001special meeting tonight we're going to look to appoint a board member to replace kevin bird i think before we get started we want to make sure that we're clear on the process so that everyone knows what the process will be and it's fair but i just want to make sure i get a chance to say that i'm very pleased we had eight people step forward to look to fill kevin bird's seat on the board and It's a strong statement that we have people who really care about education in our community. That's a great sign. So thanks for everyone who applied, and I'm looking forward to hearing from everybody. We do have a policy that dictates how we go through the appointment process. But there were that the policy doesn't lay out in detail the procedure.
002So I thought it'd be fair to all the candidates. And I want to hear from any board members if they have any thoughts on the process. But the idea we would do tonight is each candidate, and there's eight of you, will have three minutes to give like remarks on why they want to be on the school board or anything they want to say. You don't have to use the full three minutes, but you have up to three minutes. When we do public comments at our regular board meetings, my colleague Barry Schmeling keeps track of the time and he raises his hand when there's like 15 seconds to go. So just, yeah, that'll give you a clue. Then, you know, that's a good time to start wrapping up your remarks. Before we start that, though, we'll
003do a random draw. And I wanted this process to be as fair as possible. So I thought it might be some people might want to go first. Some people might want to go last. But this way it's fair. There's no no favoritism. After that, we're going to have a chance to, the board will ask questions of the candidates. And we have a couple of questions we've thought about for the first round. Let me back up and say the goal tonight, we have six remaining board members of our seven. Kevin's no longer here, obviously. The first candidate who gets four votes will be appointed. So you have to get a majority that requires four votes. We have potentially three rounds of voting. So we'll have one round of voting after the questions are asked. If none
004of the candidates at that point have four votes, we will move on to round two, which would be another couple of questions. And we're going to narrow the field down to the top four vote getters and ties after the first round. And then we'll have a second round with another chance for questions. No more comments at that point, but we'll have a couple of questions or other board members are free to ask questions, of course, if they want. Hopefully we'll have a consensus after round one or round two, but if we don't, we'll have a third round. And at that point, we'll narrow it down to the top two vote getters plus ties for that third round. And then hopefully after that, we'll have four votes for one candidate. If not, our policy. describes that
005the board president, who is me, gets to pick the candidate. But I'm truly hopeful that we can reach a consensus as a board. All the votes will be done by board members using this. And then I'll ask our clerk, Susan, to tally them. They are public records, so the board members will sign. So you're welcome to come look at the ballots at the end of the meeting if you'd like. So that being said, board members, anybody have any questions or comments? Did I miss something? I don't know if that was clear. Okay. Anybody? Before we start, I just want to make sure no one here has any questions or was anything unclear in that process? Okay. Well, I think then the first thing we should do is do a random draw for the opening remarks.
006Okay. I have a list of all the eight candidates for the appointment. Hey, Roseanne and Marlo, would you guys do this? Sure. Marlo, you can draw. Again? I drew last time, and I'm the last on the bill. I think Marlo did it for the recent school board election ballot. So Marlo's good at drawing names out of a bowl. Among his other many skills. No, he held the bowl. Did he? Okay, let's switch it around then. That's why I said I'm last. Yeah, there you go. I could just preface it while we're waiting for them to do the draw. We've been through this process. I know a number of us at least a couple of times. Why did we not have smaller ones? Eric Schmidt. Okay. I don't think that means anyone can just jump in
007right now. Dylan Browers. Mario Donoto. Michael. How do you pronounce your last name? Walter. Walter. Thank you. Paige. Caravu. I'm just trying not to mess up anybody's name. Piper Howell. So much pressure here. Aaron Melby. Blank. Aubrey Thompson. I think that's it then. Let's do the blanks. One thing I neglected to say in the interest of being fair to when we start the questions after this first opening remarks We're gonna do them in a staggered order. So in other words if Eric dismiss first you wouldn't have to be first on all the questions I know personally if I have a chance to sit and think about an answer for a few minutes It's I usually have a better response than if I'm asked first. So we'll we'll stagger the order on the questions during each
008round In other words, if you went first, we'll start with maybe the fourth person for the first question, and then we'll pick a different person to start with the next question and go in order. So with that being said, anyone else? Anything else before we start? Okay, Eric, you have three minutes. If you could one thing Eric I'm sorry before you start, can you make sure everyone's speaking to the microphone because the folks at home can't hear unless you're speaking right into the mic. Thank you very much for entertaining my application tonight. You don't have a lot to say. So I'll keep it brief not use the whole three minutes. My youngest son is a graduate of Burlington High School. That's really prompted my interest here tonight. He's done remarkably well as a student, as
009a person. He's attending a top 50 university, and that's to the credit of his experience in this school district. And what he's learned and accomplished is a result of the hard work that you put into making him successful. And what I'd like to do is ensure that continues for current students and future students as well. Now, I don't come forward with a whole lot of agenda other than that. So that's really all I have for being here tonight. The desire to preserve that which I've appreciated and gained through my students' experience. Great. Thank you. You're welcome. Dylan? All right, thank you for your time. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not come from education, nor have I held any prior teaching positions or worked for the New School District before. Nonetheless, I stand before you today
010with a genuine interest in filling the school board vacancy. As the likely youngest candidate vying for this position, I understand that my age and lack of experience may be of concern to some. However, I firmly believe that my unique perspective coupled with my unwavering passion for education will bring valuable insights to the table. Foremost and with utmost priority, I am fully committed to the achievement of our students. The value of education as a fundamental pillar for our future cannot be overstated. And it is my unwavering belief that every child deserves access to exceptional educational opportunities. As a prospective school board member, my dedication would be focused on working tirelessly to ensuring that our schools provide an exceptional education to all students, irrespective of their backgrounds or life circumstances. In addition to my strong commitment to
011education, I have dedicated a significant portion of my professional career to the finance industry, with several years of experience in lending and consumer bidding. I have gained a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this field. With dedication and hard work, I have progressed in my career and now hold the position of Digital Banking Analyst at Great Lakes Credit Union. To provide better context to my perspective, I am a new member of this community, having moved to the City of Burlington in May of last year. My stance on various issues pertinent to Burlington and BASD is neutral, as I approach them with an open mind and do not harbor any preconceived notions. I was recently married in October of 2021. I've also embraced the joy of parenthood with a one-year-old daughter, Piper, whom I intend to
012enroll in BASD in the coming years. Since then, I have closely monitored BASD in preparation for her enrollment. An area that warrants immediate attention is funding, as it is widely acknowledged that public education remains underfunded. Our schools are struggling with current resources, compounded by state funding not being increased for several years. Increasingly, districts are turning towards referendums to meet their financial needs. If appointed, I am committed to conducting a thorough analysis of this district's financial well-being. In summary, the most effective decisions are often the outcome of diverse perspectives being taken into consideration. I am fully committed to working collaboratively with all stakeholders, including parents, teachers, administrators, and community members to ensure our schools meet the needs of everyone involved. My confidence lies in the potential of creating an inclusive, transparent, and accountable school board dedicated
013to serving the community it represents. Thank you for your time and consideration. All right, thank you. Mario DeNoto. Good evening. I'm not sure if you have my list of experiences. Did that get passed out? Okay, because I didn't want to necessarily go through all of them in my three minutes. I sit on many boards, and I'm president of boards, and so I thought, well... I'm going to put myself in your shoes. What are you looking for? All right. And because there's a unique opportunity for all of you to help create a board that you could bring someone in who could enhance it and come up with new ideas. So I would bring, I would bring, I have no personal agenda. I would try to be as professional as possible and help and discuss and be
014open-minded with all the decisions that need to be made. I have many experiences. I have budget experiences. At one time, I was president or treasurer of the Burlington Catholic Schools, so I've dealt with the budget. It's only $2 million, but... Basically it's the same type of money in, money out, just not as big of numbers. And we were pretty successful in that, keeping our school in budget. I'm also president of the Chamber of Union Grove. And I have to deal with a lot of different business people. They come in with different ideas. And I feel that that would be an asset, that experience in how to mold all those people together, use all their ideas. would be an asset to be on the school board. I have two boys who graduated from Burlington High School.
