001Good evening everyone. My name is Welcome to the candidates forum for Whitnell School Board sponsored by the Whitnell High School Student Council. My name is Kay Vance. I will be your forum moderator. I'm joined by other volunteers from the League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County and student volunteers from Whitnell High School who will help run tonight's forum. It is really gratifying to see high school students engaged in this local democracy. The League of Women Voters of Milwaukee County is a nonprofit nonpartisan grassroots 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 all for taking the time to learn about the candidates. Election day is April 1, and with proper
002documentation, you may still register when you go to vote. In-person absentee voting has begun today and runs through March 28th. You may request an absentee ballot online at the state-run website myvote.wi.gov. And you can find job descriptions of elected officers and other candidate information on vote411.org which is run by the National League of Women Voters and with help from the local leagues. And I'm happy to say all four candidates answered the questions and uh they appear online at vote411.org. We have information on the election and register to vote. Um I'm not sure I'll back back door there. And um if you have a question for tonight's forum, please write it on the cards and pass it to our volunteers. And I'm going to say again though, we did get a whole lot of questions on
003through the online portal. Questions um cannot be directed at just one candidate. Every question will go to all candidates and we will focus on questions pertinent to the elected office. We often receive duplicate questions which we sort by category and so we may combine questions to reward for brevity or to improve clarity. 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. Today's candidate forum will be recorded in its entirety and available for listening on the Whitnell District channel on YouTube. There are there are four candidates seeking election to two seats on the school board and all of them are here tonight. Um Jason Craig, Alicia Shaw, um Karen Mikol Lionus,
004Mikol Linus, Jace, and Joseph Herkman. And I think that's it. So um candidates have chosen to be addressed by their first names and we will begin with 90 second opening statements from the candidates followed by questions with 90 seconds allowed for each answer and three minute closing remarks. The candidates drew numbers to determine the order of speaking. The order of first response to a question will rotate among the candidates. our timer, who are members of the student council, 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 time and forum opportunity. We're going to begin with opening statements in 90 seconds or less. Tell us why you are running for office.
005Again, our timer will let you know when you have 30 seconds remaining and when you must stop. We will begin with Jason. Thank you. Um, my name is Jason Craig. I am currently on the Whitnol School Board. I serve as the board clerk. Um, I am a second generation Falcon. I have two students. One is a junior at the high school. One is a seventh grader at the middle school. and they will both be Whitnell graduates as well, being the third generation Whitnell graduates through my family. As far as the why, um, it's it's easy to say the why today, but I think what is really important is to build context as to how we got here. So, three years ago, I was elevated from being a school board candidate to a school board member.
006And leading up to that, why did I come into this role? Um, well, we were looking at six years of subpar uh student achievement. We had a high turnover rate as far as our educators go. We had a culture that really needed to be realigned. Um, in the three years I have been on the board, we have seen student outcome uh in increase every single year. We have seen a lot of uh work being done to address the compensation model for our teachers and we have a new superintendent that is leading our district. Um I think that we have a great we have a great future and I and I want to continue that moving forward. Alicia. Hi, I'm Alicia Shaw. Um I am a mom in the community. I have three kids in the
007Whitell school district. I have two in the high school right now and one who's a fourth grader at HCE. Um I've been involved with the district since we moved here in 2015. I've been involved with HCPTO, the Whitnell Middle School PTO, um as well as numerous other volunteer activities. Um I'm a veteran. I served in the military for eight years and uh served in Afghanistan in 2003. I'm uh experienced and qualified. I work as a quality improvement professional at a hospital. So I am a performance improvement coordinator. Um I'm experienced with data with metrics and goal setting. I'm also experienced with um collaboration. And what I've seen um on the board is a need for more collaboration um more accountability and transparency. And um I think that I can bring that to the district. Um
008I care about students. I care about all those uh our values, our mission, our purpose over there on the wall. I think that all kids deserve to have access to the resources they need to succeed. Um and I think that I can help our board to continue to grow and serve and be better. Karen. All right. Hi everybody. My name is Kieran Molinus. I'm a current Whitel School Board member and I serve as the board treasurer and finance and facilities committee chair. I'm really excited to be here tonight and talk with you because I think that Whitnell has a very bright future and the work that the board has been doing particularly in the past year is setting us on a great new path forward. The community has shown trust in us by passing the
009$79.1 million referendum to improve our schools, improve our science classrooms, build a new pool for our students, and really make our buildings up to-date and um and and welcoming and nice spaces to learn. Um we have a great new leader and our new superintendent, Dr. Brady Ranki, who's been very wellreceived in the community. I hope you've had a chance to meet him and get to know him a little bit um if not in person through the Whitnell window and um we are poised for greatness. So the vision for Whitnell is to become a top school district in our region and in our state and to see our students achieve and have amazing opportunities to learn and grow no matter what path they take. I feel that our board has we've been through some rough patches,
010but we're doing some great work together now and we have terrific momentum forward. So, I'm really looking forward to spending the future as a member of the team. Thank you, Joseph. Joseph Herman. I am a Hills corner resident of 12 years now. Um when my wife and I moved here to start a family, yeah, a good portion of that region was in the school district. um Navy vet 1998 to 2004. Um following that I got into my professional background is in maintenance technical services and for the last 10 odd years it's been as a manager. Um more importantly than any of that I'm a father to two beautiful young boys that are over at Edton Elementary. Um and it's for them that I'm running for the board. I saw in the last few years a
011lot of uh bumpy road situations and I decided that it was time for a nonpartisan voice to come to the board and that's me. So I bring uh a lot of knowledge when it comes to budgetary concerns being involved in a lot of capital projects in my professional life. Uh, I have operational budgets I have to deal with and I think that the board could use someone like that. So once again, that's why I'm here. Okay. Thank you. Now we begin with the questions that have been submitted by the constituents. The timer will let you know when you have 30 seconds remaining and when you must stop. We will begin with Alicia. And the first question is, what do you believe are the top challenges facing Whitinal Schools? right now and what are your solutions?
