? Do we need to do more
060of one thing or less of another thing?" And that informs us as a board around what priorities we will set as it relates to funding, to resourcing, to staffing, and that sort of thing. It's also really important, which I believe we've done, is to put the right people in place to lead this work and then get out of the way in the day-to-day operations of it, but support there. But also, I think we as accountable members of the community and accountable to the community have to make sure that we are informed on our growth in our literacy and how we can continue to push students to do better. One thing we get updates on as reading plans as it relates to early literacy and how are we making sure that students are moving off of
061plans, moving out of intervention because we've closed those gaps for them. And we us knowing that helps us prioritize uh that work better. Phil. All right. Uh many, many years ago, I was told if you don't know the answer, find the person that does. So, as far as the literacy, the Act 20, all this, um again, I'm not an educator. Um so, I would lean on the administrators because they're the experts. They're the ones that know. Um I would imagine they would provide uh fact-based results and at the you would just have to let them do what they're there to do. Um kind of not to parrot Cassie, but I would trust them to do their job until they gave me a reason not to. And um other than that, if for whatever reason there
062was a curriculum change, again, the administrators and things like that would bring you the information that you would need to make an informed decision. So, uh in that case, I would leave it with them as the professionals. Thank you. Rachel. So, [snorts] um in my day job, um I am a reading specialist and a licensed director of instruction. But that's my day job. My role here on the board um is to provide approval of a curriculum, which was a science-based, science-aligned curriculum. Um uh fully implemented, we saw that was adopted and implemented. We get regular updates at board meetings. That's the time when I can take my specialty lens and ask questions about implementation. Um ask questions, were were teachers provided enough professional um around fluency, around AIMSweb. I can ask those questions at the
063correct time um in the board meetings without going into the weeds ever. So, I have a nice little unique perspective and like Cassie said, we're we're we're we have wonderful data presentations where I can then say, "Oh, this is increasing. We see we're we see our data is telling us that we're growing um at a rate higher than 90% of other districts in Southeastern Wisconsin. So, we do get to ask questions um with literacy and Act 20 um and there's there's never a need to go into the weeds at the classroom level. We trust those experts with implementation. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Uh okay, Jesse, you get this one first. Like all school districts, we have students that are dealing with mental health issues. How will you create policies and strategies that address
064these needs? Well, right now uh there is a program that is in place through Aurora that we have at the district that provides additional resources for just that. Uh I think that that is something that I've always been be- I know it's something I've always been behind ever since it was first implemented. Uh it is a great resource for people that don't have those resources through like their own employer. Um for instance, my employer offers it and it extends to my kids, but not everybody has that. So, I think that that's a really good option there. Um we have a lot [clears throat] of PBIS and behavior programs throughout the district. Uh and encourages positive behavior and is really a community around kids, you know, learning what it is to behave in school all the
065way up through middle school to the high school. But, providing that type of support, um we have a really great plan in place for um extenuating circumstances like certain tragedies. There is a a team that gets enacted in the district that actually has a plan of how they address that and they do a phenomenal job. We've had a few of those unfortunately in the past and they've just done a wonderful job. They've acted right away and have addressed our students' needs very well. Cassie. As we know, mental health impacts how students come to school, how they're prepared to engage with their coursework and the instruction that they're given and that is something that um is as important for student care. So, I think that a couple things we have in place that are really strong
066are different ways that we can approach students with curriculum. We have social emotional type things like PBIS as examples. Um I know at the elementary levels they teach even the youngest students how to be aware of their emotions, how to respond to their emotions, how to speak about their emotions. But, at the highest level and the strategic level, I think it's really important to track and keep a pulse on what the needs of the students are. Are we noticing that the interventions that we're giving for students as it relates to behavior, mental health, um are hitting the mark and where do we need to deploy more resources? And I really think that the goal of a school should be to offer what they can in the classroom within the bounds of what the teacher and
067staff expertise is, but also to be a advocate or a bridge for families to other resources. As Jesse mentioned, we have the student family assistance program that I think is a great resource that the board continues to build into the budget to offer to families that allows families to access more targeted resources and more targeted expertise for a student's needs. And if we continue to keep an eye on that, we will be able to support those students. Phil. Um So, as you as been said, there's uh a lot of programs out there already. Um I would like to see see those brought out in the open. Um I'll just say about 2 years ago I lost somebody um, very close to both my sons. It was my my um, wife's aunt. She was a big
068part of their life. Um, she actually worked at Edgerton as a a recess and and lunch lady. Um, very very well-liked and um, when she died it was pretty quick. And um, had I known those programs existed I would have 1,000% put my kids uh, into some therapy cuz it didn't really hit them hard. Um, it was the first time somebody in their It was the first time anything they ever knew died and it would happen to be uh, a family member that was they were really close with. So, um, to shine a light on those programs, let people know they're out there. And uh, and and don't be ashamed to use them cuz they do help. Rachel. Um, I don't want to parrot everything um, Jesse, Cassie, and Joe said, but yes to everything.