015They really liked the school and I asked them, I said, should I run for school board? And he says, well, yeah, you had a great, you know, we had a great experience and they're successful in what they're doing right now. One's graduated from Oshkosh and has a career and the other one's going to school in a private school in Michigan. He's doing very well. That's the build cars. So he wants to get a job at Ford. And so he's going to a college that does that. So I feel that all my experiences that I have would be a good mix for this board. I have budget. I have marketing. So I can maybe improve the marketing, get some marketing ideas for the school. Because sometimes, you know, there's issues. And Burlington doesn't necessarily have a
016good reputation to some people. I think it has a good reputation because I have two sons that have had great experience here. But I think I could be an asset in that realm. And like I mentioned, I come in here with an open mind and lots of problem-solving techniques. Thank you. Thank you. Michael Bullock. Good evening, board. My name is Michael Wallo. Right now, I am a ERP technical consultant. In English, I teach companies how to implement financial software. Prior to that, though, I was a public school educator for 14 years. I am a state-certified mathematics, computer science, and tech ed teacher. I teach a lot of the same things that were taught in our schools currently at BASD. I'm Project Lead the Way certified. I'm a National Board certified teacher, which is only 3%
017of educators can claim that role. I am a Herb Cole Fellowship Award winner for education. And I'm also a Wabatosa Distinguished Educator. I mentioned those two prior, my current employment and my prior employment for a reason. I have the educational and I have the financial background. But those two by themselves isn't what you should take into consideration. What you should take into consideration is why I'm here. I had no family or relatives in Burlington prior to moving here. My wife and I moved here in 2015 for two reasons. One, it was affordable. We can afford to live here in our own house. The second reason was for our daughters because of the schools. I went from a 10-minute walk to work to a 45-minute commute. Why I was teaching in the Wauwatosa School District. I
018did that to give my daughters the opportunities that you have here that are unique. You have the Montessori and traditional programs for the elementary students. A lot of schools don't have that. You have the house program in the middle schools. A lot of schools don't have that. And you have great opportunities at the high school level with your connections with Gateway to give our kids the career and college readiness that most schools don't have. They don't have that opportunity. I think... my driving factor is to continue to bring these opportunities for our kids. I'll be an advocate for these kids to continue these unique programs and offer those additional opportunities to all of our students. Thank you. Thank you. Paige Caraboo. Good evening. Thank you for your time. My name is Paige Caraboo, and I
019have been a part of public education my entire life. I myself am a product of public education, having graduated from New Berlin and School District, and going on to University of Stevens Point, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and doctoral candidacy at Georgia State University, studying education. moved back to Burlington under a bit of a family emergency situation. And I have to admit that I didn't want to come. I was nervous. I had never really lived in a small town before. And I wasn't sure what kind of opportunities there would be for my growing family. And it was right before the coronavirus pandemic. And so at first, there weren't many opportunities when we first arrived. But Burlington has done nothing but surprise me for the good. My parents have been here for nearly 20 years. And they are
020deep in the service of this community. My mother is a retired administrative assistant from Burlington Area School District. My father is very active in his church and my parents have volunteered with Love Inc. The way that they have showed me to serve my community is why I'm here today. And for my two sons who just started their school careers at Burlington. As many have pointed out, we're here for the children. We want to defend and create every opportunity that we can have. And I believe that I'm unique in that I have been a public education student, I'm a speech-language pathologist, and I have worked in multiple public school districts. I've also been on the research side of education and have had to communicate and work with schools directly as an outsider and now as a
021parent. So I think my perspective is unique. One of my professional skills is to help parents understand some of what we do in education that they may not have a background in. I myself am finding new things that the teachers have to explain to me, and I have lots of educational background. So one priority for me would be to make sure the communication between community, parent, and educational stakeholders is clear. Thank you. All right, thank you. Piper Howell? Well, thanks so much for the opportunity to share a bit of my perspective today. My name is Piper Howell, and I've lived in Burlington for the last 12 years. I have two young kids in the district. They're in first grade and fourth grade. I'd like to share a bit of my background and the reasons I've
022decided to apply for this position. I have a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and held several roles in that capacity over the last 15 years. I've worked for companies with $20 billion in revenue and companies with $20 million in revenue. I've been involved in project management, new product development, and continuous improvement throughout my career. What's that have to do with education and the school board? That's a fair question, so give me a second to elaborate. Despite a very wide range of product offerings, each of the companies I've worked for have had common threads, despite their size, that have made them successful. These attributes, as I see related to our district, include great communication, a commitment to investing in employees, a commitment to investing in their product. For the district, I would see this as our
023students. and continual cost evaluation, knowing where to make cost changes without sacrificing product quality and people quality. While I don't believe a public school district can or should be operated with the exact same principles as a private sector business, I feel I can contribute some of the methods and lessons learned along the way. So what can I offer? First and foremost, I can offer a willingness to listen to all perspectives. I'm invested in providing a positive experience, positive and equitable experience for all students in our district. Second, I bring my curiosity and willingness to learn. I acknowledge that I'm new to this format, but will take the time to understand the whys of the current state and work to understand the path to the future. Finally, I bring my professional experience as a pragmatic, creative
024problem solver. I've worked across all levels of organizations to find solutions to problems. A big portion of each of my roles is continual cost evaluation. I see the financial pressure and the squeeze our district is facing to make ends meet. I have experience finding cost effective solutions without sacrificing quality. The need to do more with less won't leave us anytime soon, but I feel I can contribute to finding those solutions and assist with communicating the whys of those decisions. In the fall, my kids will be completing their second school move in two years. And this was not our choice. I'm experiencing firsthand the feelings that go along with these changes. I think it's important to have a voice on the school board that is representative of parents with kids in the district. Burlington is a
025vibrant and beautiful community. The growth I've seen since moving here is continually something to celebrate. Maintaining and investing in our schools is and will continue to be a very significant aspect to our thriving community. We can continue to establish our community as a destination by investing wisely in our schools, our educators, and our students. This is something that can only be done with community support. And I see the school board's role as critical in building that support. It would be a privilege to serve our schools and community in this way. All right, thank you. Aaron Melvin. Hi. You all know me fairly well. Whether that's good or bad, we'll see. I grew up in Burlington, as most of you know. I'm a graduate of BHS. I was involved in extracurriculars in BHS and really enjoyed
