ELECTION PREVIEW: A competitive school board race in Menomonie

Mar. 31—MENOMONIE — The April election brings another crowded school board race in Menomonie, pitting two incumbents against four challengers for three open seats on the board.

In a February primary to trim the eight-candidate field, the top vote-getters were newcomers Karl Palmer and Donna Thibado, followed by incumbent Jim Swanson, newcomer Mark Hillman, incumbent Penny Burstad and newcomer Angela Skillings.

Candidates Rick Scharlau and Jeremy Enger did not win enough votes to make the April 6 ballot.

In the upcoming April election, the top three candidates will win seats on the school board.

Palmer, Thibado, Swanson, Burstad and Skillings completed candidate questionnaires sent by the Leader-Telegram. Hillman did not respond to an emailed questionnaire.

Penny Burstad

Age: 42

Place of residence: Tainter Township, Colfax

Elected experience: Five years as a school board member; current vice president of the school board

Occupation: Insurance Agency Owner, Burstad Insurance Agency Inc.

Education: Independence High School and UW-Stout

Family: Married to Monte Burstad; two children, Olivia (15) and Connor (12)

Website: Facebook, Penny Burstad Menomonie Area School Board Representative

Jim Swanson

Age: 62

Place of residence: Menomonie

Elected experience: Two terms on the Menomonie school board

Occupation: Retired teacher/editor and outdoors writer

Education: M.A., Ohio University; B.A., University of Minnesota; Education Certification, UW-Eau Claire

Family: Daughters, Marissa and Elise, and wife Amy

Website: www.facebook.com/Jim-Swanson-for-School-Board-105593848246790

Burstad, a Colfax insurance agency owner, has served on the board since 2016, and retired teacher and writer Swanson, of Menomonie, has been on the board since 2015.

Angela Skillings

Age: Late 40s

Elected experience: Served five years as secretary, vice president and president at United Way of Dunn County; served eight years as president of the Menomonie Wrestling Club

Occupation: Human resource professional

Education: B.S. in Human Resource Management

Family: Spouse, Randy, and children, Sam, a freshman at the University of Minnesota, and Macy Skillings, a sophomore in Menomonie

Website: www.facebook.com/Angela-Skillings-for-School-Board-105467498180264

Karl Palmer

Age: 46

Place of residence: Town of Menomonie

Elected experience: None

Occupation: Registered nurse

Education: Boyceville Community High School; Bachelor's Degree in Nursing at Winona State University; Masters in Nursing and Healthcare Administration at the University of Minnesota.

Family: Wife, Jennifer, and two daughters age 13 and 16

Website: www.karlpalmer.com and /www.facebook.com/votekarlpalmer

Donna Thibado

Age: 45

Place of residence: Menomonie

Elected experience: None

Occupation: Social worker

Education: B.S. in Vocational Rehabilitation from UW-Stout

Website: www.facebook.com/groups/1122136468235829

Skillings is a human resources professional. Palmer, of Menomonie, is a registered nurse, and Thibado, of Menomonie, is a social worker.

Members of the nine-person Menomonie school board serve three-year terms.

Why are you running for the Menomonie school board?

Thibado: I am a lifelong resident of Menomonie. I value what the Menomonie school district provides to our community and would appreciate the opportunity to give back. Education has always been important to me and supporting and advocating for students, educators, support staff, and community members is something I am passionate about.

Swanson: Education is incredibly important to my family, Both of my children graduated from Menomonie schools and went on to get doctorate degrees. I want to make sure today's students get the same quality education my daughters received. I also taught in alternative education for many years so I want to ensure that all students, no matter their situation in life, can get a quality education.

Burstad: I am running for office to continue what I have been working so hard for the past five years. In my time on the board we have seen many changes in education, especially in the last year, and I find it more important now than ever to support our students and staff in public education

Skillings: Initially I ran for office as a concerned parent because I was disgusted by the way that one board member conducted himself. The example he is setting is not representative of our school district. See the Aug. 10 meeting at approximately 15 minutes in for an example of him swearing at the board president. This is not who I want representing and advocating for our kids. What I am learning through this process is that there are so many great things our district is doing and has done. With COVID-19 some of that has been sidelined due to the focus being on our kids and the return-to-school plan. The strategic plan, which focuses on specific elements of making our district better, including our staff, our facilities and our students' health and wellness, among other things, are things I want to support and focus on in our district.

Palmer: The whole time I was in elementary and high school in Boyceville, my dad was on the school board. I saw how important an effective board was to the overall culture of the school, and the positive impact a great school had on the whole community. I have served as a volunteer EMT, a member of the National Guard, and for the past 19 years, as a paid-on-call firefighter. I have two daughters, a junior and a 7th grader, who have received an excellent education in Menomonie schools, and I believe I owe it to them, and all our kids in the district, to ensure it just keeps getting even better.