069Um, there are some really great programs. I've know I know we utilize them with my own uh, children. Now, hearing from Joe, that's something I'd love to make sure that we do, that we advocate from all platforms that these programs are available. Um, the mental health of students is of utmost um, importance to me. When that need is not met, they cannot function, let alone function on something rigorous. So, supporting a student where they're at is so important. I think I just want to add um, that being a role model of our vision about advancement, belonging, and courage is something that I can personally do. Um, as a board uh, representative, I can care. Um, I can advocate. Um, I also can listen to some parents' complaints about bullying and what may lead to um,
070a mental health crisis for their child. And advocate and ask questions and make sure that we are addressing that. Cassie, you go first this time, right? Yes. Okay. Um, describe the role parents should play >> He didn't He didn't get to answer. >> I'm sorry. No, it's okay. I thought it was common [laughter] I think I missed >> I wanted to make sure Cassie got to go first and Don said everything last. Um, well, first of all, um, it's a very personal thing to me because that's how I spent my career. My my 34 years in education, 31 were spent as a counselor advisor at the tech college system level. And in that, working with students, we dealt with a lot of mental health issues with students of all different ages, of all different backgrounds.
071The key was being trained sufficiently to be able to handle the issues. So, one of the big things I'd want to um, work with the the administrators to find out have the have the counselors been trained in it at all the different schools? Do they have the time necessary to deal with those issues? It's it can be very difficult when you're dealing with all the other academic things you must deal with. And what are the ratios like in terms of the counselors to students? If there's more mental health issues being noticed, do ratios have to be adjusted? And last, um, the student assistance program that was talked about, yes, I think that's a huge part of uh, myself as a counselor or any other counselor, there comes a point where you realize that you're beyond
072what you can handle. And is there a referral mechanism for parents and for students that they can go and that you support and have a connection with? Now, Cassie, you go first for the next one. Thank you, Don, and I apologize. Uh, the next question is describe the role parents should play in determining the school curriculum. All right. So, parents are a stakeholder in this community just like many other stakeholders and they, just like anyone else, should have access to, in advance of a curriculum being adopted, um, what what the curriculum is, what the goals of the curriculum are, what the reason for the update is, and be allowed an opportunity to review it, to be involved if it's a major overhaul of a curriculum, sometimes policy requires [snorts] even more involvement than just that
073and obviously we should adhere to that. But if it's the adoption of a new uh, resource, let's say, if the parent is paying is following board meetings, following agendas, and is aware that this will be coming and they say, "You know what, I would like to review this. I would like to um, have a perspective." I think that is something that is really important for the district and the board to allow. For a couple of reasons. When families feel engaged with the community, they are going in the district and the and the curriculum, they are going to support their students better, which makes the students' experience better. It gives the teachers better partners to support those students as well in the classroom. And it's just a key way to build trust and build a bridge.