026it. my tenure in school here. And chose to raise my four kids in Burlington. We plan on staying here long term. And we currently have three teenagers and a graduate. I manage a chiropractic clinic and I've worked over 10 years in the insurance aspect of that clinic. So I have an idea of what kind of things we're facing with insurance, what kinds of issues teachers are facing with insurance, and I know that that's a big part of what the board looks at. So I have some perspective there. Again, you know my dedication to showing up to meetings, my dedication to caring about the district and the education that it provides. I think I proved that with my run for school board. I also showed that I have ties with the community and support from the
027community through that. If you would appoint me, I'd really love to dive into the open enrollment out discrepancy between open enrollment in and out. I've already brought that up at previous school board meetings, but I don't think that we have a spending issue. in BASD, but we're seeing declining enrollment and this growing discrepancy between open enroll in and open enroll out. And I think that that indicates that there's a lessening of confidence in the district. And I would represent a parent whose confidence has lessened, but I still have hope in the district. And so I would like to dig into that because I believe if we were able to get those open enrollment out numbers up, and if we were able to even out that discrepancy again, we would not be facing a referendum. So
028while, you know, bringing a financial look to that would be good, I think that that's where we need to go. I'd also like to ask you to... consider me without preconceptions. I've always been respectful to the board and I continue to be respectful and appreciative of what we do here. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Aubrey Thompson. Hi. Thank you for having me here tonight. I am Aubrey Thompson. I am a Burlington native, a graduate of Burlington High School. And currently I am working here in town as a clinical social worker and the clinical operations manager at Clinical Psychology Associates. I have a significant clinical background working with students and families. I've worked in a variety of districts in the area of providing school-based services, Lake Geneva, Elkhorn, Burlington, Waterford. and East Troy. And I
029feel like those clinical experiences, both working in the school-based services and my private practice, I have heard lots of concerns from teachers, from parents, from families, from community members about... what's going on in our schools and I feel like that information gives me a unique perspective on what challenges our schools and districts are facing and I also have a unique skill at managing the intersection of all of these things as I work with schools and families to get students what they need and help our community thrive in that way. Current research that's coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic is letting us know that students' emotional well-being is going to be a top concern for schools moving forward to continue to ensure students' academic success. And I do feel like I have unique assets that would
030help the district and the board move through these upcoming challenges that are going to be related to that. As I mentioned, I'm a Burlington graduate myself, as is my husband. We have our children enrolled here in the Burlington community. And we actually returned to the Burlington community after my husband completed his active duty military service because we wanted to raise our children here, because we enjoy the educational experiences that we had here, and because we... appreciate this community and all it has done for us and we want to continue to support that. I've volunteered with various service organizations over the years. I coached for the Kiwanis League and I was a parent on the Parent Advisory Committee for my child's school last school year. I tend to be a very solutions focused and practical problem
031solver with a perspective to solve the current problems while keeping the big picture in mind. And my role at work right now and with my children enrolled in school allows me the time and energy to focus on this board position and to have the energy to face the upcoming challenges that the district is dealing with in a way that continues to draw people to the Burlington community. Because I agree with all the previous comments that Burlington has a lot to offer. And I want to ensure that our school district continues to be one of the things that pulls people to our community. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so that's the last of our candidates. Well, now we have a couple of questions, and maybe, Barry, would you want to read the first one? And then
032after, we'll start with, let's start with the fourth person, so that'd be Michael. You'll go first. If you want to come up to the microphone, and then we'll continue in the same order we started with. We'll go around for each eight people. And then we'll open up if board members have questions following these two. So, Barry, you want to ask the first one? Certainly. To be clear, we're not timing responses? No, I'd like, if you could keep it to three minutes, because with eight candidates, it's going to, I think three minutes is enough. These aren't that difficult of questions. Okay. Describe how you envision the responsibilities of a Burlington Area School District school board member. There's a lot there. I mean, you have... Can you repeat it one more time for me, please? Certainly. Describe
033how you envision the responsibilities of a Burlington Area School District school board member. All right. So your responsibilities are multiple facets. I mean, you can look at the school district, obviously, but it's to the community as a whole. You are looking and planning and helping build the future of Burlington. and who's going to be here and our kids that are going to come and take over after us. The idea is that it's not a single approach. I think whatever answer people are going to give, it's all of it. It's a multi-facet. It's going to be a collective approach. I think that's good. I'm going to stop there. Okay. All right. Thank you. That's perfectly fine. Paige. Can I have the wording of the question, please? Absolutely. Describe how you envision the responsibilities of the Burlington
034Area School District school board member. So my understanding of the responsibilities of a school board member is to hear out the community, be a part of the community, be a bridge between the community and the schools with an open mind. to be sure that what the school district provides, the community wants, the community can afford, and to keep the quality of education as high as possible. All right, thanks. Piper. The role of the school board, I see. There are several avenues for that, but policy is a big focus for the school board. So identifying and maintaining policy for the district. Communication between our community and our educators, I think is a key role for the school board. Community and educational outreach. So being present in our community and in our schools, offering support in both
035directions. And those are the three main things I can. All right, thank you. Aaron. So the role of the school board is essentially to oversee the ongoings in the district and amongst the schools and to make sure everything is running smoothly and efficiently and that kids are getting the education that they need. That being said, they focus on policy, personnel, budget, and address any issues that come along. along the way. And we've seen some issues come along along the way over the last couple of years. And so I recognize the difficulty and the complexity of, especially when you get caught between, you know, policy and how, you know, how things are being done and the community. So it's very important to listen to the community with an open ear and an open mind. be able
036to work together and and cohesively as a board and as a unit to make those decisions wise decisions and be able to take the heat from the community in one way or the other and and be able to you know make sure that you're doing it with with the kids in mind and and also parents and teachers so that's thank you aubry I view the responsibilities of the board to certainly enforce and create policies to run a school district effectively as that relates to personnel and budgeting. And it's also to engage with the community so that you can identify what the wants and needs are of the community and see what the district can do to meet those wants and needs in a way that lines up with policies and all the other checkboxes that...
