For the Gazette

STEVENS POINT — The League of Women Voters recently had candidates from the District 9 and school board primary races on Feb. 19 answer three important questions regarding their candidacy. All answers are verbatim below.

Kurt Pulvermacher

Brief Bio

After having graduating from UWSP in 1999 I knew I always wanted to move back to Stevens Point.  In 2010, I returned with my wife Jeanne, maiden name Ordens, who grew up in Stevens Point.  We have 2 sons, who attend McDill school.

Why are you seeking public office? 

I am seeking a position on the school board because I believe schools are the lifeblood of this community.  I want our schools to be a reason employers stay or move to Stevens Point.  We live in a competitive global community and the best way for us to compete is to have top notch education.  Neglecting education due to short term budget crunches will only hurt our ability to compete.

What are the biggest issues facing the school board in the coming years?

Prior to the referendums’ passing SPASD was spending on average about $1,500 less per student than the average school district in Wisconsin.  While SPASD cannot control what it receives in state funding it must manage the budget it has.  To meet that goal I view the two highest priorities as hiring and retaining top talent both in out of the classroom, and trying to have the most favorable student to teacher ratios we can reasonably afford.  The rest of the budget should be managed to free dollars for these two priorities.

I see those as the two highest priorities because I have seen countless times in my life and the life of others the profound effect of a truly dynamic teacher in a person’s life.  Also I believe the evidence of student to teacher ratio especially at the elementary level has one of the strongest correlations to student success.