012All right. Um, well, I think some of the challenges are um kind of some of the things that have been brought up with um continuing to improve. So, we just got our referendum passed. Um, and so we're definitely going to need to focus on being financially responsible to our taxpayers in the district. um making sure to be fiscally responsible. Um and then with coming off of COVID, we have seen an increase in in results for student achievement and um really looking at some of that data. Um we have a newer curriculum where we started working with phonics now in the elementary school um and both elementary schools, I'm sorry. And um we're starting to get some data back on how that's working. So, I say that we look at this feedback that we're receiving. We
013listen to the community. We listen to all the stakeholders and um and really identify those opportunities for what's working, what we can continue to improve and grow um and which direction we need to focus on. So, okay. Karen, would you repeat the question, please? Sure. What do you believe are the top challenges facing our schools right now and what are your solutions? Okay. So, Whitnell does face some challenges. Um, but they are exciting challenges. Um, I agree with Alicia that we do have a really exciting opportunity with this referendum. At the same time, the referendum, it's a lot of money and it's a lot of work. And so, it's going to be very important that we don't lose sight of our core responsibility of educating students while the referendum is underway. Um, we need to
014make sure that our leadership can manage a huge building project as well as going for student achievement and excellence. We need to make sure that we are giving value for the money to our stakeholders, our investors who are giving this $79.1 million that our results reflect that quality. Um, academic achievement matters. I would really like to see Whitnell work on its early reading proficiency, but also our proficiency in the high school. There is room for growth. We are making strides. It doesn't happen overnight, but we need a laser focus on student achievement and helping our students achieve their career and college readiness. Finally, a culture of excellence. It is so very important that we appreciate our teachers and that they feel valued and heard. And so it's very important that we focus on retaining our
015teachers, appreciating them, and giving them the tools that they need and the um appreciation that they so very much deserve. Okay, Joseph, it's going to sound like I'm paring a little bit, but uh for me it would be the uh fiscal responsibility as stated earlier because of the referendum and the amount of work that needs to be done, the construction um which is going to invariably have to happen while you know schools in session. So, how do you work around the kids and making sure that you're not interfering you know causing distraction or anything of that nature? um the monetary end of it. You have to be very careful with how you do things, draw the money so you don't pay interest and um things of that nature. Then teacher retention also um you know
016the there was a a time where the turnover was rather high and it has dropped but uh we've lost a lot of really good people the last couple years. So, you know, you got to look at conversation packages, why people leave, right? Conversation packages. Do they feel like it's a good environment? Is there growth opportunity? Um, and we need to really listen to what our teachers have to say, what their concerns are, and then deal with that. Make a plan and execute. Um, that' be it for me. Okay. Thank you, Jason. Um, I think one of our challenges, our biggest challenge is going to has been and will always be our student achievement. What are our kids being able to demonstrate that we've been able to teach them and being able to come away with
017workable, usable skills? Um, I think that that is the number one thing and I think that will always be the number one thing regardless of what is if there's a referendum, if there's not a referendum. Um, how are we going to get there? I think it all begins and ends with um the leadership being able to inspire and give direction for our frontline employees and being able to give empower them with the ability to teach in a manner that is able to connect with kids and that's going to be the biggest challenge. I think though that with the with our new superintendent, with our new director of curriculum and instruction, I think we have solid individuals that have a fresh perspective uh to be able to to give us that sort of gateway for our
018teachers to do great things with our kids here at Whittel. Okay. Thank you. Uh Karen, how would you prioritize teacher pay and professional development in the district's budget? Well, most of our budget does go towards salary and benefits for our staff and so it is very important that we that we compensate to the best of our ability. There's things that we can do to make Whitnell very attractive as an employer. I think that first comes with how well we treat our employees. Um, having that culture of excellence and having that culture of respect for our teachers as leaders in our community is extremely important. Feeling like we're investing in our teachers through professional development, that we care about them, that we care about their um content and subject matter. We want our teachers to be
019great at their subject matter. Um, so it's it's a very high priority. Um there's things that we can do in terms of uh things like how we do health care, how we do benefits, and then but a very big part of it is how we appreciate and acknowledge our teachers and create this team environment and let teachers know that they are respected, loved, cared for, and that we listen to them and that we take their needs into account and that they are um partners and and leaders in the work that we do. I think there's been some very good work that we've done listening to teachers with building leadership committees and things like that. And so I think we're on the right path forward with with that right path forward with that and that we
020can um continue in those areas. I'm really excited to see what we can do. Okay. Joseph, would you care to repeat that please? How would you prioritize teacher pay and professional development in the district's budget? Okay. Um well, you would have to if you're talking about I don't know what you're priority prioritizing against, but it would it would be a very high priority of mine um to take a look at the budget and see what we can do because again um keeping quality people generally speaking you you have to compensate them properly. Now that like that might be uh pay but it's also whatever benefits package like health insurance and things of that nature. Um, you also have you have to listen to their concerns, respect them, let them know. Um, because again, one of
021the one of the ways you'll lose people. Um, is if you are not listening to and then addressing their concerns. Um, typically speaking, if you just, oh, we'll deal with it. Oh, we'll deal with it. We'll put a pin in it. We'll put a pin in it. We'll get back to it. And you never change anything, you will lose those people. Okay, thank you Jason. Um, a lot of this has already been addressed and is continually continuing through conversations with our leadership teams. Uh, we have a item that we are moving forward with to increase our teacher compensation. that is part of the budgetary thing and we already know that over half of our budget goes towards uh salary compensation. Um so it isn't something that is minimized or something that is um you know
