 Good evening and welcome to the 7th Annual Candidate Forum sponsored by the Cheboygan Branch of the American Association of University Women. Last October, our branch celebrated 100 years of supporting AAUW's mission of advocating for women and girls. AAUW is a nationwide, nonpartisan organization. We do not endorse candidates, but AAUW has been instrumental in passing legislation for improved opportunities for women and girls both here in Wisconsin and across the country. And locally, over the last 34 years, we have awarded 47 scholarships totaling more than $70,000 to non-traditional area students. In November, we will sponsor our 7th Annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Workshop for 6th-9th grade girls. We also co-sponsor the Great Decisions series with Mead Public Library in the fall. We welcome new members to help us with our mission, and membership information can be found online at aauw.org. Tonight, we especially want to thank Scott Miliff, Director of WSCS, the Wisconsin-Cheboygan Community Station, for his work in making forums available online on demand to the public until the April election. My name is Mary Jo McBrarity. I have been an active member of AAUW for 50 years, just so you can tell how old I am. But my four decades of professional work and my volunteer life have included extensive experience in dealing with public policy issues. Full disclosure, in keeping with our nonpartisan stance, I live in the village of Kohler and cannot vote for any of you, but I can wish you all good luck in the upcoming election. Our candidates tonight are Leah Hibble, Santino Laster, Peter Madden, and hopefully Isabel Rivera. To begin tonight's discussion, I ask each candidate to please briefly introduce yourself. I will start in alphabetical order by candidates' last names and then rope Tate alphabetically who answers questions first. You each have one minute, starting with Leah Hibble. Good evening, everyone. Thanks to the AAUW for having us here tonight. I take this as a first chance to be able to advocate for the students and staff of the Sheboygan Area School District. I'll tell you about some of the roles I play in my life. I am a wife to my husband, Brian. I am a dog mom to our labradoodle, Daisy. I'm a homeowner. I'm a mental health therapist specializing in childhood trauma. I am an active community member, a volunteer at the Warming Center, and an active member of Ebenezer United Church of Christ. Now that you know what I do, I'd like for you to know who I am. I see my life purpose as being a guardian of potential. I have an uncanny ability to see people for who they truly are and to see their strengths. I strive to hear people out without judgment and I seek understanding whenever possible. This isn't just who I am as a therapist, but it's who I am as a person and I feel like that will make me an asset to the Sheboygan Area School District Board. It's my goal to learn, to love, and to leave the world a better place and I hope in doing that I'll be able to leave a legacy of learning for a new generation of Sheboygan students. Thank you and good evening everyone. I would like to echo the sentiments from Leah. Thank you to the AUW for hosting this event. This is my second time through, so really appreciate it. My name is Santino Laster. I am a husband and a father of three sons. I came to Wisconsin in 1999 to pursue my college career. I attended Lakeland College where I earned my bachelor's degree in criminal justice. I received my certification from Lakeshore Technical College and Lakeland College after successfully completing the police academy program. I later furthered my education by attending UW-Plattville where I obtained a certification in first line supervision for law enforcement, which was master courses. I later enrolled at Walden University where I successfully completed my master's program degree in leadership and executive management. I am currently in a master's program for MSW, which is a master's of social work with an emphasis in trauma. I am currently the security specialist at the Sheboygan Me Public Library. I work closely with the homeless population, young adults, children and families in our community. Thank you. My name is Peter Madden. I have a bachelor's science degree from UW-Stevens Point in environmental studies and natural resources. I moved to Sheboygan in 1978 to take a position with non-EU and associates in their laboratory and doing field work. I've done consulting services with superior services and cardinal environmental and held environmental compliance positions in manufacturing with the Kohler Company and with Plastics Engineering Company. My wife and I have two daughters who attended the area school districts, K-12, and went on to college each to collect a couple more degrees. My main reason for being a candidate is my strong support for public education and my deep appreciation for the Sheboygan School District. Thank you. Just in time, Isabel, just a one minute intro and then we'll start the questions. Well, hello everyone. My name is Isabel Rivera. I moved to Sheboygan around a year and a half ago, almost two years. I have two daughters. Sorry, I'm catching my breath. One's three years old and the other one's five years old. I used to be a teacher, math and science teacher for sixth, seventh and eighth grade. My interest for running for school board, basically, I moved to the south side of Sheboygan. I bought a lot there. I have an interest in my daughters attending the schools, but it worries me a little bit about these scores. I feel like we could do a lot better with the scores in the schools as well as look into programs that are working, incentivize those programs and look at other programs that are not working and maybe looking into reducing them. The other issue is that I've known as an experienced teacher. We faced a lot of challenges in the last five years with COVID, mass mandates, teaching from home, which was as many of you who have kids, it was really hard. I'm not a big believer on online classes. I don't think that works, especially with younger children. And also looking into seeing if there's a possibility. I know a lot of teachers are burned out. They've done this as a career for many, many, many years. Isabel, that's time. OK. I apologize. Well, looking forward to hearing your concerns and getting so. You guys. Thank you. This is a three-part question. First of all, why are you running? What are your primary qualifications to be a school board member? And what is the one best thing that you can contribute to the Sheboygan area school district? You have three minutes for this question. And we're going to start with Santino Laster. Thank you, ma'am. So I worked in education in Milwaukee in multiple capacities. Transport coordinator, teacher, and dean of students for a charter school, which was Milwaukee Academy of Science. I love working with the students in the community because I also coach football that Sheboygan saw for many years. During this time, I created great relationships and bonds with players and families as I've mentored at-risk youth in Sheboygan County. Both of my sons currently attend Lake Country Academy in our fifth and eighth grades. My oldest son also was a product of the Sheboygan area school district from elementary through high school. He graduated from South High. I thoroughly enjoyed my term on the board currently, and I'm excited for the next term. I have learned much in my three years on the board, and I have been honored to be elected vice president of the board for the past two years. We have a wonderful school district, but one that presents a lot of challenges, including recovery from COVID restrictions to taking real steps to hire and retain skilled teachers. We will be working to transition to our new superintendent in July. And of course, we have a very important referendum to build new middle schools in November. I believe my skills and experience are up to the challenges, and I'm excited for my next term. Thank you. I'm seeking a position on the school board to contribute to the community that has been such a good place for my wife, Ruth, and I to raise our family. During the time my children were in school, Ruth and I were very engaged with our children's teachers and coaches. I was a parent advisory on parent advisory