New London School Board election
New London School District residents who head to the polls Tuesday, April 3, can elect up to three candidates for the school board.
Incumbents Connie Neely, Bill Schmidt and Terry Wegner have a challenger this year in Mark Grossman.
Grossman, Neely and Wegner answered six questions for the Press Star. Schmidt did not return a questionnaire before press time Tuesday, March 27.
Candidates’ responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity and are presented in alphabetical order by last name.
Explain an area of expertise or a personal strength that you would possess as a public servant in education.
Mark Grossman (challenger): My experience as a business process analyst for 30-plus years of my professional life will be a plus in assisting the district to take a wider and deeper look into some of the more challenging issues. I have years of experience working in a board environment: town of Dale, four years; St. Joseph Residence and Washington Center, five years; School District of New London Parent Advisory Council, 20 years; Most Precious Blood Pastoral Council, six years. One of my personal strengths is listening. Being a good listener gives me the best opportunity to assess a situation or options that are presented. I am also very dedicated to any organization that I make a commitment to.
Connie Neely (incumbent): I have been a New London school board member for nine years. A personal strength of mine is bridging generations. I have eight grandchildren from ages 3 to 14 and many nieces and nephews enrolled in the New London school district, so I have a pulse on all of the schools. I engage with children by teaching Junior Achievement and Religious Ed. I have been on the CESA 6 board for six years. Here I have a chance to network with other school districts, which can be helpful in gaining new ideas. I am always listening to the kids and their families and try to understand and coach them through their struggles.
Terry Wegner (incumbent): Having served 16 years over two different terms on the school board, I certainly understand the role and responsibilities of a board member. I’ve lived in the New London community my entire life, which provides me a good understanding of our values and culture. I have grandchildren in New London schools so I have a relationship and understanding of what’s happening in the school system. In my business career, I worked in management and leadership positions, which has provided me with a solid background that is critical in assuring the district makes solid financial decisions.
Do you feel the New London School Board is doing its job well? Why or why not?
Grossman: For the most part the board has been doing a good job. I feel there is room for improvement in two areas. One area is oversight. There has been a practice of items presented by the administration for approval with little question by the board. As elected stewards of the district’s students and financials, it is one of our duties to ask questions or for explanations. The other is transparency. The public needs to be made aware of any actions that are being considered that may have a significant impact on the district. Also, the administration needs to present more information on a timelier basis prior to asking the board for a vote.
Neely: There is always need for improvement. We need good feedback from students, staff and community to help shape and inform our ongoing strategic plan. I encourage anyone to seek me out and I will listen to any concerns and suggestions. I believe to have district success you must know what you stand for as a district, be an active learner and choose where you spend your time.
Wegner: I believe the board is doing OK, yet I think there is always room to improve. We must always strive to be transparent in everything we do. We need to strengthen our efforts at hearing the voices of the community, staff and students. Doing this will assure we are reflecting the needs, wants and values of the district.
Since September, the school board has been examining the conditions of the district’s six school buildings, which were all constructed between the 1960s and 1990s. Would you back a referendum to update existing school facilities if district officials suggested pursuing one? Why or why not?
Grossman: I would back a referendum for the appropriate updates to any of our buildings. Maintaining buildings is a large cost for any organization. With restrictions that were put on our district’s budget in 1993, we don’t have the funds in our annual operating budget to properly maintain our buildings. Buildings and referendums go hand in hand and that won’t go away until the current funding formula that state uses goes away and an evenly distributed funding program is put in place.
Neely: I would support a referendum. Some of the schools need major repairs. We cannot put the maintenance off any longer or it will be costing more money in the future. Our business administrator does an excellent job in budgeting and trying to stretch the dollars. In the past New London has been a low-spending school district, which has now hurt the school district.
Wegner: The board has been touring our schools noting and understanding the issues and upgrades required within each facility. Needs vary from building to building both in impact and potential cost. To gain a more defined estimate of the cost of these repairs and upgrades, the board commissioned a facilities study by a third party. Once this report is received, I would recommend we share the findings with the community to inform, discuss and understand the community’s support. In my opinion, since our operations budget cannot accommodate these expenses, we will need to consider a referendum to assure facilities are maintained and meet our needs. Ultimately the community will determine what we do and when.
Since the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, the School District of New London has been actively evaluating its safety protocols. Are you satisfied with New London’s current security practices?
Grossman: Safety protocols have been improved quite a bit in the past few years. It’s always going to be difficult to stay ahead of the dangers that potentially exist. If the district continues to look at ways to improve whatever the current protocols are in place, our students and staff will be in a good place.
Neely: Brian Yerkey, the high school principal, is working with the New London Police Department to come up with more safety protocols and procedures to keep the children safe. We have put secured entrances on most of the schools and are working on getting them at all the schools. There will be more training for staff and students. We are keeping all of our options open and will see how this will unfold as it is a nationwide concern.
Wegner: Yes, I believe the district has worked diligently to develop, review, update and improve its security plan. This has all been done in collaboration with New London Police Department, county sheriff departments and outside experts. The district is very grateful for the community’s support in this area to date. I anticipate this continuous improvement will continue in the future as the district strives to create the safest environment we can for students and staff. I will be watching with great interest the special session in Madison dealing with Gov. Walker’s school security proposal. I hope its outcome will offer us more opportunities to enhance school safety.
What is something you would like to see improved in the district?
Grossman: Communication between the administration and staff members. The last few years there has been an erosion of the input from staff and more of a reliance on data as to what is best for helping our students succeed. Data gives you a snapshot or a score. Those interacting daily with the students who make up the data give you the best interpretation of the data and what to do with it.
Neely: More help for students and their families and school employees that have experienced trauma and have emotional and mental illness. There is a need to teach resilience in schools to help those experiencing trauma develop coping skills rather than turn to drugs, alcohol and violence.
Wegner: I think we must always try to maximize transparency. The public’s right to know and participate is essential to our success. I’d like to see us find ways to expand and improve communication with community and staff. This effort includes but should not be limited to public forums on key topics, enhance the school website, social media, email communications and print media such as the Press Star.
What is a point of pride within the district that more residents need to be aware of?
Grossman: Every graduating senior is required to go through a 10-to-15-minute interview with community volunteers to discuss their experiences of the last four years. I have participated in the interviews for four or five years. Something that has come out of those interviews is that a clear majority of the students are happy with their time spent in our schools. That’s something that most community members in the district, especially those that don’t have children in school probably aren’t aware of. I think that’s a tribute to the staff that interact with the students.
Neely: New London can be very proud of the successes of our students. Many students have earned credits toward their post-secondary education while in high school. On our district report card that compares us to 424 school districts in the state (New London being the 78th largest), New London exceeds expectations and a couple of our elementary schools were graded as significantly exceeds. Go Bulldogs!
Wegner: 1. The district has started meeting with the city, township boards, chamber of commerce and clergy to seek areas of possible collaboration. I’m optimistic this initiative has potential to do good things in our community in the future. 2. The efforts at providing our students information to explore career/job opportunities including the trades. A great example of this was the recent career/job fair held at the high school, which featured approximately 100 universities, colleges, tech schools, trade associations and businesses. A great job by the high school administration and staff.