037that the board needs to comply with all right thank you eric i think that the responsibilities of a board member are to ensure that the resources are there for the operations side staff to support the mission of educating children i think it's that simple thank you thank you dylan my take on the responsibilities would be a guide for stakeholders and most importantly parents students that are enrolled in bast as they're going to they're going to turn to the board to help guide them and their children through the issues that would arise in the district also fiscal oversight of course over all the finances of the districts as well as a major piece would be involvement i don't see the board as a back office type setting. I feel that the board would need to be
038involved in the everyday operations of the school, not necessarily meeting on a monthly basis, hearing perspectives from others. I think involvement is a major key. All right, thank you. Mario? I feel that a good board member would be responsible would be to make sure to stay professional. come in with ideas and work, because this is a team, so it's not an I situation, it's a we situation. Stay focused on the board's mission statement and be a problem solver and suggest ideas. You know, everybody here is on a different, I understand everybody here is on a different page sometimes. So that's okay because that's really how you get problems solved is with hearing different ideas from different people. So, and then you just, sometimes you don't get your way. Okay, no problem. You know what, I
039didn't do a good job of communicating it, maybe my idea didn't work, but you know what, just try again next time. And I just want to be, I would, you know, be important to be part of the team and succeed to the statement, our mission statement. Great, thank you. Taylor, you want to read the second question that we have? And then we'll start with Aaron this time. We'll kind of go in the same order. In what ways would you complement this board that would contribute to making us more effective? Well, I think my perspective is a little bit different from all of you. Probably each one of us here has a little bit different perspective than some of you. But I think that I bring a willingness, even if I have a different perspective, a
040willingness to listen and discuss things without holding a grudge, without getting angry. And I think that I bring exceptional commitment to being here and to making improvements. I love working with a team to solve problems. So I've already worked with Peter and Marlo on the mayor's task force until my work schedule wouldn't permit anymore. And I really enjoyed that. And I would really enjoy working with you as a board to solve our district's problems. Thanks. All right. Thank you. Aubrey. I think one way that I would compliment this board and make it more effective is part of what I shared in my introduction, just that unique perspective that I have as a mental health professional is not something that this board currently has, but it has had in the past. And I think that that
041was a very useful component to consider in. in the decision-making process of the challenges that the school district faces. And I think that that's a useful insight that is currently lacking and could make the entire perspective of the school board a bit more cohesive and holistic to the whole student and the whole problem. I also am very invested in our community as are all of you. And I think that that works well together. Thank you. Eric? So part of my background is that I was a professor for 25 years of computer science. So I see some of the product that goes on from public education. I can lend a bit of perspective on that. But one of the other things that I do, and Michael, I'm sorry, you and I share the same burden. But
042I have also worked in the public sector for the last two and a half decades and twice I've guided that organization through the ERP system. Again, the burden is heavy, but I've learned a lot from that. And I think I can bring not only the perspective of being a post-secondary education provider, but also that knowledge I've gained from information systems and finance and budgeting. Those perspectives, data analysis is a huge thing right now. There's a lot of things I could go on about, but... I'm seeing some looks that I used to see from students, so I'll cut it a little short. Thank you. Dylan. I found, too, that I would compliment the board. As I mentioned before, I'm a new community member here, so I would bring neutrality. I don't hold any preconceived notions. to
043the city or BASD. I feel like that's a major component of the board is to have them come to issues with open minds and be able to hear the perspectives of everyone that's involved. The second being I'm a digital banking analyst so I help manage and oversee a digital banking platform. Over 45,000 of our members use in a daily basis. So a lot goes into that than just simply switching us during a feature on or off. There's project management involved testing. So I have project management experience. They also have problem solving issues that would arise. So those are the two that I've done. Thank you. Mario. how I can compliment. Well, first, I definitely would let you pick my brain. I have loads of experience in areas that I feel could really compliment. And I'll
044just highlight a few. I'm quite a leader. I've won many leadership awards. I own my own business. I've been president and CEO of my own business for 35 years. I also have some marketing and advertising experience that might come in helpful if there's any issues with how the media is perceiving us or the public. You can pick my brain on that. I also understand government. I was involved in government, and I understand how the process works and how budgets go together. I also, again, ran a school board and also was very close to... the principals of the schools. So I kind of can come right in and feel comfortable and start running. And really understanding how the board runs. I think that's what that will, I can bring. Thank you. All right, thank you. Michael.
045I think I have a couple of areas that are unique. between my cross between education and the accounting and financial area that I work in. But I think an area that I've seen and that I can relate and probably communicate well to the board is the teacher's experience in the classroom. I've taught from students with special needs in the woodshop all the way through AP and manufacturing courses. I think one of the biggest threats to education right now is the kids is the lessening of the teachers that are available. So one of the things I did do while I was a teacher recruiter and did career fairs for the Wabakusa School District for many years. So I think I can offer. And I get the, I get a teacher talking about teacher, former teacher talking
046about teacher recruitment. I get that. That doesn't, that doesn't jump away from me. But I still teach just in a different way. Thank you. Thank you. Paige? I think that I can compliment this board as a person who has so many various experiences within educational systems. I think it's really valuable to have. parents on the board as one of the really key stakeholders in the community. I also think that my background in early childhood research to achievement can be an asset when thinking about programming and things to prioritize. and having worked in so many different areas. I've also been able to see, having worked with schools in Atlanta and having volunteered for the United States Peace Corps in South Africa, some of the educational takeaways, I was able to see what you can do top
047down and what you must do bottom up. So thinking about how... what the responsibilities will be of parents, of personnel, of the students themselves and the board, and thinking of ways they can go together for maximum educational output. Thank you. Thank you. Piper. So without the educational background that many have, I think something that's a little bit different that I would bring to the board is my experience with cost evaluation and continuous improvement. So as I mentioned, I feel strongly that we need to invest in our schools and our people and our students. But along those lines, I also see that we have to make difficult financial decisions as a school board. So with that, I have... My entire career has been spent executing improvement projects while keeping cost in mind and evaluating cost without
048sacrificing quality. So as related to the school board, as I mentioned in my intro, to me that is offering ideas and insights in ways we can save. money without compromising the success of our most important assets, which is our people in the district. So I think that's something that's a little bit different than currently exists. Also, I have an ability to empathize with many diverse perspectives. I've been recognized as a quiet thinker so can sit and listen and understand where people are coming from, even if I don't have to agree with those with people I can put myself in their shoes. Thank you. Board members. Anybody else have any questions you can ask it to the group or any any particular candidate. I just had one question. because I'm active in the WASB. It's very
049important that you as a new board member get some. training and what it's like to be a board member in the public schools in Wisconsin. And I know whoever is selected in April, there's a wonderful thing at Elkhorn that I will lead, but talks a lot about, you'll meet other new board members and they talk a lot about what's expected. And during the year, a lot is offered, like with finances, what you can do with legislators, and there are a lot of things. And I think, I hope that all of you, whoever's selected, will choose to do some of that. because it really, it's wonderful to know what's going on in the state. So I hope it's a time, you know, you have to spend some time on it, but it's worth it. That's my
050question. And for something for you to think about. Okay. I'm not sure it was a question. Was it more? It's me preaching. Okay, fair enough. Which is perfectly fine, Rosanna. Well, I just wanted them to know that it's just coming to this meeting is not all that being on the board is. You need to take some initiative and try to improve yourself to be a lifelong learner. Do you want to ask the candidates a question about that? Or do you want to just... How many of you would be willing to do that? Or have the time? That's, I guess, what I want to ask. Okay, thank you. I think I'm hearing everyone's shaking their heads. Yeah, fair enough. Well, it's important to me because I really value that. Well, it's important to the board, too.
051I think it's something that we're always looking for continuous improvement as board members, and Wisconsin Association of School Boards is an excellent resource that we use. Anybody else on the board have any questions at this point? Okay. Well, that was great. I mean, that was, I appreciate the answers. That's an understatement. I was trying to think of a word stronger than that because, wow, we have extremely qualified candidates. If you want to take, we can take a few minutes just to get up and relax. And that was hard, too, also to get up and give a presentation and then the impromptu questions. I appreciate the challenge of that. Take a minute to get up. We're going to vote, though, board members now on a candidate. And the ballot is the one that's highlighted in yellow.