committees at the middle and high school levels. And I served on the board for one of the district's instrumentality charter schools. And in the school year of 2016 and 2017, I was on the district school board to fill in for a board member who could not complete her term. Outside of the district, I have served and chaired on governing boards and committees with professional environmental organizations, which provided experience in working collaboratively to establish and achieve goals. Within the Sheboygan area, I've strived to contribute through being an election poll worker and chief inspector in the city of Sheboygan for 20 years. I'm currently a member of the local emergency planning committee in Sheboygan County, which is part of the sheriff's office and coordinates emergency planning in the county with the surrounding counties and with the state of Wisconsin. I would like to bring my experience with SASD committee work along with what I've learned in my professional career during project management and committee work to further the success of the district. And I strongly feel that if possible, people should look for ways to be involved with the life of the community. And I couldn't think of a better institution to support than public education. What I think I can bring to the position is my experience on boards. I understand that boards are not like other meetings necessarily. They have things that are lasting sometimes for years that have to be shepherded through. I think the building referendum that's coming up will be a good example of that. And there's also a lot to understand because there's a lot of constraints on an organization like a school system that requires everyone who's got a part to play and keeping it running to understand what all of the rules are. So I can stay on top of that. I can read what's in the regulations. I spent a lot of time during my professional career reading Wisconsin codes. So I know that you have to get them right and be complete. So I'm looking forward to return something to the community and be engaged in that possibility. Thank you. Isabel. Well, I would like to first introduce myself as a shabuigan resident. My interest for the school district is to try to see if we can find a new way of looking at the issues we face with the school board. A lot of parents are not happy while I was collecting signatures. I saw a lot of parents put the kids out of school and they're being homeschooled. I heard a lot of experience from teachers who used to work in South High, especially, with issues that they have with current teachers that are there right now. What I think is that we should look into a possibility for offering early retirement for teachers, especially who've been there a very long time. And that won't only benefit the school in ways of bringing funds to bring in new teacher, new talent, with fresh perspective that are willing to take on the challenge that we have, which was two years of basically a lot of kids didn't learn very much because of all the circumstances that they faced. The other thing is we want to see how we can, we're facing as a society challenges with inflation. We can look into how we can reduce taxes for property owners in Sheboygan. So that's why my initiative of looking into programs, see what works and what doesn't, and maybe start eliminating the programs that don't. And the third thing is I think we need to look into the curriculums. There's a lot of politics that have infiltrated our education system, especially coming from the LGBTQ community. I feel it's time that we should hold them accountable for their errors, because I do believe it started like a well-intentioned approach to how we should treat each other in society, but taking over the education system and what we're teaching our kids. I don't think I feel like we need to put a stop there. What I can bring to the school. Because I know how wonderful the Sheboygan Area School District is, and I want to make sure that today's students have it even better than I did a generation ago. I started my academic career in three-year-old creative play over at Pigeon River Community Rec Center. From there, I went to Longfellow, I went to Farnsworth, and I graduated from South. During that time, I saw the introduction of technology in schools. I saw the building of the North and South High field houses. I got a great education from educators that inspired me and that really quenched my thirst for knowledge. Times have changed. I think about the idea of a computer lab, and it seems quaint. The field houses that were brand new when I was in high school are no longer shiny and new. But one thing remains is that the Sheboygan Area School District is a great place to learn, and I want to keep it that way for our kids. I also know that the district is a great place to work. My grandmother, Vera Steinhardt, worked for the district for 36 years as an educational assistant. She spent most of her time as part of the Grant School family, but she also spent some time at Longfellow and at the Early Learning Center as well. Her love for working with children really spurred my interest in working with children, and that is how I became a mental health counselor working with kids and teens that have gone through trauma. I know that safe schools and a positive learning environment are important for every child, but especially for those that I've met through my work. And I want to be a part of a broader solution in improving mental outcomes for children and being a board member, I feel would be a natural way of doing that. Question number two, being able to talk about my experience. I have no prior political experience, but what I do have is a willingness to listen, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to advocate for others. I'm deeply committed to public education. I'm deeply committed to this city, and those things make me an excellent candidate for the board. As someone that attended SASD schools and someone that graduated from South, like I said, I know that this is a great place to learn. It's a great place to work. It's just a great place to be. My training and background as a therapist provides an important perspective on the challenges that today's students face. So I realize that, like I said, times have changed since I was a student, and I want to make sure that the next generation has it even better than I did. Number three, finally, what is the most important thing or what is my greatest strength? It's being able to see the strengths. The Schwoingen area school district is doing a great job. I want to be able to bolster that work that's being done already, and I hope that I can do that as a board member. Thank you. Next question. What are the most important challenges facing the district and what are your priorities for meeting those challenges? Starting with Peter. OK. Oh, two minutes. Yeah, sorry, two minutes. OK, thank you. Well, I think the requirements are attract, support, and retain good teachers and specialists. I think that's challenges for districts all over. Prepare our students for demands of the 21st century through the use of research back curricula and through offering a range of learning environments to suit them. Address student safety and apply best practices in our facilities. Support family and community involvement and collaboration with the district. Use tax dollars wisely and manage for long-term success. Most important is the students. We need to meet each student where they are. The institutions of education make categories to manage student needs, but in the classroom, each student is an amalgam of characteristics, and they need a welcoming environment to thrive in their learning procedure. So I think the priorities have to be make sure that we're choosing the right curricula to further the students' needs that are consistent and make sure that we're getting proper input because I think there's some misunderstandings about what goes on and if the school district is not making information known and it's challenging to reach people or hearing back from them about concerns that they have, then things may not change to their liking. So thank you. Isabelle. I feel like the major challenge the school district faces is that parents don't feel heard. They don't feel represented. And the one way we could do that