074A lot of the times, that is all families want is the ability to have access if they want it. And I think that we should allow parents to feel engaged and to be given opportunities um, to at least be informed. Don. What should they play? Um, I encourage in in any facet of life uh, engagement um, in this particular instance it would be parental engagement with the board. Um, >> [clears throat] >> if you come to a meeting and they allow comments and what or [snorts] you have questions, you can email the board. I would say everything you can do if you're interested. Um, the last time they did it a curriculum change uh, uh, my kids at Edgerton, they actually held a I don't know, like a forum or whatever. We went there and
075they had all the um, all the new materials, they had the old stuff, they had people come in explaining what they were swapping to. I was gobsmacked that they weren't teaching phonics cuz I remember in the '80s when they did went away from it and I'm like, "Do you not remember Hooked on Phonics and how we all couldn't read?" But uh, so, um, so if for whatever reason there's a curriculum change and and um, I would 1,000% you know, push for let's get that same kind of a scenario where they come in and um, present them with all the information and and so they can make an informed, you know, you know, in their mind make an informed decision, come up with, you know, questions pertinent to them and and then a listen to and
076address those questions and concerns. Rachel. So, we use a continuous improvement family engagement rubric and on that rubric, you a district can get the highest score for family engagement if families are involved in the planning of a new initiative. In the planning phase, a lot of times >> [snorts] >> um, school districts uh, include parents at the end. Say, "Here's what we've adopted, take a look at it." What I do personally believe is that absolutely let's bring families in on all parts of that uh, process of adopting a new curriculum. Bring them into the planning. When we go to pilot a new curriculum, leave the curriculum in the office so that parents can come in, check it out. Um, make sure our C&I director is available for questions. Once it goes into the hands of
077the teachers, that's where you want the teachers to take that curriculum, run with it, become expert implementers in that curriculum, and then still of course uh, >> [clears throat] >> partner with families on how well their students are engaging with the curriculum. But I really believe that this part of adoption can be a a process where parents are involved in every step. Don. Uh, two things, transparency and buy-in are huge. Um, the more transparent you can be, the better. Um, for instance, tonight's meeting. Um, it's no one's fault, but I was very disappointed in the window that it wasn't mentioned. This meeting, this forum was not mentioned. So, I came and I stopped in and there were reasons for it, no one's to blame. But that's a great example of that Wit no window, ever
078since I've been part of this district, I've been so impressed when it's sent out. And there's a great example of where updates could be put. If there is a major change, people are encouraged, "The next meeting we're going to discuss this. Please attend. We would like your input on this." So that the again, the parents feel they're being communicated communicated to as best they can and they at least have an opportunity to be heard on it. In the end, like I said before, I trust the experts and the data behind it, but if you don't have buy-in and especially if you don't have transparency, it just creates lack of trust and that's the last thing you want. Cassie. I think it really comes down to communication to start. Um, you know when you're going to
079start looking at the curriculum and changing it. When you know for sure that you're going to do that, that's when you want to start informing parents, saying, "This is what we're looking at." Now, the level of parent involvement, I agree that they should be involved, but me being involved, having no educational background other than helping my kids go through the materials, is I I wouldn't want my opinion on, "This is the best curriculum for our kids overall because it meets these things." I I'm going to want to have some expert buy-in. So, really what I want to see from parents is, "What is important to you? Um, what are some of the struggles you're seeing with your kids in some sort of survey cuz that can give us that information. And then what you can
080do is take that information and apply it to when you're looking at what curriculum you're going to select. So, when we did this a couple years ago, there were a few options and our professional said, "Here are some of the options we didn't even consider because they don't hit these marks." So, that's where I'm trusting the professionals to do that. Do I agree that parents should be able to come in and see what it looks like and get a sample of it? Absolutely. But, I think that's that's where we have that combination of okay, that's the parent involvement and then we leave the rest up to the experts. We will have time for one more question and then we're going to go to a minute closing remarks. So, Joe, you get the last question first