022taken for granted. We know that it's a big part of what we do. Um I think the the bigger the bigger question and I think that it's being addressed is in that professional development space that it's not just collecting the check. It is where do you want to go? Where do you how do you want to grow? What what's your over what is the teacher's overall goal to be a content leader to be a thought um thought leader within that space? to be a coach. Like what what where where do they want to go and how can we as a district position those educators in a in a way that they're able to fulfill their goals and by proxy uh in increase their their salary in the long run. Okay. Thank you. Next question uh
023starts with I didn't get to answer that one. Oh, sorry. No worries. Alicia. Sure. Okay. Um I think one thing that we can do as a board um is also be advocates. I think we can advocate at the state level um for our state budget to keep up with appropriate school funding. Um it is uh it hasn't kept up with inflation. Um there's been many other barriers in the way and is something as a school board that we can be more involved in. Um so we can be advocate advocates for our school. Um, and then in addition to what everybody else is also kind of saying, um, I know from attending schoolboard meetings that the budget, um, the operational budget is what we pay our staff with. And, um, I know that that just this
024fall, wasn't it in September? You guys just looked at that and that is a huge part of the budget and it is something that the board discusses every year. Um, it's definitely a priority. Um, we recently just got results from our employee engagement survey. Uh, and I think really showing that we're listening to what the teachers and staff are saying also shows how we value them. So, helping them to feel valued that we're listening, we're following through. We're like asking them what's important to them and then we're actually following through and and doing some of these things. So, be it professional development or if there's other things that we can offer, I think we really need to look at what that um what those responses have um said, what the what the what the staff
025has said that they want in need. Okay. Thank you, Alicia. The next uh one goes to Joseph. Um do you believe there is a bullying problem in the Whitnell schools? And if so, is the administration acknowledging and addressing the issue appropriately? I wouldn't say it's something I believe it. I would say that you're going to get bullying wherever you are. Um, and I do believe it is addressed when when it is caught. So, as an example, when my eldest was in kindergarten, there was a a a kid that was bullying some people and uh one teacher ended up actually pulling their child out and putting him in a Lutheran school because of what was going on. And it was always after school and it was always almost always off school property. Um, but when it
026was seen and witnessed on school property on school time, um, I know for a fact that it was handled immediately. And, and what I would like to see in the future when you have situations like this is you need to take and find root cause analysis essentially of why this is going on. Bullies don't normally bully just because they're mean. There's usually something going on. So I think um people like the occupational therapists and the teachers need to get involved and it the root cause needs to be addressed and dealt with. Thank you Jason. We get detailed reports from our administration from a building viewpoint regarding bullying. Is there individual cases where kids pick on each other? Yes. Is there a systemic issue where it is a war zone in the classrooms? I do not
027believe there is. I think that our administration at the building level is very cognizant of this. They want to pro provide a a very safe environment for our kids at every at every building level, middle school, high school, and elementary. and they are very vigilant in terms of being able to see the signs and being able to put a stop to that at a very rapid response as as Joe said that when it's seen that is addressed almost instantly. So, I do not believe that there is a a systemic issue with bullying, but I think it's more of a question of kids just being children, but them needing to be educated on how to work with each other and how to treat each other properly. Okay. Thank you, Alicia. Sure. Um, I agree with what
028Joe said also about really identifying the causes. Um, I think too it's really important to build a culture of safety where students feel com comfortable um, speaking up and they know that they can go to the teachers or go to staff administrators and let them know when they're having problems and that then the staff that they go to are empowered to help them um, work through what their needs are. So we do we have um social workers, we have counselors, we have um psychologists on staff and I know that recently um those uh positions have actually been increased. So, we have them throughout the schools in the district. And I think that is a really important part of kids feeling safe um is to know that they have staff and these resources um that they
029can go to and talk to and that people are going to take them seriously and follow through and do something about it. So, I really think making sure that we're listening is probably the biggest thing that we can do is make sure that we're listening and we're being supportive and responsive so that kids feel that they can speak up. Okay. Thank you. Karen, can you repeat the question? Sure. Do you believe there is a bullying problem in the Whitnell schools? And if so, is the administration acknowledging and addressing the issue adequately? All right. Thank you. We get a report every year about bullying in our schools that goes that's reported to the state and so it's required by the state and so we look at that data every year and for it there's a very
030precise definition of bullying. So, the district does track um what is bullying in our district and the board reviews that every year. I think it is good though to talk about more of the day-to-day interactions between kids in schools that may not rise to this classic definition of bullying and an imbalance of power, but talk about a culture of kindness and responsibility in our schools. Um I used to work on the Edertton playground. Um, and so there's a mural at Edertton that I love that talks about being the kind kid. You know, you might not be the fastest runner. You may not be the one getting the best grades in the class, but you can always be the kind kid. And I want to thank our PTOs um that have done some good things like
031assemblies on kindness and respect and how we treat each other. Um, bullying is very serious. Um, it's important for us and it's important for our building leaders to look at that. Um, I do think that, uh, I've worked with a school psychologist who would do things like run a little lunch club when there's, um, kids that are not getting along and just kind of work on those social skills with kids. Um, we need to look at cyber bullying as well. Um, and we need to look at use of phones. And so, I think it's really important for parents to be involved in these conversations in terms of prevention and that schools and parents have open communication when problems arise. Thank you. Uh the next question goes first to Jason and it is as a board