is we need to look at the system. We need to look at why is that happening. Who are the key players? Obviously, while I was picking up signatures, you could tell parents are pretty upset with how the schools are currently. They have concerns about the teachers. They have concerns about the curriculum. They have concerns about money being spent. So I think the number one target would be making sure the parents are heard, making sure that their issues are being addressed. The other issue is the ratings of the school are terrible. We need to increase those ratings. We need to give confidence back to the Sheboygan residence that the schools are ready to take on those challenges and ready to get back on track. And the third is let's look into ways, instead of sending kids to college, let's look into programs where bring back art descents into the community. Let's start pushing kids to look into the possibility of staying in town and growing our town. Because the more people we have as residents, the more money small businesses make and the better we support the economy locally. So that would be the challenges that I would address on the school board. Leah? What I see as being the most important issues that our schools face, well, I wanted to go out and see for myself. So as part of my campaign, I have been able to visit, so far, 11 out of 14 of the district's elementary schools. And in that, I've been able to meet with principals. I've been able to meet with staff members. And I've been able to see students at work in action enjoying their time at school. One thing that I see and that I've been hearing from the principals that I've been talking to is that the world is a different place than when I was an SASD student a generation ago. The demographics are just so much different. And I want to make sure that our students are equipped to live in the world that they are a part of. That starts with equity. When I think about the SASD long range plan, equity comes before student success. It's the foundation for student success. And I agree with Isabel. It is a systemic issue if people are feeling that they're not heard. But I think what we need to do is we need to engage with staff, with students, with parents, with community residents that are traditionally underserved and underrepresented. That will increase my knowledge of their needs. That will establish trust in the board, in the district. Engagement is key to representation. Engagement is key to shared responsibility. And if we all feel like we have a responsibility to our district, to our kids, to our staff, that will help us make decisions that will be for the benefit of all. And I want to be able to work on initiatives that increase teacher recruitment efforts, specifically for ML and special ed teachers in talking with the principals. I've heard that there is a shortage that it's been difficult to recruit those types of teachers specifically. And with 18% of our kids being identified as special ed, 18% being identified as multi-language learners, that's something that's very important to me. Thank you. Thank you. Santino. Thank you. There was a lot of great points that was just spoken. And I'm not going to reiterate as time is limited. But I believe some of the challenges Sheboygan schools are facing is the most important one is equal access to quality education. I think that's a major issue that we're facing, but also improving academic performance, enhancing school safety, which firsthand knowledge of being on the board, I believe the administration has been making great strides at improving those challenges. All three of these challenges need for public education to be funded. I know I'm not a political guy, but a lot of funds are being cut to public education, which is not fair to our students, our teachers, or the community. So to increase the funding in order to make it equitable and fair across the board would definitely be something that needs to continue to happen. One critical issue is the achievement gap between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, which can hinder overall academic success and perpetuate inequality. The school district is working feverishly to bridge those gaps and to make sure that the achievement gaps are being closed. Also addressing mental health and special needs and improving adequate support services is crucial for creating a safe and inclusive learning environment. I would also work to enhance teacher training and professional development and to ensure educators are equipped with the necessary tools to support students from diverse backgrounds effectively. Thank you. Thank you. Next question. How can the district deal with race-related issues in our schools? Two minutes, and we're going to start with Isabel. I think this topic is going to come to a shock to a lot of you, but I grew up in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, we never discussed a race issue like they do here in the States about you have to identify with a race. I think we need to get rid of that. I think instead of looking at our schools and categorizing kids and putting them into boxes, let's look at them as Sheboygan residents. I think this whole race theory education, it should be out the window. Black lives matter and everything that goes with it. And let's just focus on our education right now. Math, English, and science should be our focus right now in the schools. Same with the LGBTQ community. I think I have nothing against people who identify as any of those categories. But the fact of studying and looking into it deeper that could stay out of school, I think right now we have serious issues with basic academics, which we should focus on that. Leah. I think it's important here to think back to the, I don't like looking back. I like looking forward, but I think here it's important to look back during the tenure of Joe Shehan, who coined the we mentality. And the we mentality still stands in the Sheboygan area school district for good reason. It begins as engagement as a way to establish common ground so that we can get to a sense of understanding. And as far as upholding the we mentality and dealing with race relations and all sorts of things like that on the board, I want to be able to truly engage and listen to the needs of all stakeholders, of students, of staff, of community members. And I want, like I said, in the last question, I want to hear from those who might not be traditionally represented by school boards, including those who identify as BIPOC, including those who are LGBTQ plus community members that might not have children that are attending public schools right now, and also people with intellectual or physical disabilities. Like I said, through this engagement comes that shared responsibility. And when we have that shared responsibility, we have a sense of equity. And that is the key to race relations and just relations in general between all students and staff. Thank you. Santino. Thank you. Lee, I definitely agree with everything you just said. I'm not trying to argue or debate, but obviously, if on the board, this is what we're going to have to do, right? So race-related issues, to say get rid of identifying with the race, I disagree. I'm a Black American. My great grandparents were Native American. I'm proud of that heritage. I'm proud of who I am. And kids need to walk into school and be proud of who they are. We need to celebrate different races. We need to celebrate their cultures. We need to celebrate their traditions, because if we become one melting pot, we lose everything. We lose our identity. We lose who we are as people. And we can't have that. And I think dealing with race-related issues, if there is a racial problem, people have to step up and hold people accountable. And as from the students, to the parents, to the teachers, to the community, we have to be intentional in addressing these issues, because we all come from diverse backgrounds. I would never tell someone to forget who they are. I mean, we are in America. I agree, but we are different, and that's what makes us unique. That's what makes us loving and caring for other people. So thank you. Peter. We need an education system that meets the students where they are and will allow students and their families to share in the benefits of being enrolled in the Shabuagan