081and that question is, "What ideas do you have to ensure all students at Whitnall feel welcome and included?" Welcome and included. I would say um broad brushing here from my personal experience that there's a fair amount of that that goes on already. Um when my first son first came in um you know, into the kindergarten, we got involved with the PTO and everybody was very kind and wanted to meet and then and >> [clears throat] >> very engaged in the new families and um I would encourage that, obviously. Um as far as students being welcomed and included, if there is any kind of issue with a child um maybe they're scared. Um maybe they lash out, maybe however that works. Um that's back to the the mental health, you know, programs that we have. Um
082to help those kids. Um again, at Edgerton, they do all kinds of fun stuff and um if you get more parental engagement on those types of things, too, like doing the dances, getting involved in the PTO, getting involved in the the Cub Scouts. Um you know, and encouraging the kids to get in the sports when they're in the the older grades and and things. Um it becomes a very welcoming the situation, you know, it becomes a very welcoming place and you just want to make sure that those types of things are going on and if you're if you have a new if teachers or princi- Thank you. Can you repeat that, please? Um what ideas do you have to ensure that all students at Whitnall feel welcome and included? So, currently, I think it's um
083just been the last few years, our staff does a student survey and then they bring um the survey results to the board. Um when we're hearing those survey results, asking those thoughtful questions like, "Why are we seeing this number? What action has been put in place to help improve this number?" It's a place where I can make sure that um I'm helping be a voice for students and belonging immediately. I think I would love to see even more um strategic focus around that from especially the middle school and the high school by um looking at having some we call it empathy interviews with student groups, maybe student groups that are constantly saying on the survey, "I don't feel like I belong." Meet with them, find out get their voice. Whose voice is not at the
084table that we need to bring to the table? And then when we hear the concern, put a plan into action to change that. We did have we did hear from the schools that they're doing some of this already. Um but, I would again encourage to get even down to the granular level, what patterns are we seeing? How can we address this? And then again, also model. Be someone who is inclusive as a person and promote belonging [clears throat] within my own community. Done. Celebrating successes whenever you get a chance, whatever that may be. Whether it's through some of the PTO activities, the knowledge-a-thon or dances or whatever it could be, but celebrating with all students and especially when there's different achievements. As an example, the board meeting the other evening, they were talking about a
085walk of champions that they had and I thought for sure that meant athletics. Well, it had to be the wrestlers, it had to be the swim team. But, for the mock trial people to say that they got to be [clears throat] part of that, I have never seen that before and I thought that's a great example of extending to [clears throat] all facets of a school, not just sports, but everything that people are involved in and celebrating it whenever you get a chance. Jesse. I actually think that Whitnall does a really good job of this and some of the examples of that are you look at the elementary schools, uh all the kids have to work together to earn what are called Falcon feathers at uh Hales Corners Elementary and you earn enough of those,
086your class can get a pizza party or there is a cart that comes around and you can cash in your Falcon feathers for a prize. And everybody gets something from that. And you really want to work together to be the best class you can be, to beat the other classes. So, it it is a a huge thing that uh I am proud of that my kids went through that and they enjoyed doing that. Um another piece of it is really uh when it comes to incoming sixth graders and having their own day and making sure that they can acclimate to the middle school and go through and see all the things that are new to them and understand where their locker is and how to get places on time. Same thing with incoming freshman that
087are going into the high school. And then another piece of it is the Veterans Day at the middle school. All the kids absolutely love when the veterans come in. They have lunches with them once a month and it brings all the kids together. They put all of whatever else is going on aside just to ask these people questions and it's mutually beneficial because it engages with the community as well. So, I think if we keep doing activities like that and expanding upon those things, we'll be in a really good place. Jesse. I think that Whitnall is in a really good place growth-wise as it relates to culture and I think that culture can be the cornerstone for every student to be feel involved and feel like they belong. And what I mean by that is
088part of my day job is I actually think about culture and being intentional about it and I'm really proud of some of the work that's been done recently here at Whitnall around intentionally deciding what Whitnall's culture should be and then putting the things in place to achieve that and then keeping a pulse on it by doing surveys and by asking students what they need to belong or what makes them feel like they belong. Another area that I think that we can as a board drive this is through the strategic plan. There are engagement pieces built into our pillars in the strategic plan and at one board meeting when we were talking about it, I actually floated an idea of a goal around students being involved in something. What gets measured gets done and if we