032member, how would you enforce transparency, accessibility, and access to parents, teachers, and the community? Um, in what regard? Like it I I um I'm okay, I'll just repeat it. It's about transparency and accessibility and it's about how would you ensure accessibility to parents to the staff and to the community as a board member. So I am uh I have seen a lot in my time. Um and I have been contacted by members of the community, by staff. Um I do not think that there is an issue with an opakeness from the board. Um, our emails are visible and present for all. Phone numbers are not a a secret. Anyone and everyone can reach out and call. Anyone and everyone can reach out and email and let their concerns, their problems be aired out. And that
033is something that continues to this day. And there's no barrier of entry as far as that goes. Okay. Alicia, do you want me to repeat it? Sure. Thanks. Okay. How would you as a board member ensure transparency and accessibility to teachers to to the community and to parents? I think number one is being honest, open, and transparent. Um, so as board members, um, making sure that when we're discussing potential policies or any issues that have to do with the school that we're doing it in these open forum type sessions. Um, making sure that our communication um, is getting out there. We have the Whitel window which is sent to all community members, but you know, perhaps there's other opportunities to have listening sessions or other ways to engage the community. I know with working on
034the strategic plan, there was just um a session recently involving the community. I know when we were working on passing the referendum, we had community listening sessions and it seemed like we had really good turnout. So maybe there's more opportunity to have the community and parents be involved directly and to actually hear from them and what they need and want or even what the best way to communicate with them is. Like yes, we send emails, yes, we send the winner window. um are those the best ways to reach people? So, um you know, like Jason mentioned, um our emails or board members emails and phone numbers are on the website, but not everybody uses the internet or social media. So, perhaps there's other ways that we can do a better job of reaching everybody and
035helping them feel included in um and being heard. Okay. Thank you, Karen. Can I hear the question? Yeah. One more time, please. Yeah. Okay. Uh, I might be switching the words around a little bit, but it means the same thing. Um, how would you ensure transpar transparency and accessibility as a board member to parents, to staff members, and to the community? All right. Thank you. So, parent community and staff involvement is great and I encourage it. I think that a lot of times when we're at board meetings, it feels kind of lonely because there's not a lot of people showing up, but you're always welcome to come to a board meeting. You're always welcome to give input via emails, phone calls, things like that. Um, please feel welcome to approach the schools. Um, we are
036here to serve the community. We're public schools. We're owned by the community. We're a valuable part of the community. Um, my phone number is 414-5250813 if you'd like to discuss anything. I really pride myself on having open communication with stakeholders and residents. I think that um a large part of a board member's job is to listen to what the community wants. Um the district has some things like that formalized. There's been great um collaborative uh efforts for the referendum for the strategic planning. there were about 75 people who came to the recent strategic planning session um to give input into our next three to five years going forward. And so that listening is so very important. Um we have things like things are accessible to the community when we uh adopt a new curriculum. It's
037available for review and there are great communication vehicles like the Whitel window. Communication, two-way communication is a responsibility of the board and it is an area where we can constantly work on improvement. Okay. Thank you, Joseph. I will say it again for you. Thank you. Um, how would you as a board member ensure transparency and accessibility to parents, to teachers and staff, and to the community? Uh well again I I don't know that there is a big problem with that currently. Um my main thing for that would be to encourage uh not just parent involvement but community involvement. I've I've been to several PTO meetings these last few weeks and a few things and it always and board meetings and it seems like you said a little bit empty at times. Um, so yeah, if
038somebody wants to communicate with the board, you know, again, everything that's been said, you know, the emails are there, the phone numbers are out in the open, the windows there, and I would very much encourage everyone to come to to every meeting and and let their voice be heard and see what it is that we're doing. Okay. Thank you. The next question uh goes to Alicia. First, describe your position on open enrollment during times of declining resident enrollment. Should we increase open enrollment in order to fill existing class sections? Why or why not? I think open enrollment is a good thing and it's not been um an issue. Every year the board discusses what the numbers are going to be and we actually don't even fill those numbers. So this year, open enrollment brought almost
039$4 million into our school district. Um in addition to bringing those financial resources, um it allows us to offer more um class electives, especially at the senior level. Um it helps us to retain staff by keeping class sizes consistent um throughout the years. And um ultimately it it just builds us up. shows that kids, it shows that families want their kids to come here. It shows that we have something great to offer. Um, sometimes families have to move out of district for some reason. And I think we also need to accommodate. You know, my daughter tonight when I was preparing for this, she's like, "My best friend wouldn't be able to go here if we didn't have open enrollment mom." And I'm like, "Right, because they started in the district and then they moved." So,
040stuff happens with families. And I think it is the right thing to do to allow students that start in the district to be able to continue in the district. Ultimately, it is a really good thing for our district. Um, we have not come anywhere near close to even the number that we have determined is allowable. Um, and so I don't think that we need to go down and I think it's something we need to continue to encourage. Okay, Karen. All right. So open enrollment right now is a significant part of how our district has students. Um over the years the number of children it residing in the district has trended down and the district has compensated by increasing our open enrollment seats available. Um that works just fine and I think that it's overall been
041a net positive for the district. There are a couple concerns and when we do open enrollment I want to make sure that we do it right. Um first of all I think that it's very important that we have reasonable class sizes. Some people may disagree on me but I do not I do not like the idea of just packing the classes to the max. I think that if we appreciate our teachers giving the teachers a reasonable number of students to work with. So I don't feel like every single class has to be packed super full. Um, I don't want to look at children just as the dollars that they bring into the district. I think that that's wrong. And we want to make sure that when open enrollment children enter our district that they're fully