Area School District. Within the community, the district can lead the way in the demonstration of demonstrating the value of inclusion, diversity, and effective teaching. Diversity of all types is not a concept created to deliver an agenda. It's a recognition that diversity already exists. Learning and empathy strengthen our district and the Shabuagan area. I, like something Leah said about when you have topics that are LGTBQ, it's not just for a narrow group. It's for people who identify that way, people who do not, and people who want to understand what the terms mean, because there's, in many cases, misinformation going around or wrong information. And I think teaching, letting people know what the current state of different opinions and different realities for different people should be part of our curriculum. So I think that there is definitely room to do that, but we're not doing this for one group or another. We're actually doing it for all of us as citizens of Shabuagan. And not, by not talking about it, is probably more of a way to keep them separated than by actually normalizing the conversation. Thank you. Thank you. Next question. Wisconsin's private school choice voucher program is a charge against local taxpayers. This year, the district has levied about $6.2 million to pay for these vouchers. Increases passed by state legislators, as much as 32% for ninth to 12th grade students. We'll grow this cost to district taxpayers by an annual $1.5 million for the 24-25 school year, far more than the funding going to public schools. In addition, the legislature refuses to allow a notation on property tax bills about this additional charge. What are your thoughts about possible changes to this program? You have two minutes, and we'll start with Leah. Well, like I said, my greatest strength is being able to see strengths. And I think the district that we have here is absolutely wonderful to fund, essentially, a second school district through the voucher program is not only fiscally irresponsible, but it's unnecessary when we have the 25 schools that we do in our district, where if we're talking about school choice, parents have quite an array, students have quite an array of places to get a complete education that is tailored to the needs of each student. So as far as the voucher system goes, I am against it. We can't afford two school systems. And I think about that $6.2 million. Where could that have gone for our kids? Where could that go for our staff? It could go a long way. So I am in favor of that money staying within our district. Thank you. Santino. Yes, I definitely agree that the cost to public education for the private sector shouldn't be. Taxpayers shouldn't have the burden of putting the bill for private school. I am, as Leah stated, for school choice. I definitely agree that you should have a choice, right? However, if you decide to go to a private school, then you should pay the private dollars. It shouldn't be up to the taxpayers to pay for a private education. I'm not sure if legislation can come up with two separate fundings, one for public and one for private, so that you're not taking the money away from the public sector or the private, excuse me, the public education. I'm for that. But to take money away from public education that's already hurting for funds to now give $6.2 million, 32% higher for high schoolers, that's ridiculous. There needs to be some checks and balances. And our kids are already socially economically disadvantaged and struggling with the resources we have currently in the schools. So I agree. We just can't afford two systems on the taxpayer dollars now. Thank you. Peter, the school district, I think, has been very effective in managing its budget to provide service to students and their families. This being done despite a funding system which doesn't even keep up with inflation year to year and includes mechanisms that direct funds designated for public school districts to privately owned and operated schools. Underfunding public schools is short-sighted. For schools to be able to fully provide all the benefits expected of them and give the community the services they deserve, we must support them financially. Now, I know the control of those things is in the legislature. The administration can't say, well, we'll just get more money. The school board can't conjure up more money. It's got to be from the legislature and they'll only respond to the voters. So that's where that stands. But I think this is something that there's so many ways that public education is being squeezed financially that there should be some attention paid to it. Thank you. Isabel. Well, interesting topic. Oh, sorry. As the only conservative candidate running right now, it surprises me that I hear a lot of comments that the budget is being accounted for correctly when Sheboygan has an insane amount of money. The fact that so school choice is basically a reaction of how unhappy the parents are with the Sheboygan Area School District that they are willing to apply for other schools for their kids to go to. And you guys see the numbers. A lot of parents are opting to send their kids to other schools rather than choose Sheboygan Area School District. So we need to look into the reason why that is happening. And in terms of budget, I hear we all got, as Sheboygan resident, we all got a very beautiful pamphlet in the mail saying about the new construction plans that they have for new schools and the money that will be allocated to it. But again, we're talking about that we don't have enough funding. It's insane that if anybody has an opportunity to drive in front of the schools, what first thing that I see looking at the schools is this huge LGBTQ flag in front of them. So it seems like their priorities have nothing to do with education. And maybe we should look into a whole new set of people looking over the funds of the school seeing if it's true that we don't have funding to support the cost with inflation. Because I'm pretty sure we do. Next question. What should the district do to ensure the safety of students while in school? Would you support funding to make classrooms more secure, as has been done in some schools? And would you support asking teachers to be armed? Two minutes, starting with Santino. Can you repeat that for me, please? Sorry. I'm sorry? Can you repeat that for me? Sure. What should the district do to ensure the safety of students while in school? Would you support funding to make classrooms more secure, as has been done in some schools? Would you support asking teachers to be armed? Two minutes. Thank you. So yes, our students do need to be safe. It's in the climate of our country today, there is a lot of dangers. And from a risk perspective, how do we mitigate those dangers? I do think that classrooms should be more secure. What does that look like? It all depends. You can have bullet resistant film on the glass, doors that are more capable to withstand certain dangers that can come in or protrude out. I'm not the expert in making schools safe per se without understanding the risk factors and speaking to the powers to be. But yes, our classrooms should be more secure. Now, to arm teachers with firearms, absolutely not. Even in my time in education, I was just done with law enforcement. I would not want to carry a gun in the school because now you have the liability of thinking about always what's going to happen next. And now focusing on the kids' future, the kids in the moment, kids look at you if you have a firearm on you, like, what was going on? So how do you secure that on your person, or do you secure it in your desk? There's just too many mitigating factors that play that are not safe. That's why you have an SRO. That's why you have the police department to work with. That's why you have security personnel, sometimes, in different schools. So I think the last thing we want to put on our teachers' plates is to try to arm them to disarm our threat to come in and build in. Thank you. Peter? I certainly think school safety is important. And we're not just talking about everything or anything. We're talking about active shooters. There have been changes in the Cheboygan school systems that places have been. Entry into the school is not that you'd come through the front door and you're in the hallway. There's a