Germantown School Board voters guide

Sarah Larson

Age : 42

Employer/occupation: senior director of operations for a relocation management company

Education: Germantown Schools, UW-Whitewater BBA w/Law Emphasis

Contact: votesarahlarson.com or (262) 339-6288

1) Given all of the changes at the state level with revenue limits and collective bargaining powers, what would be your suggested focus in trying to maintain educational standards amid lagging revenues?

I suggest focusing on the tools provided under Act 10. Utilized appropriately, they can benefit our educators, students and the taxpayers of Germantown. reviewing/rebidding our benefit package offering, we free up funds to reward our top performers, attract high quality new talent, and provide the necessary cutting-edge staff training and resource materials. Further, we need to explore other revenue streams that might be available. Advertising has been on the board agenda. I don't favor it inside schools, but other options could include the district website, Channel 96, sporting fields or in the daily electronic notices that parents receive.

2) The board expects another budget deficit heading into the 2012-13 school year. How do you suggest filling that gap? Program cuts, staff cuts, health care etc.?

Under tight budgets, people often conclude program or staff cuts are the only solution. I do not agree. Let's look at the big picture and demonstrate prudent financial planning. Benefits are at the forefront of savings because they comprise a large portion of district spending and provide the highest achievable savings without catastrophic impact. Bidding the package in its entirety should be priority followed by a line item budget review to assess highest and best use of funds allocation. We should also re-evaluate whether there are resources that could be shared among the district schools or neighboring districts.

3) How would you suggest the board deal with the space limits in schools for a district with a growing population?

Over the last several years enrollment has been relatively flat, so I don't believe it's an immediate problem. A new elementary school was brought to referendum in 2008 and failed. To make the best assessment, the board and the community should be presented with the following: current remaining capacity at each school, desired class size for best educational benefit, remaining land within the district available for residential development with maximum population density, any pending developments which would determine project timing, and if an elementary school is added, then what's the impact to Kennedy and Germantown High School.

Lisa Laskowski

Age : 42

Employer/occupation: president, Clinical Edge, Inc.

Education: BS, Biological Sciences (UW-Milwaukee), Master of Public Health, Health Education (Benedictine University)

Contact: (262) 207-4171, laskowski4education@gmail.com

1) Given all of the changes at the state level with revenue limits and collective bargaining powers, what would be your suggested focus in trying to maintain educational standards amid lagging revenues?

My primary focus will be on teacher recruitment and retention. Superior educators are the backbone of our district, and the chief reason for its high standard of academic achievement. Eliminating staff positions, reducing benefit levels and invoking other measures that induce top-performing educators to leave may seem to be a tempting way out of challenging fiscal times, but it is a shortsighted approach that supports neither the educational best interests of Germantown pupils, nor the community as a whole. I pledge to identify opportunities to bridge the district's revenue shortfall without sacrificing teachers for fiscal expediency.

2) The board expects another budget deficit heading into the 2012-13 school year. How do you suggest filling that gap? Program cuts, staff cuts, health care etc.?

My objective is to ensure the instructional integrity of the Germantown schools. Thus, I am reluctant to support any measure that makes schools less than they presently are. I do not support reductions in staff or employee benefits, as these directly affect the district's ability to attract and retain the best and brightest teachers. I do, however, support competitive bidding in an effort to reduce benefit costs. I will not support program cuts that compromise the overall quality of the educational experience. However, savings can be achieved by consolidation of duplicative or poorly attended programs.

3) How would you suggest the board deal with the space limits in schools for a district with a growing population?

As the community grows, the board will inevitably need to revisit construction of a new elementary school. However, given the district's current fiscal challenges and enrollment levels, the immediate focus should appropriately be on maximizing use of existing instructional space. This can be accomplished through creative scheduling, reconfiguration of existing facilities, and small adjustments in class size. While I maintain that low student-to-teacher ratios support student achievement, allow for better differentiation, and more effective classroom management, the current ratio of around 16 students for every full-time equivalent teacher is sufficiently small to allow for modest increases as a stopgap measure.

Christina M. Wolf-Lang

Age : 40

Employer/occupation: student, mother

Education: UW-Milwaukee; Ashford University, Iowa (Current)

Contact: (262) 735-4232 christina117@sbcglobal.net; christina-gtsb.weebly.com

1) Given all of the changes at the state level with revenue limits and collective bargaining powers, what would be your suggested focus in trying to maintain educational standards amid lagging revenues?

Our schools need to continue to be top performers in the state, therefore, it is important that the School Board, teachers and staff work together to come up with the best solutions. I would like input from the teachers and staff since they are the ones who see what is needed on a daily basis. Further, employee morale has to be brought up or else it will eventually negatively impact the children; our teachers and children need to know that we care. Working together with fiscal responsibility needs to be our focus.

2) The board expects another budget deficit heading into the 2012-13 school year. How do you suggest filling that gap? Program cuts, staff cuts, health care etc.?

I would consider fewer school days (with the same number of required hours) to save on transportation costs, increasing the middle and high school teaching responsibility by one class for each teacher, and restructuring the health insurance package. However, by increasing the workload for teachers, it is important that they are not burdened with more financial responsibility. No one wants to put in more work for less pay! My previous school board experience verifies that changes to the curriculum or activities would negatively impact our students and teachers, especially if the changes are financially motivated; we need to be careful.

3) How would you suggest the board deal with the space limits in schools for a district with a growing population?

Our schools are crowded! As a top performer, our school district continues to attract more families to the area, just for the educational opportunities. I would support the addition of another elementary school, yet I know this idea was rejected a few years ago. I would eliminate new open enrollment seats that are often available to non-Germantown residents, yet honor the commitments already made to families. Class sizes need to be limited or else the children will be adversely affected. I would also like to research the possibility of moving fifth-graders to the middle school.