Here are the Green Bay School Board candidates thoughts on school closures, the budget crisis and vouchers.
GREEN BAY ― The four candidates vying for two open seats on the Green Bay School Board shared their stances on school closures, the district's budget crisis, vouchers and more at a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Greater Green Bay.
Board President Laura McCoy is seeking reelection for her third term on the board, and former Green Bay City Council member and former teacher Lynn Gerlach is also running.
Noah Becker, the son of board member Andrew Becker, is seeking a seat, meaning there could be a father-son duo on the board.
Paul Boucher is running in this race along with city mayor and alder. He was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior ― a class A misdemeanor ― in 2011 after a female caseworker reported that he exposed his genitals to her. He was also banned from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus in 2013 because of complaints that he was harassing female students.
This doesn't prevent him from serving on the school board under Wisconsin law.
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The board oversees the state's fourth largest school district by enrollment with about 19,000 students, over 3,000 employees, a $295 million budget and 42 school buildings. Board members serve three-year terms and receive a $7,500 annual stipend.
Vice President Dawn Smith is not running again, leaving her seat open for a newcomer.
The two candidates with the most votes in the April 4 election will win the seats.
The forum gave every candidate 90 seconds to answer each of the seven questions, along with two minutes for opening and closing remarks.
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These are the main takeaways:
Budget cuts: Here's where each candidate stands.
As the district navigates a projected $32 million budget shortfall when federal pandemic relief dollars run out in September 2024, budget cuts are inevitable.
McCoy said cuts are already underway by not backfilling positions when teachers or administrators leave the district. This is to right-size staff to match the number of students. Her priority is to avoid cuts that will impact the classroom and kids, she said.
"I guess my priority would be to keep our classrooms intact, our teaching staff intact," she said.
She also doesn't want to cut back on safety spending.
Gerlach said she doesn't know enough about the state of the budget to say what should be cut. Her game plan would be to talk with the district's chief financial officer and other board members to get up to speed.
Gerlach's goal is also to refrain from cuts that directly affect kids in the classroom.
Becker wants to look at moving the district's headquarters from its downtown office into empty spaces in schools, something the district's community Facilities Task Force is considering. He would rather focus cuts on the central administration, like not backfilling positions, instead of cutting into the teacher budget. He also wants to preserve the district's four high schools.
Boucher said he doesn't want to make any cuts and wants to focus on bringing more students into the district. He suggested having refugees come to Green Bay to combat declining enrollment, but that it's up to the community.
Closing schools: Consensus is, it's hard. Becker vows not to close West.
Along with budget cuts and right-sizing staff, the Green Bay School District is looking to downsize its school buildings. With 42 buildings and declining enrollment for the last five years, some of the district's buildings are not at capacity.
There is a community task force working to develop recommendations for the school board on possible school closures, consolidations and openings. Currently there are nine proposed plans, all of which include recommendations to close at least three school buildings.
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Each of the candidates agreed that closing schools is hard, but Becker was the only candidate to promise that he wouldn't vote to close any of the district's four high schools.
Becker said he wants to keep as many schools open as is fiscally responsible. He wouldn't support keeping buildings open that are structurally infeasible to fix, but he promised he would not vote to close West High School.
"I can't support closing any of our four high schools or any plan that doesn't preserve them as a full high school," he said.
The School Voard's biggest challenges: Budget, literacy, and facilities.
The candidate's were asked what they think is the biggest issue facing the School Board this year. Boucher said he wants to focus on changing the culture of schools to "make them thrive" and "make schools cool."
Becker said the budget shortfall is the biggest challenge and that the district will need to be creative with its solutions.
While acknowledging the budget and facilities work "overwhelms" all other priorities, McCoy said she wants to focus on improving literacy in the district.
"I'm ready to make that investment now. It needs to happen."
In addition to the facilities and budget, Gerlach thinks a lack of state funding for public schools and preparing for the next health crisis are also priorities.
Becker, Boucher and McCoy are against vouchers. Gerlach wants the voucher program to be smaller with adequate public school funding.
Becker and McCoy said they support a parent's decision to choose to send their child to a private school. But Becker doesn't support the lack of accountability for private schools despite the use of public dollars.
McCoy emphasized how public schools educate all students, whereas private schools can choose who to enroll. That is "in direct opposition to what public schools represent in our community."
Gerlach said she wants her property taxes to support public schools, but she also didn't completely oppose vouchers.
"If we could then restore the funding that this school system should have, I would limit that voucher program to very, very much less than it is now," she said. "I would be willing to give a voucher only when a well-funded public school really cannot meet the needs of that child and the parents demonstrably cannot afford to send that child to a school that will meet his needs."
Boucher said that there needs to be a new funding balance so that public schools can compete with private schools.
How to register to vote and find your polling place:
To find your polling place, see what's on the ballot and register to vote, visit myvote.wi.gov/en-us.
Otherwise, you can register to vote on the day of the election at your polling place with a valid ID and proof of residence document.
Danielle DuClos is a Report for America corps member who covers K-12 education for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact her at dduclos@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @danielle_duclos. You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay School Board candidates talk closures, budget crisis, more