pass-through. The office has the way to buzz people in and out. That is being instituted as buildings are modified. Certainly any new buildings are going to have the current state of the art. The sad thing is we've had so many opportunities to learn how to do that for the last several years. And it's being reflected. There was a case just within the last year in Milwaukee where somebody approached the school with a rifle. The fact that all the doors were locked probably made all the difference in the world. The person couldn't get in. The whole thing stopped right there from that standpoint. So I think, yes, we can do that. There are things to be done in the interim, glass, how things are set up, the kind of materials that are used. Putting more guns in there and expecting people who are not necessarily gun owners or trained to use them to be the people who are supposed to be in charge of the students and carry for them and going through their protocols to keep them safe. Probably you don't want them to be looking to use their firearms. I think that is a bad idea. I think we'd be better spent, a time in money better spent, to say what is causing the issues and try to make inroads there to prevent issues rather than saying, well, once things show up with, once the shooting starts, then it's kind of hard to say, we're going to fix this. So thank you. Isabelle. I'm a huge defender of Second Amendment. It's in the Constitution. It was put there by our founding fathers for a reason. I don't believe that the police department should be involved in our schools anymore. I don't believe kids should carry arms. Should we have armed guards in the school? Yes, I would see that as a possibility. The issue with the police department and sending kids and getting involved in, for example, if kids are absent from schools, them getting tickets, and then going to juvie, it's become kind of like a trend that so many kids have been through our jail system that they feel like it's something cool. So I feel that the police department has failed in our schools, and they should not be involved in the school district at all. Next question. How should the district approach discipline and bullying? And what should the role of school resource officers be? I did not get to give my opinion on this, and I would love the opportunity. Did I miss somebody? As far as school safety goes, I'm a mental health counselor, so I tend to look at the emotional safety piece of things. But I do see the importance of physical safety as well. So when I think about the foundation for student success, it's a positive learning environment, and that means making sure that our students are emotionally safe and physically safe. So physical safety, to me, that might look like cameras, those locked doors. It might look like school resource officers, because, again, I'm going to go back to engagement, and I'm going to go to the R in SRO, resource. They're a valuable resource. People are the most valuable resources, and our kids need to feel physically and emotionally safe, and to have that engagement with the SROs, that is something that I see as being incredibly helpful. I certainly would advocate for continued mental health services, including the wonderful PATH program that we have in our schools to promote that sense of emotional safety. And Peter, I really love what you had to say about really getting to the bottom of things and being able to understand when a child or when a student comes to work with both the bully and the bullied to try to resolve what's going on. Because, again, we're looking at this as the end result is bullying, but it's been caused by other things. And do we get to the situation where it's not just punishing bad behavior, but identifying good behavior that the bully needs to adopt in order to function in society and in school? So you have two people there that, I don't know, I won't say damaged, but have something that has to be done, the bully, the person who is bullied. And that has to be fixed, and it's probably not an immediate thing. It's not just a punishment done, and we'll see you next time you do it. So I think there are examples in different school districts and probably underway at Sheboygan too. I'm not completely aware of all of their disciplinary tracks. But that brings people together to face up to the problem and make decisions that are better. And that has to be guided by the school system, depending on how extreme it is. It might need outside intervention, everything from citations, or maybe it needs counseling to fix or address the situation. But the main thing is to identify it, have something that's working to help all the parties. Thank you. Isabel. Well, in this topic about bullying, my experience with kids, kids are not born hateful. They learn to be hateful. And many times I've seen it. I know a lot of people are going to disagree with that. It comes from the parents or it comes from their environment. So best way to teach a kid to not bully is definitely not sending them to prison because we're having the police involved, because them being in a violent environment is just a repetitive cycle and never-ending cycle. So suspension would be the approach to just like private schools. You get bullies, you get suspended from school. I think public schools should do the same thing. Suspension. And they can take the courses online. Now we have the technology. If they pass, great. If they don't, well. But that would be my answer. Leah. Could you repeat the question, please? Yes. How should the district approach discipline and bullying? And what should the role of school resource officers be? Well, going back to question number two or question number three, the idea of the we mentality, I think that stands here as well. I think it's important for us to understand where this bullying behavior is coming from. And instead of taking a punitive approach to it, I think being able to take a more understanding approach to it is far more helpful. Now, detractors might listen to what I just said and they might say, oh, you know, just like, just that's some like flowery like therapist stuff. But it's science. If we figure out what happened or why a behavior is happening, instead of punishing it, we are more likely to be able to change it. That's cognitive behavioral therapy in a nutshell. So to be able to talk to the children or the students in question and to be able to figure out what's going on in their lives, get them the appropriate services that they might need outside of school is incredibly important. And this is where the SROs come in as far as engagement goes, instead of it being punitive, instead of it being something, now, granted, there are exceptions, certainly. But for the most part, instead of it being something punitive, being able to engage that student with the SRO and being able to have that student be heard out is going to be far more, I'm trying to think of the word, it's going to be far more helpful than ostracizing them, ostracizing the students. That's not the answer. That's where we might see issues with student safety. So we need to listen to learn where the student is at. And when we learn where they're at, we learn more about them and we learn how to serve them. Thank you. Santino. Is it possible that I can just steal Leah's answer? Wow. Basically, everything she stated is spot on. But I do want to agree with Isabelle that it is a learned behavior. But where does that come from? Past trauma, right? Home life, socioeconomic disadvantages, the backgrounds that they come in. It's a fight or flight. And a lot of them, instead of just trying to understand what's going on, as she was stating that, trying to get to the root of it, we know hurt people hurt people. And so that's what they're doing because whatever past traumas or these situations at home, they're coming to school to lash out. I, after being on the board for three years, I believe that we've had our fair share of issues for discipline. And I believe that we have great policies in place to address those issues. The administration works tirelessly to make sure that everyone involved is treated with equality in that the district is not trying to just putonize the child. They're trying to make sure that they're getting to the ground root of it to better assist this child to move forward, to