089you don't want to force students, obviously, but sometimes a little extra nudge or encouragement for a student to join something is a really great way for them to find their strength and find their place and Whitnall has a wide variety of opportunities for clubs and activities and things where kids can belong. And so, I think if we really are intentional about building an ecosystem with very clear expectations and high standards and intentionality around culture, we can really drive every student's feelings of belonging in a positive way. Thank you. We have 1 minute each for closing remarks and we will begin with Rachel. I'm flight. Okay. Whitnall is on a strong path but strong systems require steady leadership. I bring experience, a real-time connection to the work and a clear focus on student growth and continuous
090improvement. I'm committed to making thoughtful, informed decisions that support every student, our staff, and our community. I would be honored to earn earn your vote on April 7th. I would also be honored to earn your vote on April 7th. Um in my 34 years of education, uh the vast majority again spent in the Wisconsin Technical College System, I served on numerous assessment and curriculum [clears throat] committees and would love to provide and share that experience with the board as we look to Whitnall's future. And that is my biggest concern in lieu of some of the things I brought up this evening is how to position Whitnall in in as a district of excellence, as a district of first choice in lieu of some of the things that are happening around the state and happening within
091the district and looks like we'll continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Thank you. Starting my career on the school board in the middle of a pandemic. If that's not trial by fire, I don't know what it possibly is. During that [snorts] time, we as a district learned a lot about remote work and what's best for our kids and how our kids learn best. And I'm happy to have been a part of that. And now that we're in normal time, I'm happy to say that I have been able to lead this district as the president of the school board for the past year and I'm very proud of that. I have a resume over the past 6 years. Every board meeting is recorded. Every decision I ever made is there. Um it's available to
092you. If you have questions about it, please come to me and ask, but I think I've been pretty transparent about it. I really want to focus on our strategic plan and the referendum that we have in place and see those through. Make sure that they're successful. Make sure that the referendum is on time, on budget, and delivers what we promised. And I just really want to do what's best for our kids. So I'd appreciate your vote on April 7th. Thank you. Cassie. I'm proud of the work of my first term and proud of Whitnall's momentum. As we've talked about tonight, we're on really positive trajectory. We're raising the bar on achievement, on rigor, and readiness to continue advancing proficiency across the district. We've strengthened culture, we've strengthened engagement. We passed balanced budgets and we would
093deliver a return on investment to our taxpayers. And these results didn't happen by accident. They've been set in motion over the past few years by steady leadership, data-driven decision-making, and a collaborative board that puts students first. I'm proud of my role in accelerating our momentum and there's more work to do and I ask for your vote to continue to do it. I commit to supporting many investments in instruction, college and career readiness, and opportunities for all of our students. And I commit to serving with leadership and professionalism. Please re-elect me, Cassie Rayner, and vote before or on April 7th. No? Again, um I'm running for my my sons. Um because and I said this last year, the the world's not mine anymore. It hasn't been for a number of years. Um the world is theirs.
094But we need to make sure that there's something there for them. They need to have every opportunity in the world by the time they get through high school, be it college, trade schools, again, military service. Um Did a world of good for me. And uh if elected, I will bring um 20-plus years of expertise in a managerial role where I dealt with, you know, again, budgets, million-dollar budgets, capital projects. Because I would like to see the referendum um be complete and on time, on budget, and get everything they get in a crazy world where costs are up or down. Um and I will be singularly focused to make sure that every single student feels safe, is safe. Thank you. The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County reminds you that our democracy depends on citizen
095involvement. The statewide turnout last year at the primaries was 62% of the voting age population. So talk it up. Primary elections, local elections are important. Thank you to our candidates for running for political office and for participating in this forum. Thank you to all of you who are attending and to the videographer who is hopefully transmitting this to many more people. So Thank you very much. Thank you to the candidates. >> Thank you.