052Yeah, so board members, you see the one that has the round one on it to make sure that and then you want to hold them and hand them to Susan and then I'll have Susan tabulate and read out the votes. I think you should sign your name so we can read it. You have to sign your name. Oh, are you speaking to me? No, I'm trying to because I know I had to do this once. Too late. I taught membership, so. The votes from the six members. So Susan, would you read out the candidates and their votes? I will. Thank you. So Eric received two votes. Mario, you received two votes. Paige, one vote. Piper, one vote. All right. So we had four candidates receive votes. We're going to have them move on to round
053two. So that'd be Eric, Mario, Paige, and Piper. And then we have, in this round, we have a couple other questions. And then again, I'll leave it open to the board members to ask any other questions they want to ask. So why don't we... Let me do a random draw to see who gets the first question, because it'll be Eric, Mario, Paige, and Piper. Thanks, man. I'm holding you for it. Here you go. Eric, Piper. And then Mario. Mario. OK, so if you heard the order for this round of questions, it'll be Eric, Paige, Piper, and Mario. And then for the fourth question, it'll start with Piper and go in that order. So Eric Marley, you wanna read the third question? Sure. What do you believe are the most pressing issues facing our schools in
054the Burlington Area School District slash public education in general? Well, I'm gonna say it's finance right now. And I'm gonna help solve that problem in two ways. One, I'm going to take... Probably both of you with me down a quick trip to help my lottery numbers tonight because you've drawn my name first twice. So that's got to be a sign of good luck. That may offset part of the problem. The other problem with finance is it's multifaceted. And I don't claim to understand a whole lot of how to solve that problem, but I think that's one of the big challenges facing the school district, obviously. I think another part of the challenges facing the school district is how to, and I think it was alluded to, is how do we increase enrollment or retain students
055so they don't leave? Or if we can, and truly there is another factor determining the slide in enrollment, understanding how to balance that, that goes back. Thank you. All right, thank you. Paige. I think some of the main issues facing Burlington as well as broadly public education is... Obviously, financial has been a very large thing. Listening to the talk about the referendum and what we already don't have to cut and what we may have to cut and thinking through those kinds of solutions. Obviously, financial is a huge issue. I think another issue is... divisiveness. I think that not only do we live in a politically polarized time, but I think that over time there's been a bit of, you know, well the teachers want this or the school board wants this, but the parents want
056this and the taxpayers want this. And I think that it's going to be really important to remember that. those are the same people and we all have education and the children's best interests in mind. And I think being able to make sure that we're working together and thinking about all those roles at once in order to put education first. Thank you. This has worked for me because I just have to remember I follow Paige every time. So third round, go ahead. It wasn't my fault this time. Don't mess me up on the third one. I hate to sound unoriginal when I say that one of the most pressing issues is finances. I think that's at the forefront of what not only our district, but districts everywhere are facing. It just happens to be especially pertinent
057for the upcoming referendum. And with that, I think that goes along with that is recruiting and retaining quality employees. So, you know, to be competitive salary and benefit wise with so many districts nearby and how can we stay effective that way to bring in the best people. And then, as also mentioned, just attracting students to our district. We do have school choice. So how can we make investments in our. Community in our educational infrastructure to encourage enrollment here as well. Thank you, Mario. Great answers when i'm sitting when I come up here. Well, I come from old school. I have a lot of experience with lots of teenagers. For 35 years, I've always employed teenagers. Over the years, I've seen the struggles that they have in school. And the school systems now have a lot,
058there's a lot of issues. There's a lot of variables. It's just not, you know, go to school, learn your math, learn your reading, learn your arithmetic, you know, and go home, do your homework. It's more complicated nowadays. You come from broken families. You come from the media, the phone. You know, everybody wants to be on their phone. And education is kind of put to the wayside. So there's a lot of challenges, and there's a lot of fingers out there that, and, you know, I see the school here, and I see the grades, the score grades. Well, there's so many variables in that, all right? You know, Burlington, why can't Burlington have better overall grades? You know, but there's a lot of different things. There's public, there's a private school in town. Waterford doesn't have that.
059Union Grove doesn't have that. I think Geneva, I'm not sure if they have an elementary private. But so it's, there's so many different variables. All right. But I think the main thing is that it's really starts with the family and the parents need to, I'm talking from a personal side of that, is that parents have to be behind the education. They have to make it important in their family and set a good example to make sure that this is important. And the teacher teaching you this, well, yeah, you should listen to that teacher. Okay? And the teacher's teaching you what you need to know and respect that teacher. And that's probably maybe, I don't know, it could start from the board. We want to make sure we get along. Set a good example. But that's
060the challenges. There's just all these outside forces. So it's hard to juggle them and keep them all pretty much in line. All right. Thank you. All right. Roseanne, do you want to read the question? Given the demanding schedule of a board member, board meetings, and school events, describe how you'll be able to balance the multitude of requirements to fully participate in the duties of this office. So Piper. This is a question I actually have thought about myself as you're contemplating a run with young kids. You know, with young kids, anything can happen. I think we've had every sickness under the planet this winter. So, you know, things happen and I've missed work. I've missed things like that. So what can I say about commitment to the duties of the role? I wouldn't have put myself
061forward if I didn't think I could make that commitment. I also acknowledge that I would try my best to be at everything. I balance a full-time job right now. time for family and things like that. But yeah, I also acknowledge things happen and I'd have to adapt. I have a great support system that helps with my family and allows me to do things like this. So I have a supportive job that knows I've. put myself out there for this. So it is a jungle though and say that life happens and I'm committed to being present where needed and but also acknowledge that there I don't know that I could be at every single thing all the time. So thank you. Mario. I'll give you some thought before I got here. I'm semi-retired now. And in
062my other committees that I'm in charge of, I'm the president. So you understand this a little bit. Is that you can kind of control how your meetings are set. You can kind of control when things need to be done. So as a person that's really been in management, I manage myself quite well that way. So my commitment, it would be, and it's great that this opportunity come with one year because then I can figure it out, see how it fits into my schedule, and if it's something that works, I will continue. But that opportunity is great, and I appreciate that. So I have no problem because I'll be out of work and manage my time quite well. Great. Thank you. Eric. Sure. Given the demanding schedule of a board member with board meetings and school