understand why this happened, to give more resources to the families if need be. Because the building is just one aspect of it. It's all of the underground layers of the roots of it. And I think, from my experience, SROs are, like Leah said earlier, is a resource. A lot of them, that's that barrier. They see a police officer, but that police officer inside of the school have made themselves available. Not their best friends, but someone that they can confide in. And I think that's something that has come a long way since I've been in school back in Detroit, that our SROs are not just there to be the enforcer, but they're there to be the resource to help these families, to keep them out of potentially going to jail or to be suspended. Thank you. Thank you. Next question. What is your position regarding removing books from school libraries, a practice that has become known as book banning? Two minutes, starting with Isabel. Well, book banning. Well, it depends what books are being banned and who is it benefiting. As we know, government and government contractors, there's a lot of money involved in that, especially in publishing business. If it's banning books, the current books that I've heard that have been banned about sexual orientation absolutely, I don't think those books are more than inappropriate. They should not be in our libraries. If they're banning educational books, that question is very broad. So we have to look into what books exactly are they banning. Because I do believe that there are some books that should be banned and in terms of books that are linked into sexual orientation for children, which are very inappropriate. And this whole LGBTQ agenda of teaching us new sexes, I believe there's only two sexes, either male or female. If they want it, if kids do want to learn of other identifiable sexes, well, they can wait after high school to learn that. And schools, they should not be allowed. Lea, I think about when I was a student in the district and I think about the libraries and how wonderful it made me feel to be able to choose any book that I wanted. I think about being able to walk over to Meade Public Library, being able to see Santino these days, and being able to pick out any book I want from the library. And I think here, this is something that I like the process that the district currently has. First of all, a parent needs to have read the book that they want to be able to ban or that they want to be able to ban. I think that is incredibly important. We can't say, well, I don't like this book, so I just don't think that anyone should have the opportunity to read it, especially if we have not read it. I think it's important to remember that parents have the right to ask that their child not be allowed to check out certain books. If a parent takes issue with a certain book or a certain type of book, absolutely. That is their right as a parent to say, I don't want my child to read this. But to impose that on every student in the district is irresponsible. We need to be able to trust that the staff that we hire and the staff that teach our children have our kids' best interests in mind that they are well-trained, that they understand child development, and that these books are developmentally appropriate. Thank you. Santino. It's kind of hard to keep follow-up behind. Just not, I'm just going to be honest. Removing books from the library, freedom of speech, right? I mean, obviously, if the books aren't to the liking of the parent or the student, there's a process. And the school district has a policy for that, of how to review a book or to ban a book, the process to go through banning a book. I don't know the policy verbatim. Kaye Robbins stated that in her last debate here in the forum about the policy. But there's a process in place. Follow it. Don't just come and say you want a book ban if you never read it. Don't even know what the content is, because you see things flying around through text messages or email chains saying, oh, this needs to be gone. Why? Why do you need it gone? What is your investment in wanting this gone? There's a lot of books from history that people want banned. Why? To have censorship, I'm not for it. We need to make sure that we're doing our due diligence to make sure that our kids are safe and the educational materials inside of the buildings are safe. And it's not just the LGBTQ books that are being banned. I believe the Holocaust was being banned. There's other books that are being banned for what reason? Because you just don't like it. Follow the process and understand this educational material. And I agree that parents have the right to refuse their child from reviewing those books. There's processes. And there's a committee that review these books to be in the side of our schools. So these are educated people that are making educated decisions, which is their background, library science degree. So this is their life. And obviously, if they think that it's OK, well, let's figure out why. Thank you. Peter, I think the district's policy that does provide a mechanism for considering a book or other material, whether it's appropriate, I think it's fair procedure and it gives people the opportunity to bring their concerns to the attention of the school. And it has a timeline for getting things done. There's a certain amount of time when the committee is assembled and meets that they review the book or the materials in question, that they bring it forward, that they send their decision to the superintendent, that the superintendent either says, yes, I accept this or no, I don't, that the person who bought in the complaint then gets is informed of that. And if they want to appeal it, it goes to the board. And then the board reviews it. So there's plenty of opportunities to look at that. But again, if something gets that far, as Santino says, it's gotten past a lot of people who've said this is appropriate for this age, for this group. Does that mean everybody should read it? And everybody in that age group is going to want or need to read it? Not necessarily. But nobody reads all the books in the library. We have to have what's available to address the reality of the diversity in our schools. I do think the people who can say, I don't want this author or this book in my house bought in by my student, that can be managed. That can be say, this can't be checked out by this student. There are so many opt-in and opt-out opportunities in many of the things in the district that you have those opportunities. But to say, I don't like this book, nobody can see it, that's not doing our community a service. Thank you. Thank you. Next question. What are your thoughts on the pending referendum to replace Farnsworth and urban middle schools due to structural and environmental concerns? Two minutes, starting with Leah. Well, I think about both schools. I went to school at Farnsworth. And I think about how the school was built in 1930, which was the year that my grandmother was born. And I think about urban, which she graduated from when it was North High School back in 1948. We definitely need safe facilities for our students. I know that in being able to hear some of the thoughts of community members lately, being able, it sounds to me like as far as urban goes, the location is something that there are some concerns about. So that's something I would like to hear more about from the people in our community. I would like to hear more about what their concerns might be regarding busing and things like that. And as far as Farnsworth goes, I was able to talk to a constituent this morning, and they talked about the parking and how that might look if the facade faces Ashland Avenue rather than Union Avenue. But in all, I fully support a positive learning environment, and that includes safe buildings for our students, for our staff. Thank you. Santino. Thank you. So I've been working closely with this referendum as the VP of the school board currently. And I think a lot of discussion is location and how the north side is getting a new school and the south side isn't. I think about the safety of those buildings. They're in dire repair. They are in dire straits of needing repair. And to continuously use funds to continuously put money into these buildings where it's just a bandaid, I don't think that that's right. Urban, I