042welcomed and that they're they are treated just as a Whitnell student that their families are involved and communicated with um and brought into the Whitnull community. So, we want to make sure that all students at Whitnell are being given the academic opportunities and getting the academic success. And I just never want to get the impression that we are that a student is just a dollar figure. Okay. Joseph, do you want me to repeat the question? Sure. Describe your position on open enrollment. During times of declining resident enrollment, should we increase open enrollment in order to fill existing class sections? Why or why not? Uh I would say as far as open enrollment is concerned when it was described to me when I first started to look into this uh we need to have 200 kids
043per grade in the high schools to maintain our staffing levels and the electives that uh we offer. And to me that's that's it. If we need 200 students to maintain staffing levels and to maintain those electives, those opportunities for our kids, then we need to see make sure that we have 200 students in the school. Did I cut you off a little bit, but that's okay. Okay, Jason. Um, I think that uh I echo a little bit of what Karen has to say is that these kids are not dollar signs. These are kids that need education and they're coming here for a specific reason. Um my concern is for this the kids that require IEPs. Those kids if they are diagnosed as to needing an IEP are then to be returned to their home district
044where they are to be given the services in their home district. And that is a tough thing to have to tell a kid that they're going to have to leave because of the the additional services that are going to be put on them. That is not fair to that kid to be given that to be told you're going to come here and you're going to be a falcon and then because of that that they would have to return. And that's something that we have to examine as far as who's coming here as to why and the why. Are they coming here from West Alice, West Milwaukee because of location, because of friends that they've made, or as Alicia pointed out, were they had to move? Or is it because that they feel that they're going
045to get a better education at Whitnull because we have had a historically stronger special education program and they think that they might be able to get that special education program through basic services and not have to deal with the fact that they would have to return to their home district. I find that that would be very uh counterproductive for those students. Thank you. Okay. The next question goes first to Karen. Many school districts are facing increasing political polarization. How, as a board member, would you work with other board members to ensure that schools remain a place for learning and not a battleground for political ideologies on either side of the aisle? Sure. I think that our current board has an a mix of points of view and that when you have a mix of points
046of view, it enables better discussion and it a enables more robust conversations. Right now on our board we have a mix from conservative to very liberal and if we are focused on the children and on learning then we can do the work. Most of the work that happens at the school district is not very political in my opinion. Um, however, there are times when um, people are going to say that I've brought forward um, a political agenda. What I want to make known is that the things that I bring forward come directly from parent feedback. So when I bring forward an idea or a policy, something about a dress code, it's in response to parents asking for a dress code. When I bring forward something asking for um parental involvement, it comes from parents who
047are asking for more parental involvement. So it's not about bringing politics to the school board. But every single person who comes to the school board does have a point of view. Nobody comes to the school board to just be simply a yes person for the administration. We are elected to represent the community because precisely because we bring a point of view. Okay. Joseph, would you like me to read it? Sure. Many school districts are facing increasing political polarization. How, as a board member, would you work with other board members to ensure that schools remain a place for learning and not a battleground for political ideologies on either side of the aisle? Well, I think first and foremost, um, and something I'm running on is being a nonpartisan voice. Um, personal politics don't belong on a
048board. They don't belong in a lot of places. Um, generally speaking, when people bring personal politics into a situation, it things tend to get heated and I think people need to step back from that um, and look at what's really important and that is the kids and their goal should be educating the children, not worrying about politics or letting your politics drive what it is you're doing. It shouldn't be I believe this so we need to do this. It should be this is going this whatever situation or policy I'm going to bring is going to help children. It and again I it's about helping kids. It's not about personal politics. And the flip side to that is um I can work with anybody. Personal politics aside, it does not matter. I don't care what you
049are. If we have a shared goal, we will achieve that goal through hard work. Okay. Not through politics. Thank you. Um Jason, this position on its own is a political position. It is an elected position. Everyone has their own viewpoints. Everyone has their own belief system. Um whether it's a religious viewpoint, whether it is a political viewpoint, everyone has their own personal biases and it's through that and that shared values with an electorate that says whether or not you would you you uh gain a seat or you do not. And it's only with the shared values that allows you to become elected. Now is that something where can someone then you know kind of not not be forthcoming and say yes I am this and and then be elected and do something completely different that's
050possible. It is, but at the end of the day, being true to your values and being true to who you are, um, that I think is not so much of a of a question of is this politicized. It is do you are are you true to yourself and are you true to what you have presented yourself to your to the public and what what you will do in the position as an elected official. Okay, Alisa, schoolboard positions are nonpartisan. Schoolboard positions are not political. So, yes, people may have their own personal politics that they follow or believe in, but that does not supersede the reason that we're here. So, we are here to serve the kids and do what is best for the district. I work in a professional organization. I work with people of
051different backgrounds, different perspectives, different beliefs, and we are all able to work together towards our common goal. That's what the school board should do. We don't need word for word policies copied off of partisan political pages brought to our school board. If it was truly coming from the community, then it needs to be built by the community. We have a policy site that our our board has access to and it's legally covered. We have Niola. If there is an issue with a policy, we need to go there first. That's how we're supported. That's what is evidence-based. That's what is best practice. So, I think that no, partisan politics do not have a place in our board. I think that we all have our own perspectives and we're going to bring our own lens and I
