I wanted to make sure someone stood up to take accountability and I was most nervous about our district losing talented teachers. I dont think we need some new program or initiative to get us there. Nondiscrimination: The Oconomowoc Area School District provides assurance that no student is discriminated against because of the student's sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability. Incumbent Juliet Steitzer was unseated in the election by. I believe that as representatives of the community the board should always have time to hear people out and I appreciate the board making that change now that I am there. Recall supporters had 60 days to collect signatures from citizens in the school district. Jessica Karnowski for Oconomowoc School Board, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. 2023 www.jsonline.com. Stay informed with WPR's email newsletter. Providing support for the educators of our school district, who continue to do incredible work with our students. Steitzer, Herro, and Roehl were joined in approving the proposal by members Dan Raasch and Rick Grothaus. However, we need to respect those who choose to still wear a mask. Past board members began to work on personal agendas and that led to a great deal of dysfunction. The OASD School Board holds a regular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at the Oconomowoc High Schoo East Campus, starting at 6:30 p.m. >>Click here for the 2021-22 Regular School Board Meeting Schedule. In conversations with parents, teachers, and members of the community there is consensus that the school board can do better. The OASD School Board holds a regular monthly meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at the Oconomowoc High Schoo East Campus, starting at 6:30 p.m. >> Click here for the 2021-22 Regular School Board Meeting Schedule Wood said the current HVAC system at Oconomowoc High School is from the 1960s and not up to today's . "For those who did not vote for me I want to thank you for coming out and participating in the process. Oconomowoc Area School District, on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, the following offices are to be elected to succeed the present incumbents listed. SHARE. The meeting schedule for the Finance, Operations, and Advancement (FOA) committee and Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA) committee are available by clicking the link below. Roehl said he also preferred an in-person learning model, but that it needed to be phased in to ensure the safety of students and staff. "I was the board president during Act 10, so I understand a contentious audience, but this took it to a whole other level," said Terri Phillips, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance and a former school board member. And if not, well, then this is the board the community wants.". I want to be their voice on the board and fill the void that exists today by addressing issues that are pressing after a horrific pandemic. To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here. OCONOMOWOC The Oconomowoc Area School Board appointed three new members in Neal Ninmann, Sandy Schick and Chad Schraufnagel last Wednesday to replace the three board members who had resigned last month. Contact info: 920-474-7796;thielw@oasd.org. 3 Oconomowoc Area School Board members quit, citing toxic behavior and hyper-partisan environment. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. "[1], Jason Baumann, a member of the group, said, "We're all concerned parents in the district that are not happy with the way things are going in general with our district, with our school board. Decisions should be based on collaboration and transparency. Address: N56 W35146 Pondview Lane, Oconomowoc Past political experience: Current board member Community involvement: Current school board member, former Oconomowoc rec league coach.. "Its not a specific group thats necessarily capturing the board, but its the ideological conflict itself thats capturing the board," he said. "We have gone as far as we could to try to have a board working together, and a board that would work with the administration as a team effort," he said. All Rights Reserved. I look forward to continuing my involvement as a parent and community member in selecting a new superintendent, addressing transportation safety concernsand long-range planning for our educational spaces.". Interns wanted: Get paid to help ensure that every voter has unbiased election information. This enrollment out is currently larger than our enrollment in and every time that happens, we have fewer resources to work with. An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Oconomowoc Area School District school board in Wisconsin did not go to a vote in 2020. One thing that really helps now is the open debate and discussion that happens between board members, without becoming personal or offending other members. And my third priority is Student Global Impact. If we are forming students at OHS to be grounded, responsible and accountable, that should focus primarily on how their actions are impacting others around them at home, at school, in the community and around the world. This year, though, board meetings have gotten tense, and a combination of public pressure and district politics mean many wont put those precautions in place. "But where you start off with the entrenched ideological conflict, thats where its just destructive it makes governing impossible.". The candidates responded to a questionnaire about how they would bring stability and cohesiveness back to the board and about masks and in-person and