did some research. Urban school was built in 1938, Farnsworth 1959. I think those are like our two oldest buildings currently. We have to make sure that we're putting our kids in a successful environment that is safe. So the piping from Galvanized, I believe, to PVC piping, the asbestos, Urban just had the water leak, the water burst. It was expensive to fix. But all of the old piping and things that became could be a hazardous danger. We got to make sure that we put our kids in a safer schools in an environment where they can thrive. And I get that move in the School of Urban a little further away. Nothing has really been affected per se as far as the busing will still be the same, it's still kind of the neighborhood school. So I think that the facelift for Farnsworth is much needed as well, move it back off of the union to make it more safe for students in traffic so that there's no pedestrian traffic or potential accidents. Thank you. Peter, managing the district requires the ability to plan long term and anticipate the needs to maintain facilities. I think the district is acting responsibly in planning for the future. Preliminary work done with the input of a committee made of diverse voices has made a good start by suggesting to replace the old school buildings in the district. Over the next several months, the district will be presenting these plans and seeking input from everyone who lives in the district. People need to learn what the replacement of these two schools will bring to the community, how much it'll cost, and how it will serve the area for the next 50 years. I find it interesting that you have two buildings that were built in the 1930s, and that can't have been an easy decision to put up those buildings in the Depression, pay for that. The other thing that strikes me, seeing the buildings, is what good shape they look like. Because the interiors are maintained, this district takes such good care of its buildings. And I think that talk about trusting, I think people trust the district, if they're gonna put a bunch of money in a building, it's gonna be kept up. And so I think that bodes well. I also have heard from the people I've spoken to and I've gone to the meetings at Farnsworth and Urban, nobody is really, that spoke up, had any real issue with the buildings and replacing them, or the cost. There were issues with some people about the location and maybe the use, because buildings, middle schools used to be built with auditoriums. All of our middle schools had auditoriums. Now they don't do that anymore, they'll say, well, we'll have a multi-use space in a gymnasium, or the cafeterias are used that way, or we'll use the high schools for their auditoriums. Anyway, I think they're doing a good job with this, but they need to convince the public to go along with it. That's their responsibility, and I think they'll do that, they've done that in the past. Thank you. Isabel. I think before, this is basically another example of where there is money for some things, but there's none for other things. I think before we keep investing money into infrastructure, let's be honest, people don't wanna go to our schools. They don't wanna attend our schools, that's why we have school choice. That's why we keep on giving more money to school choice, or people pulling their kids out of school and homeschooling them. We should first focus on the staff. Let's look at our curriculum, see why people are not attending our school. Let's convince the public, our residents, to send their kids to our schools, and then we can talk about plans of renovating and making pretty buildings, but what's the point of having new buildings if they're gonna be empty in a couple more years at the rate that we're going? Because nobody seems to have good faith on the schools of Sheboygan. They opt for other schools. Thank you. Next question. School district librarians slash media specialists are now servicing multiple schools. These professionals are on the front line of literature being questioned by special interest groups, while still dealing with instructing our student body about misinformation and safety concerns on the internet. What do you think is the board's role in supporting libraries and the educators staffing them? And do you support having licensed media specialists in the schools? Two minutes, starting with Santino. Can you repeat that please? I got lost at the last second. Repeat it? All right. School district librarians slash media specialists are now servicing multiple schools. These professionals are on the front line of literature being questioned by special interest groups, while still dealing with instructing our student body about misinformation and safety concerns on the internet. What do you think is the board's role in supporting libraries and the educators staffing them? And do you support having licensed media specialists in the schools? I'm gonna be very quick. I think the board's role is to support the administration and the decisions that they decide to make. If the administration does their analysis and it shows that librarians and media specialists are needed, then we need to support that. They're the matter experts. And I think that we shouldn't... I don't think it's our role as a board to go against what the administration think they need because now we're gonna start being a controlling board. And I don't think that that's what we want. So I believe that we do need to support the decisions of the administration. And I do think that, again, if the administration says that there needs to be licensed media specialists, then we need to support that and make sure that if it's physically responsible to do so, that we do it without causing any strain or any other programs within the district. Thank you. Peter, I'm not familiar with licensed media specialists if that's what we have now, or if that's something that we could have if there's media specialists and licensed. So I'm not exactly sure what that means if it's a new position. But I do think that understanding that instructing school children at all levels to how to access and evaluate information is critical. Many of the gatekeepers that watched over content from newspapers and radio and television are gone now because those aren't major sources for information anymore. People are going to different places to getting their information, and you can't assume that there's been some editor or someone fact-checking it. So if that falls to the library specialists, the media specialists, that absolutely has to be supported. I guess that's the answer, yes. Isabelle. Well, I would support a media specialist before I would support renovating new schools where we're not certain we're gonna have a future of students wanting to attend our schools. Again, I'm gonna reiterate my point which I stated previously is that we need to focus first on the staff and our program and our school, you know, what's different to what Tatino said. I think school boards obligation, it's to their students and then the taxpayers because we wanna make sure that we are responsible with the money from, you know, the taxpayers. Where is it being allocated? And then we can focus on fancy schools. Leah. I think back to my days at Longfellow Elementary School. I think back to we had Mrs. Gray who was the librarian and Ms. Tews who is still working there. It was our IMC assistant. I think about how things were in the infancy of the internet and I think about how things are now and our students consume so much more media than I could have ever dreamed of. Like I think about the young version of myself. She would have had, like she wouldn't be able to believe Wikipedia existed. So our kids are consuming more media and they're doing it in different ways. They're doing it in different languages. One school that I was able to visit, Sheridan Elementary, they have increasing enrollments and one thing that we see there, there is a need for ML and particularly Spanish like periodicals and books and things like that. So there I do think that it would be more than necessary to have a licensed media specialist but I wanna echo what Santino said and I think it's important for us to be able to engage with those media specialists, to be able to understand what they do and to be able to see, to be able to understand their expertise and