052think that makes us stronger because we're going to be able to see the bigger picture better. But it should not influence what I'm bringing to this board and saying is best to Whit for Whitnull. That needs to come from the community, the teachers, the administration, and the students. Jason, you get the first crack at the next question. Cool. Can No, not Jason. Joseph. Yes, ma'am. Got it. Joseph, you get the first question next. Can you identify one district policy you would like to improve and explain exactly how? Sorry. I don't know the United States call it a policy, but well, maybe it is. One of the things I'd like to see improved is safety because we have a there's policies in place to ensure the safety of our our students. Um, but I believe that
053those are always something that can continuously improve. Um, they did a fair amount of it with the referendum. Um, once all those things are in place, I'd like to set back, see where we're at, and identify any, we'll say, weak points and address those to make sure that our kids are safe from both inside and outside threats. Okay. Thank you. Now Jason, finally um there's a policy that I have I still have struggles with. Um that policy is about public comment during board meetings. Um I believe that it should not be confined to only agenda items. I think if you have something to say, you should be able to speak it to elected officials. Um, I have that also in we we deal with that at the Franklin Common Council where I serve as an
054alderman. There will be a a constituent that will be upset and want to say something that he's that he wants to let us know about and that's his right. Um, I think that that's very limiting for our our residents to not being able to express everything that they could possibly think of or there is a concern in that moment. And I would like to see that be something that that can be changed in the future. Thank you, Alicia. I'm obviously not as familiar with all the policies as I haven't been on the board. Um but um I do agree uh that getting that input is important um and and hearing what what is needed. So you know as Karen referred to people um wanting to weigh in on policies. Um, I think we do need
055to look at the data we have and the communication that we have and look at the policies that exist and are out there and determine are there there's thousands of policies on Niola. Am I right? Thousands. There's lots. So, um, I think that we could look within those policies and see like, are there other ones that would be applicable somehow? Is there something the staff is telling us? Is there something the community is telling us that they feel like we should be doing? And is there a policy out there that we could consider that would address that? Like, are we missing something um based on the feedback that we're getting? So, again, I think listening and and determining what policies are needed based on um really some of that analysis of the data that we
056have, right? Let's analyze the data. Let's look for opportunities. Let's see what the data is telling us. And if it is something about updating a policy or changing a policy, then let's look into what the options are for that. Okay. Thank you, Karen. So, this was a hard question. Um, and it took a minute for me to think of a few things, but I'll I'll share what I wrote down. So, my first thought was there might be an opportunity to simplify some of our our our policies. Um perhaps our board elections policy, our board um uh what is it? Our board officer elections policy. We've had some concerns around that in the past and just tightening up that procedure. Um there was um some major cheating that happened um about two years ago that was
057very problematic. So maybe that could be tightened up. And the one I'm going to say that's going to make me unpopular, and I'm willing to say it, is I think that our district should perhaps take a look at student cell phone usage. Knowing that cell phones are a major distraction to learning is a it's something worth discussing. Now, I think that that should be discussed with the whole community. I said it's not going to make me popular, but knowing that texting, that messaging, that Tik Tok, that videos, all these things can distract students, I think it's worth having a conversation. Okay, thank you. Sorry, students. Jason, uh, this is a long question and you're going first, so I'm I'm sure I'm going to have to repeat it. Okay. Um, some families feel that school policies
058don't represent their values, while others feel their children's identities and experiences aren't acknowledged. As a board member, you represent all families and beliefs. How would you balance these concerns when making decisions? What is your plan to ensure all students have access to highquality education regardless of background or abilities? Would you like me to read it again? Yeah. Okay. Um, some families feel that school policies do not represent their values while others feel their children's identities and experiences are not acknowledged. As a board member, you represent all families and beliefs. How would you balance these concerns when making decisions? What is your plan to ensure all students have access to highquality education regardless of background or abilities? I'm not sure the who is being excluded out of this. the question I don't know like who it
059addresses and what is the where's the barrier of entry that it it doesn't really kind of speak to that because I think we we do have a great deal of students with differentiating religious backgrounds and cultural backgrounds and they all have access to education. No one is being turned away because of their heritage. No one is being turned away because of the gods that they worship. That is not anything that is stopping any of our students from coming to into this building or any of the other buildings that we have as part of the district. Um and we offer education to every child that resides within this district. That is something that will continue to happen. So I'm I'm not really kind of sure as to what is the the who or the what that
060is not being given that chance and not being given the education that they that they deserve. Okay, Alicia, would you like me to repeat it? Sure. Some families feel that school policies don't represent their values, while others feel their children's identities and experiences are not being acknowledged. As a board member, you represent all families and beliefs. How would you balance these these parental concerns when making decisions? What is your plan to ensure that all students have access to highquality education regardless of their background or their abilities? Well, I think if we look at our perspectives and again on the wall, um our values, belonging, that's a huge one, right? So, kids need to feel like they belong in order to succeed here. Um, I think things that we can do to help uh help the
061staff in the schools to provide to have the tools that they need to support students so that students do feel welcome, engaged, and that this is a place that they want to be in. Um, ultimately it says right there, like I said on the wall, that this is a place where all students can reach their personal learning goals. And in order to do that, we need to have a place that is safe and welcoming and accepting and open to all everybody. Um, and our policies need to reflect that, too. So, we really need to be thinking about all children, all families in any of our considerations for policies that are brought here. Okay. Karen, would you repeat it one more time, please? Okay. Some of this is introductory, so Okay, that's okay. Some families feel
