By Kris Leonhardt/League of Women Voters of the Stevens Point Area

STEVENS POINT – On Feb. 21, Stevens Point Area School District voters will narrow a field of seven school board candidates to six in the race for three available seats, during the primary election.

The League of Women Voters reached out to the seven candidates to learn more about them and why they are running

Following are half of the candidate responses in order of receipt:

Miguel Campos

Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that qualify you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board:

 A true Wisconsinite through and through since moving to the central Wisconsin area at the age of six.

I have lived in the Stevens Point area for the past 18 years after moving from Wausau to attend UWSP.

Shortly after graduation I met my lovely wife and we settled down with two amazing young boys, currently 7 and 11 in the School District.

I love spending time with my family going camping, enjoying the many local waterways and beaches, coaching soccer, or watching my boys play basketball or hockey games during the winter.

When I’m not enjoying family leisure time you will find me in the employs of Berkshire Hathway Specialty Insurance helping mitigate risks for small businesses across the country.

Moreover, I own and operate a local property management and rental home company focusing on young professionals, families, and pet lovers in need of a place to call home.

I am also an active board member with the IGNITE Young Professional Organization of Portage County, and I serve on the Grants Committee of the Community Foundation of Central Wisconsin, and the county board’s Diversity Affairs and Inclusiveness Committee.

I have loved this community since the first day I arrived for school at UWSP in 2005.

Now that I have my own kids attending school here, I made the decision it was time to get more involved in the future of their education, and for me the best way to do that is by going right to the source, the local school board.

Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish:

Our children are our future, and in that reality I find that school is one of the most influential establishments in their young lives.

This makes their schooling and the institution of schooling extremely important to the success of the child, and ultimately the greater society at large.

The overseers of that system serve a very important role in the continuation of such an important facet of societal development.

As life would have it a large portion of the current civic volunteer population is aging and getting ready to pass the baton to the new leaders and volunteers.

Unfortunately, society never seems to get less busy and the free time available for civic volunteerism becomes exponentially more difficult but never less important.

I felt compelled to step up and start receiving the historical knowledge needed to usher in the next cohort of leaders, and to offer my breadth of knowledge to create a well-rounded and diverse set of ideas, opinions, and solutions for the District.

I am at a point in life where I have a good work-life-play balance that affords me the ability to serve on a School Board.

As a parent, a community member, a former student, a tax payer, and a believer in the importance of quality education it is my desire to offer my service and time to help contribute to the continuation of an amazing school district for future students.

What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them:

Teacher retention and attraction is one of the top priorities, and top issues facing our school district.

With the demographic climate changing every year, and the job market in a constant flux, it has become increasingly difficult to attract and retain good teachers.

This is not a task that will be solved by any single person, board, or solution but rather will need a continuous diverse set of ever changing solutions adapted to the sweeping changes in our community, society, and job market. 

The easiest initial solution in addressing these issues is to welcome the teachers and staff into the board room to hear their input on what their challenges are and what they might recommend as solutions.

Another top priority in the district would be to address the learning loss both pre and post-COVID related.

It is not hard to find a study showing that US education overall is lagging behind financially comparable Nations.

We need to work creatively as a board to identify ways to close the learning gap for all students. 

Last but not least we need to address the looming financial and demographic difficulties headed our way.

It is no secret that less children are being born, less teachers are coming out of college, more competition is entering the schooling arena, costs are increasing for everything, and the political climate surrounding public education has never been more divisive.

 All these factors are interrelated and need to be openly discussed by all stakeholders sooner rather than later.

A proactive approach versus a reactive approach will help create more meaningful and lasting solutions that serve everyone’s interests. 

My approach to addressing these topics is to make the public aware of the issues and invite them to our Board meetings to hear their opinions and solutions.

A board is there to represent the greater community but the community’s input is still valid and needed.

I don’t imagine these conversations will be without their share of criticism, skepticism, and distrust but open conversations among board members and the community will help better prepare all community stake holders of the headwinds the district faces, and allow the community to be a part of the solutions.

Gee Pope

Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that qualify you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board:

Resident of Stevens Point for 38 years.

 Bachelor of Science chemistry/Biology from UW River Falls. Master of Science teaching from UW Stevens Point.  Master of Arts Education Administration.

Three boys that are graduates of Stevens Point school district.

Science teacher for 30 years, 20 years in Stevens Point district.

