By Press Times Staff

ASHWAUBENON – The only contested race April 6 for the Ashwaubenon school board will feature board president Jay VanLaanen against Heidi Murphy.

VanLaanen first won a seat in 2003. He is a senior financial services officer at GreenStone Farm Credit Services.

Murphy is a part-time court clerk for the City of Kaukauna, and is president of Shielded Hearts, a peer support organization involving communities of women in long-term committed relationships with sworn law enforcement officers.

The Press Times emailed each candidate the same questions and gave them 100 words to respond to each.

Jay VanLaanen

Why should people vote for you?

I’ve been a board member for nearly 18 years, and during this time I’ve strived to keep students the No. 1 priority.

This has been difficult as each and every year we’ve had to cut our budget due to declining funding.

Despite this, we’ve balanced our budget and stayed fiscally responsible.

Most importantly, we’ve kept opportunities for our students exciting and innovative.

We’ve also increased the number of open enrollment students admitted each year.

Currently, a third of our student population is from open enrollment.

This gives us the ability to balance our budget and maintain the programs we offer.

Jay VanLaanen

Did the district handle the switch between different learning models this school year properly? Why or why not?

When we remote, our indicators showed a good decision, because we didn’t have enough healthy staff.

By Thanksgiving, the number of cases doubled from when we went remote.

Before Christmas, we decided to open schools Jan. 11: full-time for 4K–5 and blended for 6–12.

We stated Jan. 25 students would be back in school full-time.

The criteria we use has been modified, the number of cases has dropped and absences stabilized.

We could have worked at getting our students back sooner, even if it was using the cohort groups and taking a shorter pause if the number of absences rose.

What should the district do for student and staff safety while offering in-person instruction during a pandemic?

I think the district is doing a great job at maintaining safety protocols during this pandemic.

There are a lot of unsung heroes behind the scenes that do not get recognition for keeping our students and staff safe.

It truly takes a village to raise a child, and this is even more evident in the middle of a pandemic.

We all need to work together to provide a safe learning environment for our 3,200 students.

What do you believe the district is doing right with 4K-12 education?

Ashwaubenon is the envy of many districts in our area.

This is evident by the number of open enrollment students we attract and the teachers/staff that have come from neighboring communities to be a part of the learning environment.

We offer high-quality programs to meet the needs of all students – whether it’s our honors/AP courses, to our technology and engineering programs, to our middle and elementary school programs.

A key to maintaining this high-quality education we established during my tenure on the school board is attracting and retaining highly talented staff members.

What would you like to see changed in the district?

Our district is constantly striving to be the best, and in this pandemic and post-pandemic time I would hope we will have learned a great deal about how important it is to have our students in our schools with face-to-face instruction whenever possible.

We also must be willing to pause briefly and go back to remote learning when needed.

The one thing I believe we need to do is constantly be reflective in our work in order to provide our students and their families the high-quality education they deserve and have come to expect from our talented staff.

Heidi Murphy

Why should people vote for you?

I have young children in the district at the elementary level.

At this time, no other voting board members have that perspective.

I have a diverse background involving human resources, non-profit leadership, municipal government and classroom experience.

My goal is to be a creative problem solver.

I think it’s important to have representation at the different education levels along with experiences outside of the education field to truly consider the diverse perspectives impacting our community and be a part of the solution.

Heidi Murphy

Did the district handle the switch between different learning models this school year properly? Why or why not?

I do not agree with how the switch in learning models went this year.

When the schools were closed in the fall it was to be for two weeks.

Continuously extending the virtual learning was not the right answer.

The many surveys that were conducted gave incredible insight to the needs and wishes of the community.

Once it was determined that the schools were not a large source of community spread, every effort should have been made to get the students back in the classroom with two or three options for families to elect what fit their needs the best.

What should the district do for student and staff safety while offering in-person instruction during a pandemic?

Schools adequately balance several risks to have a productive in-person learning environment, such as active shooters, fires, tornadoes, etc.

As a society we assume those risks and weigh the pros and cons of them for our families.

When it was clear that schools were not a source of community spread, I believe the question was answered that the safety precautions implemented at the beginning of the year were practical and efficient.

The district has an opportunity to bridge the gap between staff and parent perceptions with regards to safety that were apparent with the survey results that were shared.

What do you believe the district is doing right with 4K-12 education?

Ashwaubenon School District is sought after in the area with upstanding staff and programming that is above average.

This year threatened that reputation greatly.

The district traditionally has the whole well-being of the student as their top priority and is supported with staff and families who maximize the resources available to them.

I do not believe the challenges of this year are indicative of this district as a whole; it’s truly just been a challenging year, and I hope to bring a fresh perspective to the board.

What would you like to see changed in the district?

The school board is elected by the constituents in which they serve.

At the end of the day, their service is to the community and representing them to the best of their abilities.

I think the district failed to keep the entire well-being of the students in perspective this year; academic, emotional, mental and physical.

I would like to see more collaboration between the board, staff and families in the form of focus groups or committees.

With representatives from each group involved in the decision-making process, the emphasis on finding common ground would greatly increase communication and transparency.