062that school policies don't represent their values, while others feel their children's identities and experiences are not acknowledged. As a board member, you represent all families and beliefs. How would you balance these concerns when making decisions? What is your plan to ensure all students have access to highquality education regardless of background or abilities? Okay, thank you. So, I'll try and hit all these points quickly. First of all, um we are open to policy feedback. The board is open to hearing family feedback and community feedback on our current policies. All of our policies are listed online in a program called Board Docs. And so, if a parent or community member has a big issue with our policies, what I'd really hope that they do is reach out to the board and make their concerns known and write
063to the board. and please please share your concerns. Um secondly, the board is required by federal law to follow non-discrimination policies. Um we are a public school and so that is part of our mission is to provide highquality education to all students. Um so so this is what we should be doing as a standard practice every single day. Again, if there are complaints or concerns, there are processes to complain to voice those concerns. And I really would encourage members of the community to please do communicate with the school district if they're having problems of any sort. Last but not least, we want to talk about um educating all students. Um I think that we do have opportunities to improve education. It's back to student achievement. Making sure that students have opportunities to grow. That includes
064educating special education students. Um, I think we have a great team that services special education students and also helping students who are gifted and talented. Um, giving advanced learners opportunities to not be bored in school and to continue working. So, thank you. Okay, Joseph, I'm going to repeat it. Some families feel that school policies don't represent their values while others feel their children's identities and experience are not acknowledged. As a board member, you represent all families and all beliefs. How would you balance these concerns when making decisions? What is your plan to ensure that all students have access to highquality education regardless of their background or abilities? Well, that would be the goal, wouldn't it? Um, every student in the Whitell district needs a high quality education. And it's not just academics, it's arts, it's
065music, it's athletics. And at the end of the day, the board should singularly chase perfection. Um, knowing that it's not attainable, but you have to include everyone. Um, as far as people that feel that policies exclude or however, I again, you'll hear me say this a thousand times. Parental engagement um discussions will clear most of this up. If you have a concern, let it know be known to the board. If that's the only way you're going to fix anything. If there's a problem, you need to to air your your grievance so that it can be addressed. Okay. Thank you. We have time for one more question and it's going to go to first to Alicia. If the administration eliminates the department of education, how could it affect Whitnel students and how would you address its
066elimination? That is a great question. Um I know right now um it is a smaller percentage of the budget uh comes from federal uh finance uh federal funding. So, uh it could affect federal funding especially for uh special ed um students who are um maybe like lower income, lower uh maybe need some of the services of like free and reduced lunch. Um it is a very real concern. We are fortunate in our district that we haven't had to go to any operational referendums and so we've been able to um pay pay our teachers do all those things with the budgeting that we have. So um I think it would definitely take us looking through the budget and figuring out exactly how much comes from the federal government. I'm not on the board, so I'm not
067entirely sure exactly what those numbers are at this point, but as a board member, I think we would definitely have to look at that and see um how our funding and which programs would be affected and figure out how we can continue to serve all students um in the best way possible. And again, with that advocating, I think we really need to reach out to our elected elected representatives. Our state has money. our state has our money, our taxpayer money, and uh our state really needs to keep up with inflation and and do its part to fund our schools. Thank you, Karen. Okay, so one of the board's responsibilities is to lead through times of uncertainty. A major time of uncertainty that we had was going through COVID, which happened right after I was elected
068to the board in 2019. um and we called it a fluid situation where you did not know what was going to happen the next day. So there are unknowns in this. We don't know what the next bianial bud budget is going to be. We don't know if Act 10 is going to be repealed. We don't know the impacts of those things on our finances. Our responsibility as a school board is to do right by the students to the best of our ability every day. And so we do have um a great employee, John Dur, our director of finance, and he helps us through these. We will take it one day at a time and put students first and that's all I can say we can do because we just don't know what we're going to
069see. Okay. Thank you, Joseph. Um well again um not on the board. Not sure exactly what we will lose um if the Department of Education is done. Um, what I have seen when I've dug into this, cuz this is very concerning, is even if the Department of Education is dismantled, um, all the individual funding things are line items that Congress will have to act on individually. So, again, we're not sure what exactly is going to happen. We're not sure what's going to stay, what's going to go. And uh a lesson I learned a long time ago in the military was um you make a plan and then life happens and then you need to react and that is what we're going to have to do for our students because we need to maintain their level
070of education and we need to maintain what we offer. Um, so again, it'll it'll take time to see exactly what happens, what the actual effects are, and then we'll have to make a plan and execute based on what we see happening on a day-to-day basis. Okay, Jason, the Department of Education is a federal budget problem. Um, what happens here at Whitnull, I don't believe would change drastically. That's why you see on your tax your property tax bill what is being taken out for Whitnel. Um a lot of this is a local thing. So if the Department of Education is eliminated as Karen said that is not something that we have any sort of pervier over and what we can do is we can manage what is in our house at this time. Uh John Door
071who is our business director is really really good at his job. I think he does a phenomenal job of running our finances, keeping us responsible, giving us very conservative projections so that way we don't we don't think that we will be seeing more money than what we actually get. um he's been very he's been very good as far as being able to kind of forecast what would what would be coming to us and then being able to plan based on those numbers. And I think that we just keep working forward as far as what we get delivered through the state through property taxes and and not have to like you know where we have so much that we're on the hook for in terms of federal dollars. Okay. Thank you. Now we will have three