I have skills and experiences that will bring value to the Menomonie School Board. I have been a registered nurse for 23 years and have a master's degree in nursing and healthcare systems administration. For the past eight years I have provided consulting support to rural hospitals across the country. My ability to listen to, and collaborate with, people who have a wide range of opinions is one of my greatest strengths.

What education-related issues do you consider your top priorities and why?

Swanson: Our biggest challenge will be recovering from COVID-related changes in education. Other challenges include working to stop the loss of public education funds to voucher schools and ending impediments to education like bullying, harassment and racism.

Burstad: Currently I find the most important education-related issue to be in-person instruction and activities for our students. With everything that our state and nation have faced in the past year, our students have suffered not only educationally, but emotionally. With that being said, I am also concerned for the potential budget issues that could be facing our schools in the upcoming years. Funding has an impact on our students and with my experience on the board as well as my business experience, I will be able to make sound decisions that will be the best for both our schools and our taxpayers.

Skillings: Keeping our kids in school is my top priority. Assessing and helping the kids who struggled through COVID-19. Ensuring that the teachers have what they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability. And getting back to the basics by doing what we do in our district and doing it well.

Palmer: The most pressing issue is ensuring that there is an evidence-based transition from full COVID-19 prevention measures to normal operations as soon as possible, and that there are contingent plans in case there is resurgence of the virus in the fall. Nothing has been more disruptive to education than the pandemic.

We need to maintain the staff, professional development, systems, and equipment that support best-practice and evidence-based education.

Our district has been financially in a good place, and I would like to see that continue.

The most important thing regarding priorities is the fact that the School District of the Menomonie Area has a great strategic plan in place. I strongly believe that the majority of the board's energy should be focused on supporting the attainment of the strategic plan elements and identification of objective measures that show progress or opportunities in those areas. With my background in healthcare quality, having some key objective measures is important to me.

Thibado: Funding for education is a concern that will need to be addressed as there are anticipated budget shortfalls due to our current economic situation resulting from the pandemic. Special education programs need to be funded appropriately to support our special needs, at-risk, and vulnerable youth. Community members have expressed their concerns about experiences with bullying and harassment in our schools. While the district has ongoing efforts to combat bullying, more can be done to support our students and staff. Mental health concerns for children have escalated since the beginning of the pandemic. Our students and their families need access to mental health resources in the schools and in the community.

What priorities and voices should the school board consider as it discusses how to reopen schools?

Burstad: Being that we have reopened, I will choose to share the priorities and voices that we did consider in our district's plan and boards decision making. Our administrative team worked and continues to work very closely with the Dunn County Health Department and provides the community with weekly COVID updates. We also provided our community with a survey and a very "open door" approach to listen to parents, staff, and stakeholders opinions, support, questions, and concerns regarding our district reopening.

Skillings: Menomonie recently voted to hold prom and graduation. These are things that are important to the social health and wellness of our kids. Being that we have been open all year with the exception of three weeks following Thanksgiving, kids should have opportunities to keep traditions. Parents who have worked hard to support them look forward to these milestones in their children's lives. Menomonie is celebrating our kids and I am happy to share in and be a part of that.

Palmer: Our district has been in-person all year. It is vital that we have in place support and retention strategies for our teachers, staff, and administrative teams who have gone above and beyond to provide the best education experience possible in a learning environment never-before encountered in modern education. If our schools need to go back to virtual learning, or eventually a decision needs to be made to completely retire the virtual option, the priority should be on evidence-based decision making. Direction from the CDC, public health experts and medical professionals must inform decisions regarding the significance of any new viral activity in our community. It may be challenging for some families to feel comfortable returning to in-person learning after having concerns about the virus for a year. The most important voices for areas of debate then become those of informed parents, students and staff.

Thibado: Priority should be given to the health and safety of students and staff. On a national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides operational strategies for reopening schools safely. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction provides guidance to districts and school leaders as they plan for a return to school during the pandemic. On a more local level, it is important to communicate with the county's public health officer, as they are able to provide specific data relevant to the community. District staff, parents and students should all be heard in their concerns regarding reopening schools.

Swanson: We should consider as many voices as possible. We need to listen to scientists as they track the ever changing knowledge of COVID, and how to deal with it so we can implement effective mitigation measures. Dunn County Public Health has and continues to provide us with a lot of guidance in this area. We also need to listen to community members and their ideas on keeping education strong and the community safe.

Candidates' answers may have been lightly edited for length.