Candidates aim to make good schools better

Both candidates running for a Town of Fredonia seat on the Northern Ozaukee School Board give the district high marks but say they have ideas about how to improve the school system.

And neither Jodi Schubert nor Lauren Simmons, who are running to succeed Suzanne Miller in the April 1 election, are strangers to Fredonia schools.

Schubert, 47, has lived in the district her entire life, graduated from Ozaukee High School, has children at Ozaukee middle and high schools and has long volunteered to help with various school-related functions.

“I like to stay involved so I help out with a lot of things at school,” Schubert said. “This is just my next step in trying to help out, to do my part.”

Simmons, 42, has lived in the district for two-and-a-half years, has children at Ozaukee elementary and middle schools and, with a background in education, has taken a particular interest in the operations of the district and attends as many School Board meetings as she can as well as volunteers in her children’s classrooms, she said.

“I have always had an interest in school boards, and when we moved to Fredonia I started attending meetings,” Simmons said.  “I’ve been thinking about ways I could use my background to help improve education in the district.”

Simmons, an associate professor of natural science at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and chairwoman of the school’s Art History and Natural Science Department, said although the district does a good job of educating students, it should examine how it teaches core subjects to see if there are ways to improve achievement and ensure that all students — those bound for college as well as those starting careers right out of high school — are prepared for their futures.

“I think we should look at curriculum to see if there are ways we can improve the support we provide to a diverse population of students,” she said, adding that she has curriculum development experience. “There are strategies we can use to expand the success of our students.”

Schubert, who has worked as a registered nurse at Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s for 22 years, said one of the challenges facing the small Northern Ozaukee School District is retaining and attracting students through open enrollment.

“I feel like we have challenges retaining students,” she said. “We need to find ways to make ourselves more marketable.”

One way to accomplish that, she said, is to continue to develop the district’s technology education offerings in an effort to prepare students for careers.

“Let’s be honest, not every student is headed to a four-year college,” Schubert said.

Simmons agreed that expanding tech-ed programs is a way not only to bolster the district’s enrollment but prepare students for their futures. She said creating partnerships with area manufacturers would give students the ability to explore careers and gain experience in the fields of their choosing.

“By having opportunities like that, we’re training students, we’re preparing them for jobs,” she said.

Schubert said that the district’s size should be a selling point.

“We have small class sizes. The teachers and administrators care about students and they know who every single child is,” she said. “As a parent, I think that is great.”

The tenure of some teachers is an indication of their commitment to the district and the good work the district has done to retain quality educators, Schubert said.

“There are a bunch of teachers in the district today who were there when I went to school,” she said.

Financially, the district is sound, thanks to an operating referendum that was approved last year and the work the School District has done to save money, Simmons said.

But, she warned, financial challenges loom over all school districts.

“A lot of changes at the federal level have the potential to impact schools throughout the country. The funding challenges we face now could be exacerbated in the future,” Simmons said. “I think the district is prepared for those challenges, at least in the near future, but we have to keep looking for funding options for our programs.”

Key to the district’s steady financial position is its fund balance, which it has worked to build up and protect, she said.

“I think the district is doing a good job of not spending its nest egg by maintaining a fund balance,” Simmons said.

Schubert said the district is spending its money wisely while offering a quality education that benefits from a wide variety of extracurricular activities ranging from those that interest future entrepreneurs to sports.

Simmons agreed that the district provides a quality education enriched by extracurricular activities, nothing that her children came to the district from a Montessori school in Milwaukee.

“The education they received (in Milwaukee) was great, but fascinating to me is how they excelled in a new school with a different mode of learning. Both of my kids say that the way things are taught just make sense to them.”

Simmons graduated from Riverside University High School in Milwaukee, has a bachelor’s degree in conservation and environmental science and a master’s degree and doctorate in aquatic biology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Schubert has an associate degree in nursing from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.

Both Schubert and Simmons are making their first bids for elected government office.

Also on the Northern Ozaukee School Board ballot are Mindy Tesker, who is running unopposed for a Town of Saukville seat currently held by Rick Hamm, and Dan Large, who is running unopposed to retain his Town of Belgium seat on the School Board. Hamm is not running for re-election.