Contested races for Waupaca School Board
By Robert Cloud
Six candidates will run for three seats on the Waupaca School Board.
Incumbents Sandy Robinson, Betty Manion and Mark Polebitski are seeking re-election.
The challengers are Emily Nikolai, Steve Klismet and Joel Bartel.
The three candidates who receive the most votes on April 6 will serve on the school board.
Manion
Manion has served on the school board since 2003. She is the board clerk and chair of the Personnel Committee.
She has a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences and a master’s degree in theology from St. Norbert College in De Pere.
Retired as director of religious education at St. Mary Magdalene’s Catholic Church, Manion is also a storyteller and motivational speaker.
Robinson
Robinson was first elected to the Waupaca School Board in 1993. She is currently the board treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Robinson has a bachelor’s degree in education.
She spent 11 years working in museums and 29 years with the U.S. Curling Association, a nonprofit organization based in Stevens Point. She retired in 2015.
Polebitski
Polebitski is seeking his second term on the school board. He is chair of the Student Services Committee.
He has a bachelor’s degree from UW-Stevens Point, with a mathematics major and a computer science minor, and a master’s degree in education from St. Mary’s University in Minnesota.
Polebitski taught computer science at Waupaca High School for 33 years.
He also started the boys and girls high school soccer programs and the middle school soccer program.
Polebitski also served two terms on the Waupaca Common Council.
Nikolai
Nikolai is a graduate of Weyauwega-Fremont High School with a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University.
She has three sons who are currently attending high school.
Her community involvement includes the Waupaca Area Youth Hockey Association and coaching youth soccer.
As a member of the Parent Teacher Group at Waupaca Learning Center, Nikolai helped organize the first Walkathon, which raised more than $20,000.
She is currently a stay-at-home mom.
Klismet
Klismet is a graduate of Waupaca High School who attended the University of Wisconsin-Marshfield for one year and Fox Valley Technical College for one year.
He has five children, two of whom are still students in the Waupaca School District. His other children have graduated.
Klismet helps manage the Waupaca Mobil Travel Plaza, a family business that opened in 1976.
Bartel
A graduate of Little Wolf High School in Manawa, Bartel earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a master’s in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University.
In April 2020, Bartel ran an unsuccessful campaign for county board.
His platform included making Waupaca a sanctuary county for gun rights by prohibiting police from enforcing bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, red flag laws or universal background checks.
In 2009, Bartel was elected to the Farmington Town Board. He served one term.
In 2017, Bartel ran for town chair, but lost to Caroline Murphy.