By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
As the spring election draws closer and the only contested race in the area heats up, Burlington Area School District School Board candidates have answered more than their share of questions.
The latest round of inquiries came at the Southern Lakes Newspapers candidate forum March 19 at Veterans Terrace.
Three of the five candidates remaining in the race – incumbent William Campbell and challengers Jim Berndt and Todd Terry – were at the forum. Rosanne Hahn and Bob Lemken, the remaining two candidates, missed the forum because of prior commitments.
About 35 to 40 people showed up for the Wednesday evening forum.
The forum featured 12 questions, 10 formulated by Standard Press staff and two submitted by the public. Each candidate was given three minutes to answer a question, and also a 45-second rebuttal if wanted.
Opening and closing statements were heard, as well as submitted statements from the two absent candidates.
Lemken’s statement focused on the election being bipartisan – and therefore, finding the best candidate to serve the children and conduct the district as a business.
“Fiscally, I believe citizens expect the district to live within its means, similar to a family, business or a government,” Lemken wrote. “To that end, the BASD should avail itself of every opportunity to implement the state and federal initiatives that assist in reducing costs without sacrificing the local control of the curriculum and extra-curricular activities.”
Lemken also stressed applying rules and procedures consistently and aiming for accountability.
Hahn, meanwhile, stressed her experience as a teacher and School Board member.
“My experiences in education make me a valuable board member,” Hahn wrote. She said many issues are facing the district, including funding, and 4-year-old kindergarten.
“I feel our board has done a fine job of keeping the taxes low and the quality of education high,” she wrote. “We can be proud of our school system.”
Meanwhile, there were no surprises from Berndt, Campbell or Terry. Many of their answers seemed to be similar to what the other candidates said – and the candidates seemed to be in agreement on a number of issues.
For example, none of the three candidates found any drawbacks to 4-year-old kindergarten, all of them calling it a good decision.
All three also agreed that district staff did a good job of setting the budget and working with numbers to give the board options.
Terry said the key word was “oversight,” and the board should rely on the “boots on the ground.” Berndt said he has trust in the superintendent and the people working with the numbers, and Campbell stressed that the board has worked hard to come up with something that is best for the district.
All three also agreed that preferred providers – such as Thomas Bus Service – have a place within the district, and that quality has to be measured along with quantity.
Open enrollment was another issue all three agreed on, saying the district needs to take advantage of the opportunity to get extra students into the district, and that the district has to work to retain its staff – though, all three questioned how with costs being what they are, and some districts being able to offer more money.
When asked what is the most critical issue facing the district, all three pointed toward declining enrollment, and also that a long-range strategic plan would help the district.
Discussing Act 10 briefly, all three candidates were pleased with how the district implemented the law, and that staff had struck a good balance between hitting teachers with union law and income and benefits cuts without charging further for health insurance at this time.
The three differed, though, with how the district should deal with upgrading facilities, and how to fund that. Berndt said he believes the current facilities are fine, though the current study by Scherrer-Nexus could show a need.
Campbell said he feels the district needs a set of facilities that compete with area districts, but that it is the duty of the board to bring it to referendum.
Terry, meanwhile, said the facilities study would likely show a need, and making the improvements would keep the district competitive.
“Again, need needs to drive it,” he said.
Related to that was the issue of naming rights, sponsorships and commercial advertising, all of which have been brought forth as a possibility to fund improvements.
Campbell said they have a place, though the district would have to be careful with what it advertises and where.
Terry, meanwhile, stressed his “more with more” policy, and said all three ideas would give the district another form of revenue.
Berndt didn’t disagree with either of them, but said the policy needed to be well-written so signs would be tasteful.
All three also had slightly different opinions on how to improve BASD’s performance on standardized testing like the Wisconsin Knowledge Concepts Exam and the ACT.
Campbell said there are schools within the district that are succeeding, but that room for improvement can be found “if you look long enough and hard enough.”
Terry also wants to see schools continue to move forward, expanding on co-teaching ideas and putting some focus on gifted and talented students.
Berndt said the district isn’t looking “too good” in comparison, and that it is time to sit down with everyone and look at what other districts are doing to find success.
All three had slightly different takes on the BASD tax situation as well.
Berndt said the district needs to strike the proper balance between taxes, quality education and utilizing the fund balance, and raise taxes if needed.
Campbell called it the “eternal question,” and stressed the district has maintained the balance Berndt talked about.
“We have been very fiscally responsible,” he said.
And Terry warned the underlevying the district has been doing could “bite” BASD in the future. The math on 4K, he said, made sense, but the district has to maintain a solid fund balance.
Previews on all five candidates are also in this week’s Standard Press, starting on the front page.
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