072minutes each for closing remarks. We will begin with Karen. Three minutes. All right. Lots of time. So, thank you everybody for coming out tonight. Thank you to the League of Women Voters. Thank you to the Whitnell High School Student Council. Um it has been an honor to serve the Whitnell community for the past six years. It's something that I truly enjoy doing. Um, I am so proud of the work that we've been doing at Whitnull. I am so proud of our students and their achievements. Um, it is it is a joy to be a part of this community and what a wonderful and strong community we have. There are very exciting things happening at Whitnol. I'm very excited about the hiring of our new superintendent, Dr. Brady Ranki. I'm very excited about our strategic planning
073process that will guide us for the next three to five years. I'm excited for the wonderful building improvements that are about to be made with the referendum that the community has entrusted to us. The board brings together a diverse group of individuals with a variety of viewpoints and perspectives. We are working well as a team. Um we've done some very meaningful board development and high functioning school boards are proven to make a difference in academic outcomes. So I'm excited about continuing to work for you. Um, I'm a mom of Whitnel, a Whitnell student, Whitnell High School student, and two Whitnell graduates. Um, I've lived in Hail's Corners for 25 years. I am extremely proud of this community and what we can offer. And my vision for Whitnell is to become a high-erforming school district in
074our region and ultimately the state with very high academic success for students as well as a range of opportunities for them so that every student can find what they love and what they're good at and go out and take that out into the world. Thank you so much. Okay, Joseph. Uh this will be short and to the point. So, uh, something my father was fond of saying when I was a younger man and something I'm very fond of saying now is everyone needs to understand that the the world is no longer ours. It belongs to our sons and our daughters, but it is on us to make sure that we set them up for success. Um, and that's just what needs to happen. If they leave Whitall to go to college, if they leave Whitell
075to go to the military, if they leave Whitall to go to a trade school or straight into the workforce, we need to make sure that they're walking out with the best chance of success at whatever it is that they choose to do. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Joseph. Jason, uh, thank you for moderating this and giving, uh, everyone here a chance to learn more about us. Uh, thank you to the student council for being part of this and, uh, learning more about what goes into uh, leadership and elected officials. So, there's been a lot that's been talked about, but I think at the end of the day, our north star as far as our guiding principles are going to always be, and it has to be student achievement. And I think that's going to be
076the thing that needs to kind of drive Whitel forward. Um it is not something that can just be kind of pushed us to the side of just saying well we need to work on new labs or a pool or anything like that. It has to be what are we doing as far as student achievement goes and that's going to be what I have always been the the biggest concern for me and I think that needs to be the concern for everyone else that's up on this this panel needs to be the student achievement portion. Um, I echo a lot of the sentiments that Karen has about the direction that we're in and the position that we're in as far as where we're going forward that it needs to be uh very much everything is a
077lot of blue sky ahead of us that it's going to be a lot of positivity. It's going to be a lot of opportunity and it's whether or not we're able to to grab the brass ring and and achieve those great things that I think that are ahead of us and are within within reach right now. Uh, I think we have leadership that will get us there and I think that the continuation of what we've been doing will only will will lead us to better things, higher expectations and I think that'll be a great thing for everyone in Whitmill. Thank you. Okay. Thank you, Alicia. Again, thank you all for coming out. I think one of our strengths is all the people. So, all of you that showed up tonight, everybody that's watching live, anybody that
078tunes in later, um, League of Women Voters, Student Council, everybody that has made this possible, the district staff that has stayed here all day to make sure that this happens. So, um, again, thank you all for coming. Um, we really are fortunate to have such an engaged community. [Music] Um, my vision is for us to keep getting better, continuous improvement. So, um, moving forward, we have great teachers. Uh, we want to continue to attract top talent and retain that talent. We need to make sure we're offering and supporting multiple opportunities for our kids to succeed because achievement looks different to every kid in every family. Achievement is more than a single number on a state scorecard. Um, achievement and success are measured in multiple ways. If you're going to a trade school or the military,
079it's going to look different than what our ACT scores say. um if we're supporting special education kids, it's going to look different than again what the state scorecard might say for reading and math. So, it's really looking that we are continuously improving and we are offering those opportunities and we are offering the best education to all of our students. We are we are valuing each of our kids unique story right there. It's even highlighted the unique story of every child is the focus of our board. So, we need to do what it takes to help support our staff in schools. We need to continue to have and grow an an engaged community and um parent population. Um and we need to be transparent and open and honest. Um we as a board need to work
080better together. Um it's great that there's been more collaboration. Um we need to be professionals. We need to be respectful of each other and listen. And again, not just move in a direction that one person maybe wants to take it, but really listening, weighing in, looking at the big picture, being able to zoom out as well as zoom in at each individual child. So, it's really kind of understanding, synthesizing the data, bringing it together. And I um I have experience with that. That's what I do in my professional role. Um I'm a mom. Um, I have three kids in the district and I want the best for each of them and I know all of the other parents in this district want what want what's best for their kids, too. Um, I I care ultimately.
081I am allin. Um, I'm committed to providing the best possible education opportunities and environment for all of our students. And I hope that you'll vote for Alicia Shaw on April 1st. Thanks. Okay. Thank you. The League reminds you that our democracy depends on citizen involvement. The typical turnout for a spring election is only 30% of eligible voters. I know that you all intend to vote on April 1st and hope that you will help increase voter turnout by encouraging others to vote. On behalf of the Whitnell High School Student Council and the League of Women Voters, thank you to our candidates for running for political office and for participating in this forum. And thanks to all of you for attending. It's okay. It's my understanding also that the candidates, they have agreed to stay around for
082a few minutes to uh answer questions if you have them. But at this time, the actual forum is over. So, thank you very much. Thanks for coming and go vote.