virtual learning. I am a good fit for this role as I can work well with a variety of people, and I can agree and disagree with them without allowing it to become personal. Then in November, board member Scott Roehl left after moving out of the district and saying in a Facebook post that he and his family did not feel safe in their home. You can help too. Application Contact Phone. Believe it or not, that small step over time will also help us become a better district. L- Leadership- You manage things; you lead people. Empowering a Community of Learners and Leaders, 262-560-2101WoodJ@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2024, 262-560-2101KarnowskiJ@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2024, 262-560-2101CarricoM@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2024, 262-560-2101SchickS@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2023, 262-560-2101NinmannN@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2025, 262-560-2101SchraufnagelC@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2023, 262-560-2101ThielW@oasd.orgTerm Expires: April 2025, Meeting Schedule / Notices / Agendas/ Meeting Summaries. The property should be listed very soon. Neither Raasch nor Grothaus could be included in the recall as they had not yet served on the board for a full year. I have served this district in many capacities over the last 6 years, both in leadership roles and on subcommittees.. Schools Details: WebSchool Year Calendar - Oconomowoc Area School District.Quicklinks. OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - Divisive, bullying, partisan tactics are among the reasons why three Oconomowoc Area School Board members said they resigned Sunday night, Aug. 15. Fortunately, I pray all of that is behind us. "It created immediate, aggressive reactions, not only by those two board members, but also a faction of the community that they were aligned with," said Grothaus. [2] [3] Results General election "I would just like to thank them for their service to the Oconomowoc Area School District," said board member Scott Roehl. We dont believe that people want our community to be characterized by the divisive, bullying, selfish, partisan tactics that seem to be so prevalent today. Boiling tensions are exacerbated by the structure of school boards themselves, said Dan Rossmiller, director of government relations at the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Schraufnagel:Masks should remain optional. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. Chad E. Schraufnagel (i) andBill Thiel (i). The three members have stepped down, citing how the Oconomowoc Area School District has been pulled into partisan culture wars., Because of the dysfunctional and disrespectful behavior of the remaining Board members and interim superintendent, Board work has become toxic and impossible to do, the letter states. Stay up-to-date on all the latest Oconomowoc-area news with a subscription: Click here. Their answers were limited to 100 words. Community involvement: Five O's Baseball coach, youth football coach, and we lead the annual Anderson Family Holiday Gift Drive supporting local families, Contact info: 414-426-4114;andrew1anderson@hotmail.com, Address:N64 W37630 Woodcrest Drive, Oconomowoc, Community involvement:Current appointee to Oconomowoc School Board since September 2021;volunteer, Downtown Business District, past board member, OconomowocArea Baseball Club, Past political experience:19+ years on the school board Oconomowoc Area School District, Community involvement: Oconomowoc Area School District, Okauchee Lions Club, Boy Scouts former merit badge counselor, Contact info:schick.sandy@yahoo.com; 262-567-2725 (home), Address: N53 W37160 E. Madison St., Oconomowoc, Past political experience: Sat on the HeadStart Board, Champaign, Illinois, 2003-05. Incumbents Jessica Karnowski and James Wood received the most votes and will retain their seats. Despite the mass resignation, the letter states the members believes there is enough insulation between the Board and the classroom that teachers can still do good work for kids. In-person learning includes more than book learning, like social interaction, dedicated learning spaces (not dining room tables)and much more. I am excited to continue the momentum that the board has established. They'll be posting those vacancies immediately. OCONOMOWOC, Wis. Three Oconomowoc Area School Board members have resigned together, citing toxic behavior within the board. The Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD) issued a cease and desist letter to a parent threatening her with a defamation lawsuit for statements she made in public forums about the use and accessibility of age-inappropriate material. Apply today! All rights reserved. Only ONE is too many, but the actual numbers are alarming! We hope the time will soon come again when it is possible to work together collaboratively for the good of our community and its children and stop letting the distractions and personal political agendas take us off that course.. Third, we deserve a school board that can operate for more than six months without creating negative headlines. In August 2021, Rick Grothaus, Kim Herro and Dan Raasch resigned from the board due to what they said was the board's "unwillingness to collaborate in good faith.". Nondiscrimination: The Oconomowoc Area School District provides assurance that no student is discriminated against because of the student's sex, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, creed, pregnancy, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, or physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability. What a concept! She thanked the three resigning members for the service and the wrote, in part, "Public service is a difficult endeavor that has been exacerbated by the current division in society as a whole" and, "While the timing and orchestrating of these resignations have taken away from our work, I am confident in the remaining school board members and their commitment to our students and families.". More: Candidates for Oconomowoc mayor share views on growing inflation, infrastructure and public safety. That mindset is the only way for us to grow as a district to go from good to great. Divisive, bullying, partisan tactics are among the reasons why three Oconomowoc Area School Board members said they resigned. DPI, the State of WisconsinDepartment of Public Instruction, has a budget for student mental health that has increased to meet the students needs after the pandemic. [1], Herro said it was the community's right to issue a recall. Bottom line, we need to increase our market share. As a mother of two high-schoolers, an educator, and an online course developer in health and wellness, I have been researching programs and interventions used successfully by other districts that we can bring to the OASD to support students who are hurting. "The kids recognized that this was an important part of them staying healthy, because they didnt want to miss their sports and their other activities and school, they didnt want to miss the end of the year activities.". School Board Meetings and Agendas Meeting Schedules. Feb 10, 2022 Updated Jun 3, 2022. The girl succumbed to social isolation first and bullying and feeling left out through social media next. A statement from Interim Superintendent Kristen Taylor also focused on the future. We no longer employ consultants to work with the board on how to be board members. The four remaining school board members were in attendance, but no action was taken on one of the items that divided the board -- masks. Whilethere is a place for students who want to do online learning, it is not for all students. [3][4], The recall effort started after the school board voted 5-2 in August 2020 to approve a blend of virtual and in-person learning for students returning to school for the 2020-2021 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Incumbent Jessica Karnowski and newcomers Juliet Steitzer and James Wood defeated incumbents John Suttner and Donald Wiemer. What a blessing this would be for parents! The community has referenced that a large majority of families elected to start school in a full face-to-face model. "Weve got some young people, students who have gotten up and spoken in front of the board on the importance of being in school face-to-face, and then you have adults who are bullying them and cheering them," he said. I also attended many school board meetings regarding masking and in-person classes. In January, the Oconomowoc School Board agreed to put a two-question facilities referendum on the ballot totaling $75.45 million. Learn more about the Oconomowoc Area School District at www.oasd.org. Ford said theres also been a blurring between the district administrations role and the role of school board members. "Good people are not going to run for office when their reputation will be damaged because of partisan bickering," Steitzer said. The board did take a vote on replacing the three board members who left. Rick Grothaus, Dan Raasch, and Kim Herro announced their. 'The Culture Became Caustic,' Said One Board Member. Empowering a Community of Learners and Leaders. Schmitz:A lady sat next to me on my flight back from a conference in Florida last November and told me she was traveling with a group of five school mothers on a first vacation together since 2020. Ballotpedia features 395,577 encyclopedic articles written and curated by our professional staff of editors, writers, and researchers. In May, after Gov. My heart sunk. | Anderson:As a parent of four, the wake of our school board making national news for toxic dysfunction hit hard. Schlesingers Saturday Spotlight (3/4)String Art, 80s Prom Shower chances on/off this weekend with winter weather late in Milwaukee native Ernie Johnson, Jr. honored with Award of Excellence Drop your guns, pick up our gloves: Boxing club uses movie Route 20 holds benefit concert for human trafficking victims. From left to right: Mike Sereno, Joe Koch and Jeridon Clark. Roehl'sseat is also up for election April 5. It is intrinsic to its mission: Unless students are mentally fit and emotionally stable, they cant learn and therefore, they will not be able to lead. The 2,656 sq. One of our top priorities will be to review and respond to enrollment fluctuations by continuously focusing on investing in our teachers, buildings and curriculum both financially and through policy updates that give autonomy to district leadership. Kim Herro, Rick Grothaus and Dan Raasch had been trying to change the boards approach to governance and leadership, which they felt was toxic and made it impossible to collaboratively work on solutions, for over a year. Three of the seven seats on the Oconomowoc Area School District school board in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Schraufnagel:It is important for board members to support the school district as a whole and not get into personal projects. I will continue to work with the community and administration to keep our schools open for in-person learning. The chart below details the status of 2020 recall efforts by individual school board member.

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