Wife, Deb, 30 year special education teacher, 24 in Stevens Point district.

Associate lecturer in chemistry at UWSP six years. Currently a student teacher supervisor for UWSP.

Volunteer at Operation Bootstrap and Meals on Wheels.

Wrestling coach for 20 years at SPASH.

Retired from teaching since 2011.

Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish:

Our students deserve the best we can offer them to help them succeed in a very pluralistic society. 

I advocated for the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusive curriculum that we, as a board set in motion in the last three years.

Our students will be going into a world in which they will work and associate with people of many different cultures. 

They should know something about them and the various cultures they represent.

I will advocate for the support of our staff in our schools that go above and beyond every day to educate, encourage and support every student in our schools.

I have personally witnessed this many times.

By participating in webinars, seminars, and other meetings offered by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.

I have educated myself on the current topics and issues facing our students in Wisconsin today.

I have two more already scheduled this spring.

I will continue doing so to keep current on the issues facing our school district.

I want to advocate for increased pay for our staff that has not seen a real raise in pay, for 13 years now.

They have, in fact, had their pay reduced when measured against inflation.

All these will help to improve the education we offer to our students.

What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them:

a. As a board member, I support making sure our curriculum is rigorous, challenging and truthful. We need to make sure that our students have the abilities to function in a world that prizes knowledge and hard work to succeed.

b. Almost every school district in Wisconsin is facing a “fiscal cliff” this year and the next. As we look for ways to save money we also have to confront the real problem that Wisconsin schools are slowly being financially squeezed.  The cost is coming due.  We have the money in the state now to help, without raising taxes.

c. The staff in our schools have actually lost earning power in the last 20 years.  People are not going into teaching and they are leaving teaching such that we are having positions going unfilled.  This situation is only getting worse.  We need to do something about this if we want to continue to offer our students effective education.

Christina Scott

Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that qualify you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board:

I have lived and worked in Stevens Point for over 20 years.

My son attended most of his school years here. He was the main reason I became a member of the school community in a number of different ways.

I started as a school and district volunteer and a substitute educational assistant.

I was a parent member of the district advisory committee. I also volunteered as a member of a school facilities committee.

I visited each of our schools in order to actually see what was being proposed for a possible referendum. I wrote a chapter that was part the district facility report.

As a community member I visited different districts around the state to get a clear understanding of Wisconsin’s school funding system and its affects.

I attended school board and committee meetings for about two years before running for office.

Although I am a high school graduate I have taken a number of classes over the years.

Now that I have retired I may work toward a higher education level.

Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish:

I am running for the board again for many reasons but here a few.

I have a deep understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a school board member.

As community members we are tasked with hiring and evaluating a superintendent who runs the operations of the district.

We must pass a balanced budget and monitor it during the year.

We must set policy, along with the administration, that aligns with the values of the community and follows the law.

Having served with a number of Superintendents and boards I feel very competent in serving in this role.

Over the years I’ve served on all board committees and chaired some.

I also served as vice president a number of times.

I have been a part of many wonderful additions, changes and accomplishments the district has made.

I would like to help move our district ahead into the future.

With the support of the community, my motivation has always been to provide as many opportunities helping our children leave our schools with the tools they need to move forward.

What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them:

I believe three issues currently facing our district (along with other districts in the state) are these.

We currently have a structural deficit which in simple terms means more money going out than coming in.

Although we received one time funds during COVID, these funds run out and are not continuous.

The state legislature decided not to raise per pupil aid or increase state revenue limits.

Our means of addressing this is asking tax payers for more (referendum) or potential cuts.

Our students have been struggling with social/emotional needs and after the pandemic concerns have increased across the district.

Our staff has had to do far more just to keep up, especially with the learning loss that has occurred over the last few years.

In order to reach our mission of preparing each student to be successful we need to continue educating everyone in understanding the true meaning of equity, inclusion and diversity in our schools and community. 

As one of nine board members I would advocate for making these issues front and center in discussions regarding priorities for our students and district.

Alex Sommers

Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that qualify you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board:

I have been an educator for 11 years, teaching English, Espanol, and ESL, having graduated from UW-Stevens Point. I have worked with a variety of different stakeholders in education to achieve positive outcomes for students. I also have my masters in education (with certifications in principalship and director of curriculum and instruction) which provide me other lenses to see education through and better assist students and staff.

Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish:

I decided to run for school board because I, as a parent, community member, current middle school/high school teacher, and as someone holding a master’s degree in educational administration with certification in curriculum, realized that my point of view can benefit the Stevens Point School District. I have the ability to view things from many different angles. With that ability, I can assist our district in moving forward.

What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them:

The first item that is greatly affecting our district is our turnover of employees. I have heard from multiple teachers that they feel unheard by the school board. This is a recurring theme that has been voiced at board meetings as well, yet unsolved. Teachers are frustrated with what they are being asked to teach, outside of their curricular area. It is too vital that these positions are not understaffed as they provide education and safety for our children.

The second area we should look at is students who are open enrolling in other districts rather than remaining within ours. As a district, we have to make sure that we aren’t losing kids to other districts but are retaining all of our students. According to the 2020-21 school budget (Third Friday count), the district is down 240 students from last year. This is a significant number, and an area to address. We need to reach out to them and see why they are leaving and address that within our schools so we aren’t losing these students.

This problem goes into the third thing which needs to be addressed: the budget. On account of the loss of students, our funding is also going down. We have to make sure that we are using all of the tax dollars we receive to the best of our abilities.  If we continue to spend at the rate we are right now, we will need to pass another referendum. We need to be wise financial stewards. The funds entrusted to us need to be utilized with student achievement and educational outcomes as the priority.

Ted Kowalski

Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that qualify you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board:

I am a UW-Madison graduate and have lived in the Stevens Point School district for over 30 years. I have been a citizen volunteer on the Business Services/Human Resources Committee of the school board since October of 2019. This participation has provided me with the experience and knowledge necessary to feel confident to be a member of the school board. Prior to my retirement, I worked at Bushmans’ Inc in Rosholt as transportation manager. In 2018, I attended Mid-State Technical College and then worked for Mid-State Accounting, LLC as a tax associate until I retired in July of 2022. I believe in life-long learning and continue to be a part-time student at MSTC.

I have been married for over 46 years and my three children graduated from SPASH and UW Stevens Point. When my children were in school, I was PTO treasurer at Roosevelt school and a Portage County Youth Soccer coach for 16 years. I am a member of Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church and past deacon and elder. I have been a Toastmaster for over 31 years and been involved in leadership, training, mentoring and have earned the award of Distinguished Toastmaster, the highest level of educational achievement in the organization. I am also a tax preparer volunteer at the Aging and Disability Resource Center – Lincoln Center with Taxpayer Counseling for the Elderly.

Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish:

I look forward to more actively participating in this innovative school district, helping each student to be successful. As a member of the school board, I would help provide leadership in a team atmosphere, looking to do what is right for the parents, students, community, teachers, other staff, and administration. I view this work as an oversight position and look for fiscal efficiency, effectiveness and responsibility balanced by the needs of the district.

What are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them:

There are many current issues which include teacher retention and recruitment, professional development, curriculum and electives. As a board member I am interested in promoting student mental health, addressing the learning loss during the pandemic and the politicization of the school board.

Robert Larson

Please share a brief biography of your education, background and life experiences that qualify you to take a leadership role serving on the Stevens Point Area School District Board:

I lived most of my life in Stevens Point. I spent four years in the United States Air Force. After service I went to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After graduating from the university, I went to work for Kraft Heinz. I retired from Kraft Heinz in 2001. During this time I married and had two children. During my retirement I ran for a seat on the Stevens Point School Board. I was successful twice, so I have six years of experience on the school board.,

Why are you running for this office and what do you hope to accomplish, and what are the top three issues facing the Stevens Point Area School District and how would you approach addressing them:

If the voters of the Stevens Point School District elect me to the school board, my commitment to you is:  

1. Wearing masks would be optional in all school district buildings. 

2. Following city guidelines – allow the public to speak for 3 minutes on a non-agenda item.

3. Consider restructuring the district by the following measures that would reduce the number of students in our overcrowded elementary schools:

                a. Move 6th grade out of the elementary schools

                b. Make Ben Franklin a 6th grade and 7th grade school

                c. Make P.J. Jacobs an 8th grade and 9th grade school

4. Investigate programs to help employees get Group Health and Drug care at ages 55-65. The employee would pay the premium but would allow them to participate at a Group Rate.

I encourage everyone in our district to go out and vote in the upcoming Feb. 21 election. Each vote matters and is greatly appreciated.

Colin Kobishop

Kobishop did not respond to numerous requests from Gazette staff and the LWV.