063events, describe how you will balance the multitude of requirements to fully participate in the duties of the office. Right. And I think one of the things that was just said was opportunity. And you used the word demand, but I don't see it that way. I see that as opportunity. I'm fortunately or unfortunately, I don't know, an empty nester. So I have the opportunity to engage in more creative use of my time. I'm excited about the opportunities to learn. I don't know all that it means to be a school board member. But I'm really looking forward to learning about what that means and how best to benefit this community. So I see it as not a demand, but an opportunity. How will I do that? Well, my wife can't wait for me to get out and
064learn new things away from her. So I have her full support in pursuing these opportunities. And I really look forward to that. I think it's a fun and interesting way to give back to the community that's given me so much. So I don't see it as that demand, and I look forward to fulfilling those opportunities, taking some of that time I have and devoting it this way. Thanks. Paige. I think this evening the nerves have gotten to me a little bit, and I haven't made it clear enough what a priority this is for me. Public education has always been my passion, and now I have two young boys in the Burlington Area School District, and so I'm extremely invested, personally and professionally. I am very fortunate. I live in a multi-generational household, and I did
065have to ask my mother's permission to be here tonight without two young children past their bedtime. So I'm very fortunate to have a support system here. That allows me quite a bit of time for the things that I feel are important as a family. I'm currently a stay-at-home parent. My youngest will be in full-time kindergarten next year. And so I have been looking at ways to get back into education. in such a way that I can still support my family in the way that I have been able to these past few years, where I was an accidental stay-at-home parent that I never intended to be pre-pandemic world. So for me, it's just, I do have the time and it's a huge priority for me. All right. Thank you. Board members, does anyone else have any
066questions in general or? I guess I would have at least one. It's been handled differently by different board members over time. I know personally our kids went through the system. I've been doing this for a while. It's tough missing their events. I would always prioritize these meetings over hitting their events. And not everyone feels that way, and understandably. I have some regrets myself about it. I guess along Roseanne's line, I'm not really asking so much as asking people to really reflect on what that commitment means, because it's tough, especially when they're really young to miss their events, because you have to be here. So like Roseanne, I'm not really hearing a question, more of a statement, but which is perfectly fine. Hang on one second, I'll follow up with a question. Okay, you want to
067go Jeopardy? I wonder if I should have asked that question. Anybody else here have any questions? Okay. Well, then I think we should do what we did last time. Take a breather. Take a minute to relax. Get up and stretch if you want. And then board members, look for your ballot that's got round two on it. And don't forget to sign your ballot, please. All right, everyone. Susan's ready to announce the votes for round five. Okay, so here it is. Eric, you received two votes. Mario, you received two votes. And Paige received two votes. Oh, boy. Okay, so what I'm going to do is I can read the round three questions. So each of you will be in round three. Before you ask, Susan, let's draw again for one more time for the remaining three
068candidates, Marlo and Roseanne. The goal is to be absolutely fair, and I think if you have a few minutes to think of your answer, it helps. No. I'm sorry. Who are the three of you? Oh, it's Eric and Mario and it's Paige. Paige, Mario, and Eric. Okay, I'm sorry. Here, I'm just daydreaming. Okay. Here is your question. Help us to understand the degree to which you may be interested in running for this position when this appointment ends. That's a great question. That's definitely something that I have been thinking about, but with very little time to consider, as this happened very quickly from announcement to today. But running for office in such a way where I can use my skills to better my community has always been of interest to me. And so I... I do
069think that I would want to run pretty strongly about that. I had already been considering running, and I wasn't sure as a newer person to Burlington. I did live here as a young adult as well, and as I said, my parents lived here. It's been home base for me on and off as I went around to various educational institutions. But being able to serve Burlington in that way does very much interest me. I think I missed the order was a Mario or okay you are number two yeah forgive me well like I mentioned before this is great first of all thank you for your support um I ran before campaigning is is a challenge um but I think I'm going to probably want to run again because you know why I didn't throw my signs
070away So I have my signs. They're all in a box in storage. So this is, again, giving me a great opportunity to get my feet in here to show that I can contribute. I hope to even get some results. And you guys, again, pick my brain. Just don't pick it all out of me. And I'll probably consider running again. Like I said, I have my signs. So thanks. Okay, thanks. Eric? Yes, I thought about this, and I did never consider it a temporary position. Thank you. Board members, any other questions? Yeah, let's ask a question, Barry. Your comments are welcome, but let's get a question. And we'll have the second person go first this time. We have come to the conclusion as a board that we need... to have an operating referendum due to the
071lack of funding. Open enrollment alone won't fill the gaps. That referendum also entails cuts. So knowing that we're going to be in a very difficult situation in the next two years, how would you help move that forward? Thank you, Mario. Well, referendums are tough. Personally, to me, if I was on the board, I would feel like someone failed, all right? They have to ask the residents for more money. Where did I fail? I don't know. Did I fail in the budget? Where did I fail? Because I think people would like to see a stay in budget most of the time. So I would work really hard in trying to use the money well so that we don't have to do it again for a while. And I feel with my experiences and budgeting and making
072ends meet in my own business, sometimes I felt I never could, it was like, we're not gonna make it, not gonna make it, not gonna make it, but we made it. All right, we found a way. So I feel that I can contribute that and help solve it so we don't have to ask our residents for any more money. Thank you. I think it was Eric. I agree with that. I think this is real money from real people that has been entrusted to the stewardship of this board for spending. However, the question isn't that. The question is, how would we advance this referendum? Is that correct? So with that, I think education to provide to the people who make that decision, which is the constituents, not necessarily this board, is imperative. to teach them why
073that's necessary. Now I agree that there's a responsibility to understand why we got there in the first place, how to avoid that in the future. But the question is how to get it through. And I think education and informing the public as to why it's necessary is the way to do that. Thank you. Thanks. i agree that getting the public stakeholders on board is absolutely imperative looking at the list of already cuts to be cuts was frightening for me as a parent of young kids at burlington because of course we all want our kids to have the best of everything but also you know i'm a i'm a single parent and I've had to operate on small budgets and make decisions on what I can and can't enrich my own children's lives with. And I
074think that as a community and as a school district, we can understand how things need to happen and hopefully rebuild some of that trust with the community for the future. I think something that's really important for communities to understand is that education, public education, impacts everyone. Even if you choose to homeschool your children or choose to send your children to private school, and we have school choice in other districts, what kind of community do we want to live in? And I think most of us would say we want to live in a safe community where people... have a variety of vocations and respect one another. And I think that making sure that people understand public education's role in that community might help them invest in it more. Thank you. Any other board members have questions?
