LETTER: It takes the right candidate to build the school district’s ‘brand’

                  After attending the candidate forum for the open seats on the Burlington Area School District Board of Education, I had a few thoughts.

                   It seems that a lot of people want government, and public schools to operate like a business. OK, let’s go there.  What is the buzzword in business right now?  Branding.  Businesses hire branding experts and agencies to manage their brand. Many have in-house social media branding experts who are charged with “communicating the brand” on their website, Facebook, and twitter.

                  I operate my own business. I have a brand – I spend a lot of money, and time on branding.

                  So, with that said, let’s review what the four potential candidates said they would do if they were elected.

                  Many who did not attend might ask, “What where the answers to the questions about how they would cut costs?”

                  They all made it very clear that they did not want to cut any programs, or class options. Then there was the obvious response about how they would find areas of waste, and overspending on certain budget items. None of them want to raise taxes, under any circumstance.

                  There were also a few of the standard comments made about voucher and charter schools. Overall, they were not very specific to our situation here – most replies could have been heard from candidates in any town or city in Wisconsin. I wanted to hear some specifics, and later things became a bit more clear.

                  One of the four candidates shed some light on how they would handle things. First, they said we have way too much money in the district’s fund balance. They suggested that 1 percent would be enough to cover emergencies.  (Actually, a financial advisor recently suggested that our current balance it too low).

                  They would also like to lower taxes, saying that this would attract new residents.   “It’s pretty simple, we just need more people to move here, and we will have more people paying taxes.” (Really, it’s that simple?)  Everyone in the room knows it’s not that simple, no matter what their opinion is on their property taxes.

                  There was one candidate that just seemed to talk in circles, almost looking to the other candidates for validation, support, or suggestions for the answers.

                  Another candidate put it this way: “The elephant in the room” is where we will find the cost savings. The teachers and staff are where they want to find the savings, and make the cuts. There were comments about cutting health benefits, changing, or gutting the pension programs, and eliminating all dental insurance, and other perks. Regardless of what you think of this plan, you have to respect the direct answers, and clear statements.

                  The fourth person seemed to have a simple goal in mind.  Look at what the specifics are, and involve the community, in the decisions. They want to get through this challenge, while still showing a respect for what we have, and how we need to maintain it.

                  Regarding the comment about involving the public.  For the most part, the public does not get involved.  That is why it’s the same five moms on the school PTO every year, that is why there were only 50 people in attendance at this candidate forum. How many do you think were in attendance for the candidate forum for superintendent when Dr. Moyer was applying for that job? Not many people seemed to care then, I know, I was there.   People avoid getting involved.

                  Where might we be if one of these candidates wins a seat? This person may be around for quite a while.  Their views will shape our  “brand.”  Where could our brand go if we cut benefits to the extreme that one candidate suggested? We could become the district that good teachers, and eventually new families, avoid like the plague.

                  Every potential employee, (public or private sector) considers salary and benefits when making a choice about where they want to work, and live. Every family that wants to move considers location, property taxes, and local schools.  If we don’t compete, we will lose them all – the good employees, and the new tax paying families.

                  How about this scenario?  If we get to a point where our teaching staff becomes less attractive, many of our residents could use the open enrollment option to send kids out of the district, leaving OUR taxpayers to pay for kids to go to schools in another district.

                  If you think people are upset right now about their taxes, and wasted money, wait until they find out they have to pay for their neighbor’s kid to go to another school.

                  It’s very easy for the candidates to suggest reactive solutions to the current situation. My guess is that any expert in branding would suggest a proactive solution – one that will look forward in maintaining the brand, and hopefully growing the brand for years to come.

                  I left the candidate’s names out of this letter intentionally. Please readers, do yourself, and all of us a favor.  Please look into who the six candidates are, and what they really stand for. Your vote will matter. The brand matters.

John Sibilski

Burlington