how necessary it is for running a smooth school. But I am fully in support of having that kind of assistance. Thank you. Thank you. All right, last question. What role should the arts and music play in curriculum requirements? Two minutes, starting with Peter. I think they should be as highly supported as possible. I think the skills, not to monetize it, but the skills learned in those experiences are transferable. It's not just a matter of, well, I'm not gonna be a concert pianist so why would I wanna learn music? It's going to be the collaboration that you have in a classroom of people putting out the same product, whether it's a concert or theater or visual arts. It's an appreciation that is lifelong as when people would have with reading, they also have it with music. And the availability of all sorts of music now, again with the explosion of the online availability, is probably something that can be taken very seriously and help people expand their horizons. But I think we would be a poorer community if we did not have the level of excellence that we have constantly had in the music in the theater businesses and the theater classes that have made such a difference in the lives of so many students, even if they never do anything professionally like that, it has improved their lives and a lot of their capabilities. So it should definitely be made part and enshrined in the way the schools operate. Thank you. Isabel. The way you grow a community and create culture in a community is through arts and music. I think it's a important, like super important investment that we should allocate funds to this and also create new artisans in our community that will bring tourism. It will make people think of Sheboygan in a different way. It's also a form of therapy for a lot of kids who grow up in tough environments. We should be looking into allocating more funds to these types of programs than to being renovating schools and making them fancier. I think us investing more resources and allocating more money to these types of programs. Number one, we'll sit well with the taxpayers. Number two, I think parents would agree, students as well. So. All right. Leah. Could you repeat the question? Sure. What role should the arts and music play in curriculum requirements? I think, well, one thing that I will say is that during a board meeting that I attended this past fall, it was when they introduced the LEGO STEAM program. And it's just so cool. It was so cool to me to be able to see this program where I know so many kids through my work and through my life that struggle academically. But if they were given a LEGO set and they were told this is going to help you to learn science, this is going to help you learn how to use that engineer mind that you have, they would absolutely love it. So the fact that our kids have that ability is incredible. I am all for self-expression and I'm all for advocating, funding that goes towards programs like band, orchestra, dance, theater. I had a feeling a question like this would come up. And if you haven't been able to tell about me already, I was kind of nose to the grindstone during my academic career. So I asked my husband who was much more into music and the arts. And I said, what value did being part of band like throughout high school, what value did that bring to your life? And well, I didn't even need to ask. He has lifelong friendships that he formed because of his involvement in the band. He was able to learn how to express himself. He got to travel places and he got to learn about the world around him. Those are the kinds of opportunities that I'm all in favor of giving our kids. And for esteem to be part of the curriculum, it's a yes for me. Thank you. Santino. Again, everything has been stated. But I think the role of arts and music is very, very critical to the growth of our students. Just come to one of the committee meetings for theater and rec and see the amount of shows that are being done and how engaged the student and community are in coming and being a part of these shows and the drama, it's just fascinating. I think about my soon to be 14 year old son. He is very, very artsy as far as when he's on stage, he performs. And I'm a proud papa for that. I enjoy watching him grow and just to see him outside of his element, if that wasn't possible, what would he be doing besides just playing sports? It's just a creative mind that they have with arts and our music. I play bass clarinet. I mean, I probably shouldn't have said that on air, but I play bass clarinet back in middle school and I enjoyed it. I think that it's important to keep those, those, the arts and music inside of our curriculum. And another positive note, my nephew back in Detroit has a full ride scholarship for marching band to a university this coming year. And I'm very excited about him having the arts and music in school in Detroit as well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. We will conclude tonight's forum with a closing statement from each candidate. You have one minute and we're starting with Isabelle. Well, I hope, you know, the residents of Sheboygan give me an opportunity as being the only conservative candidate running for the school board. I do believe I can bring fresh perspective in, you know, new ideas to see how we can improve our school district and increase also attendance. Thank you. Thank you. Leah. It's been an honor to share my views tonight. It's been an honor to share the stage with some great human beings who care about our children that want a better world for our future. You know, it's especially been an honor to share the stage with Peter Madden. He and I go way back. I played basketball with his daughter Claire for five years and I will be honest with you, I was a loser on the basketball court but I'm hoping I'm gonna be a winner at the polls and I hope that you all will consider voting for me on April 2nd and in doing that, that we can leave a legacy of learning for a new generation of Sheboygan kids together. Thank you. Santino. Thank you, ma'am. As a non-partisan candidate, I think what makes me a good school board member is that I am a strong communicator. In my three years of the school board, two of them as the vice president, as I stated earlier, I have listened to diverse perspectives and collaborated with fellow board members, educators and parents and students. I exhibit empathy and understanding towards the needs and concerns of all stakeholders involved in the educational system. I have prioritized the well-being in academic success of students, ensuring that policies and decisions are made with the best interest in mind. I have demonstrated leadership by fostering a positive inclusive environment, encouraging innovation and continuous improvement and advocating for equitable access to quality education for all students. I believe I have embodied a commitment to lifelong learning and staying informed about current educational trends and issues to make informed decisions that lead to the advancement of the SDSD educational system. And my tagline is always children first, community always. Thank you. Thank you. Peter. I believe that the Sheboygan area school district has a great track record providing students with high quality education through an excellent faculty, appropriate curriculum and sound financial management. That's not to say that there are no issues that require review and revision. And I see it as the job of the school board to take steps as necessary to provide leadership in those cases. The success of the district over the years can be attributed to faculty selection and training to effective administrators, to competent and engaged board members. But none of that would have happened without the voters making their preferences known in selecting board members and the support of referenda. By their ballot choices, the voters guide the district and become part of the outcome that we have achieved. So on April 2nd, the public will have the ability to vote for three people to serve on the board for the next three years. I hope you will consider investing one of those votes in Peter Madden. Thank you. That concludes tonight's forum. Thank you all very much for your participation and for your willingness to serve the Sheboygan area school district. Thank you very much and good night.