075I have one. I'm going to ask. I'd like to ask all three candidates. NEW SPEAKER 1 WE TALKED ABOUT THE MOST PRESSING ISSUES FACING THE DISTRICT. SPECIFICALLY WHAT IMPROVEMENTS WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE DISTRICT MAKE. YOU CAN ALSO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BOARD BUT I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU'D ENVISION AS A BOARD OR AS A NEW BOARD MEMBER. I THINK WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR HOW WE CAN GET BETTER. WE HAVE A VERY STRONG DISTRICT BUT WHAT IMPROVEMENTS COULD OUR DISTRICT MAKE. LET'S START IN THE PAGE. WHAT'S THAT? ERIC GOES FIRST. I think it's a great question. I'm sorry. No, I was under the impression that it was his turn to go. Yeah, no, go for it. So the question was, what improvements could you, I'm sorry. Let me repeat the question
076because I kind of meandered around a bit. So as a new board member, what improvements would you like to see the school district make? The school district think I'd like to see the establishment of a strategic plan that includes goals for how we're going to accomplish some of these tasks that are in front of us these challenges in front of us, identifying and prioritizing those needs so they can be addressed in a systematic way. I think some interesting things facing us are, as mentioned before, with the use of phones. How do we embrace technology and teach that to our students, the appropriate use of technology in schools? I think there's a lot of interesting areas that can be developed, but I think it should be addressed through a strategic plan that identifies priorities so they
077can be approached in a strategic way. Thank you. So it would be Paige. Paige, thanks, Marlo. I appreciate you keeping me on task. I lost track of the order. That's what we're laughing about. As a new parent to the district, something that I'd really like to see more of is more direct communication with parents. I think that one of the things I mentioned was feeling like it's schools versus home values when I really think that deep down we all want the same thing for our kids. And one example is my child is in first grade and there's already, right, the new math. That's been a thing for quite a few years now. But anyone who, you know, graduated elementary school many years ago doesn't understand that. I'd love to see. something, you know, it could
078be online presentations or a YouTube channel, helping parents understand what the new math means and why you shouldn't explain it the old way to your child or why this is beneficial for critical thinking. So I'd really love to see, and I know that teachers are already really taxed, so I'm trying to think of a good way that even things like the parent-teacher organizations could work more on some of that educational value and how to get parents and teachers working more as a team, which would hopefully alleviate some of the mystery that parents feel about education and some of that distrust. experts on their own children as valuable members of the educational team while also hopefully lessening a little bit on what teachers have to work with because maybe a child shows up as too much
079of a blank slate day after day depending on what can even happen. So that's one example. And I think I mean, pie in the sky or that we can afford the changes, right? I, you know, there's a lot of research showing how important it is for children to be able to move. I haven't seen very much seating in the classrooms that allows for wiggling. I haven't seen things that you can bounce your legs on. I have heard of, well, we weren't quiet enough today, so we didn't get our full recess 15 minutes. where research shows if you triple recess, achievement goes up. So perhaps policies like that, not being able to use the withdrawal of recess or restrict movement as behavior management. Those are just a few things that I've been thinking about. Okay, thank
080you. I feel that... schools needs to still stay focused on this and continue and fine tune the STEM programs. I think there's probably technology in everything that anybody could do if they go to college or not. Peter brought up a motto of mine is make it better. Any boards that I've been on, I've always tried to communicate stress, how can we make it better? How can we make it better than last year? How can we make our scores better than last year? How can we make our budget better last year? How can we make our enrollments better than last year? Everything that I, committees that I'm on and chair, it's how we can make it better. And then I think, again, the board needs to set a good example of professionalism. We have some great
081marketing. We need to see some accomplishments in the media what the school has done. All right. I don't know if the school did get that virtual body. Did that happen? Did the table? Do you know if that got table? Table? No. All right. Something similar to that. But then again, we show some of our accomplishments out to the media. And so that everybody would feel good about coming to Burlington board feels good the teachers feel good and then just trickles down. Thank you. Anybody else have questions. I think I could have another question because I think we're all struggling to with our decisions here and all eight candidates that came forward today were really well qualified and I could have any, any of you. This is something I've been thinking about, though. We've had challenges
082in our district that have been highlighted in the last few years on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Can you give me your thoughts on that and what we could do better as a school district to improve DEI? That's a tough question, but it's been in the news. It's not a secret, and it's something that we're working on and continue to work on. I'd love to hear from any of the candidates if they have thoughts on what they would do to make sure that our school districts serving all students. Marlo, I'm going to let you guide me on the order because I can't remember. Say what? For the candidates. Well, it would be page first. Yeah. Yeah. Come on down. Obviously, this is a really tough issue. And no school board and no town and no individual
083is going to solve anything systemic globally. But I think that part of the school's role is to make sure that diversity is celebrated. It should be talked about in school, starting at a really young age. I think that many of us grew up in a time where not talking about those things was considered more polite. And now I think it's more important that we teach our children that things are complicated. I know that when my son came home on President's Day talking about George Washington and his cherry tree, we also had some difficult discussions about slavery. how fascinating it is that we're talking about the founders of our country who are for equality and freedom and yet look at this that was also on their minds and so to me that absolutely starts at home
084with those kinds of conversations but I think that it's really important to make sure it's represented in the school as well I also think that We should be asking and figuring out how to involve more diverse families, right? This is not a problem that I certainly can solve. And I don't believe in no tolerance policies because I think that it doesn't give young people a chance to make mistakes. But perhaps at the older levels, I know some of the students were. accused or involved in using slurs during sporting events. If there could be some sort of mediation between parties rather than just go your separate ways, here's your punishment, here's, you know, we're leaving it up to others. I think I would want to consult the counseling department about ideas for that, especially for the
085older students as well. Mario. Well, as you know, I have two adopted children, one Hispanic and one black. They were more than happy to graduate from Burlington High School. They didn't have any issues. They felt well treated. They had lots of friends. And they were very comfortable going to school here. Actually, you know, it's one reason why I did run last year because my son said, you know, it's not that bad at Belton. So I think sometimes we can get pulled aside by special interests, and sometimes they have their own agenda. But it really boils down to what I've learned with my children is politeness. is who teaches politeness? Who says thank you? Who says, you know, what I pick on Taylor the same way I pick on Marlo? I'm not doing that. I'm not
086picking on either of you guys, okay? Because it's not polite, all right? It all boils down to politeness. And I think that's just gone to the wayside. And to treat everybody and just be plain nice. It's simple. Be nice. Be polite. How do you teach it? I don't know yet, you know? But if you're polite, you're polite to everybody. Black, white, Mexican, whatever. And that's what I taught my boys. Okay, always to be polite. Thank you. Sorry. Sorry I did that. Sorry I maybe said something wrong. All right, and apologize. All right, and then, but on the other hand, people need to learn that, hey, that's okay. You can move on. All right, thank you. I'm going to ask you again, Peter, to repeat the question. I apologize. Yeah, I think it was. What would
087you? I think it's along the themes of improvement. That was my last question, but the improvement on DEI diversity, equity, inclusion within our district. Sure. So we've had some challenges. It's a tough one. I acknowledge this is a challenge. Yeah, and I have no answer. I have some thoughts on, but I don't have an answer. I think this definition of what that means needs to be operationalized for this community. It's easy to get direction from outside. It's easy to get direction from Madison, Washington, or anywhere else. But we have to understand what that means for this community to make that effective. to make that take hold and to move people to meet that goal of equity, diversity, inclusion. I don't even know what those things really mean. But I'm eager to learn and find ways
088to implement that. I think what was said here by Mario goes a long way. Just general politeness and recognition of other people. It begins there. Where it ends, I don't know. I've yet to study that. Did you reset it Barry? I don't think so. Eric, if you have a look. Okay, maybe it was a sign from somewhere. I don't know. It was like Marlo and the lottery tickets. Didn't know where he was going. Board members, any other questions? Again, this is a tough choice. If you have anything else you want to. I've got a quick one. Yeah, please. Being a school board member. We are tasked and it's our responsibility to look out for the district as a whole, more importantly for the education of our students within the community. At times this can become
089very passionate. So my question to each of you would be how well do you handle adversity with that kind of responsibility? And I'm gonna let... Eric, go first. How well do you handle adversity? Well, it depends who you ask. Well, I'm asking you. I appreciate the passion that's expressed in viewpoints. And I think there's something to be heard. Now, I have been accused. Also, sometimes letting my thoughts get so loud I can't hear my mouth. But it's important to take that step back and hear that message when those things occur. When there is passion in an argument, it's meaningful. And it means that somebody cares deeply about an issue and that needs to be heard. And an attempt made to understand what that is. Okay, I think that's good. And trying to remember the depth
090of the question. No, that was good. Okay. Paige. Anyone in a public space, it's a difficult thing. And I think that you become a little used to it. You get a thicker skin. I agree that when people are passionate, when people come to school board meetings and have things to say, For me, it's really helpful to reframe thinking that, you know, they're not really attacking me. They desperately care about what's happening in their community, and so do I. And so I think finding things like that kind of helps me with some inner calm. And I promise to work on my poker. Thank you. I've mentioned it kind of before, but being passionate is huge. I think I'm passionate about everything I do. It makes my life nuts because I get so involved. And also then
091being on boards, I also want passionate people and I want to hear their opinions. I like to hear other opinions because I'm not perfect. And to learn, I'm always wanting to learn and other people's thoughts and processes may be totally different than I even considered it, I never considered. So passionate and being able to take it and give it, that's important. Thank you. I could use one more question. This will be my last one of the night. I know. I thought there was a limit. I'm struggling with this decision. As board members, at times, we face difficult decisions. So how would you go about, if you were on the board, making a decision? That's kind of a general question. We're presented different sides of an argument. And what would your process be for making a
092decision? Mario? This is a marathon. Yeah. Last question for me, I promise. Well, again, I'm the old guy here, so I've made a lot of decisions in my life. All right. You got to weigh pros and cons. You got to see how it benefits, what the end result could be, and you make it. You take a sigh of relief and you say, hey, I hope it's the right one. But what's great about being on a board is that you've got other people that are going to help you with that decision. All right. You're not making a decision by yourself. So you contribute, you listen to others, and all as a team, you come up with a solution. And then as a board, you have to live with that. I won't necessarily, you know, I may
093want that conversation to go on more because I still feel a little bit. undecided and how I wanted to make that. But then once it's made, it's made. And it's, you have to live with it and you have to then learn from it. And if it works, it works. If it doesn't, you make it better the next time. Paige? I think in any decision making, it's really important to consider as many sides and views as you can, knowing that there are such a variety of stakeholders. I also think it's really important to consider short-term and long-term consequences of a decision. And while, for example, the referendum in front of us, it's okay, this is these three years, right? I also think that long-term, it means a lot to the children who are graduating in those
094three years or starting middle school in those three years. And so thinking about things on both a small, right now scale, and how does this affect the whole community, the whole child. For me, I think it's really beneficial to hear public opinion. The people who show up are the people who get heard. but also as a board member and a community member. I think it's our responsibility to inform ourselves. I'm a lifelong learner. I will research a subject. I'm very fortunate to have social connections with the other parents of Burlington, as well as lots of people in my life who are in education because of my own background. as well as a foot in the door of educational research and some of those studies that have been done and how this has impacted this and
095that developmentally and educational achievement wise. So I think trying to consider all of that and then really listening to the people who show up. The question was again i'm sorry how would you go about the decision making process as a board member that's a great question right and such a hard thing to do to understand and articulate decision analysis because there are so many decisions with so many factors that are presented I think there's a couple of ways initially as a member of this board keeping in mind the priority of why we're here it's for the students Now that needs to be balanced in a lot of respects by, you know, what can the community support to fulfill that mission. So that's another factor in that analysis. You can't tax a million dollars per household
096to provide the best education possible. I don't know if that's really effective. or even a question. But I think identifying priorities, assessing uncertainty, and then applying that with that goal of preserving resources or providing resources for education of students needs to be the priority. And from that, you can assess the decision. I think there's so many decisions that it's hard to apply any one structure or set of logic to it. But keeping that priority of students first is a good place to start. How I would go about that entire decision process, I can't actually tell you. Thank you. I have nothing more to say. I promise. No, it's a long process. I appreciate people's... Nope. Anything else? Oh, okay. This was actually prompted by Peter's question. I had it at the back of my mind,
097but this is a perfect follow-up, I think. We do face a lot of tough decisions on this board, and we don't always agree on the final decisions. However, when they do pass, how do you move forward if you disagree with the final decision? What is your presentation to the public? When you meet people that say, I can't believe they did this, what is your response? I think that's the strength of the board, is that there is an allowance for that individual difference in that discourse and contemplative nature of the board. But once the decision is made, that decision needs to be presented as a unified front. I think that in reviewing the board handbook, there was a lot in there about how you as an individual. Are you sure? You're done. Our answer is we
098went from three minutes to three seconds. I'm happy to grant you another two minutes and 53 seconds. No, start over. I think you were talking about reviewing the handbook. Yes, thank you. In reviewing the handbook, it spoke to some of that. It didn't necessarily say all board members must face a united front. But I do think that for the health of the district, it's not necessary for us to say. as individuals, well, that's what they decided. I think that it's best to come at it from a team approach. I was just having the same discussion with my seven-year-old. He was learning about whether or not the Echo Lake Dam would be taken down or repaired and restored, and they were talking about that in social studies in first grade. And he was disappointed in the
099outcome. And so we talked about how he just, he said, my mom, we lost my side, it lost. And I said, you know what? We learned so much about each side, why people feel that the dam should be saved and what this lake means to the community. And we learned so much about ecology and why people thought. the river should be restored and everything changed. And this was a decision that didn't hurt anyone, right? No one's fundamental rights were being challenged. And this is a part of being a community. And so I feel like I can bring that forward. And this is what we as the keepers of Burlington School District. Mary, come on, you know my answer. I've had the experience of these boards. It's a board. It's not an I. I run my
100own business. I take full credit for that. But this is a board decision. And if I don't agree, fine. But I want the board to succeed. We need to set an example. We need to move forward. We need not be divisive. And I understand all that. I get it. Okay? And I will be professional. understand it. This is the board. I know how that works. I've had success in all the boards I've been on and I understand it 100%. Thank you. I thought you were going to say something. Anyone else? I think we're done then. Roseanne and I will make sure. Alright, that's a lot of Q&A, so thank you. Again, stand up and stretch. We'll vote last ballot. I'm gonna run one more time. Yeah, I might start crawling though. Eric, you have one
101vote. Mario, two votes. And Paige, you have three votes. Well, the good news is there's not a round four by policy. The bad news is good grief. As board president, I have to make the decision. And I have 60 days, but there's no way I'll take 60 days. But I can't make it right now. I'm overwhelmed with the challenge of this. But... Doesn't it say the top vote? Well, I think you have to get to four votes. You have to get to four votes? How do you read that? Well, let me look at the policy. That's a good point. Yeah. And even so, I think we have a second round of votes before it goes to you. Another round? I think it does, Mario. What is our policy? Let me pull the policy out because
102I don't want to get this wrong. I don't know if you follow the news, but Kenosha had some issues at their school district about, not this particularly, but we have a policy. It's 142.5 on vacancies and then filling the board vacancy. It says if a majority, in quotations, it says four member votes, which I assume. they assume you have six members voting, is received by a candidate, then that candidate with the majority will fill the vacant board. If a majority is not met by any candidate, there'll be two additional rounds of voting, which we've been through right after the first round, in attempts to obtain a majority for an individual candidate. If after three rounds of voting, a candidate does not receive a majority, then the board president will appoint one of the candidates from
103the original candidate list. within 60 days of the date of which the first vacancy exists. So that's the letter of the law. Well, I don't want to drag this on. I think we should, as board president, I'm going to go with the majority, or not the majority, but the consensus. All page should be appointed with three votes. Congratulations. I didn't think it was fair to drag this on. It was a really hard decision. I would have liked to have slept on it, but I think it's the right decision. And I can't say enough about... each of the candidates that came forward tonight. I was really impressed with all eight of you. Also the bravery though to come forward and put yourself through this process where you have to answer questions and I hope you all
104consider service to the district either as board members or in another capacity in the future. Each of you are excellent. All right. Meeting's adjourned. Thank you.