By Press Times Staff
DE PERE – It’s a full ballot April 5 for three De Pere School Board seats.
Incumbents Mark Meneau and Bob Mathews face challengers Brittony Cartwright, Adam Clayton, Chad Jeskewitz and Melissa Niffenegger.
Incumbent Mike Paroubek did not seek reelection.
The Press Times emailed each candidate the same question:
What do you see as the most important issue facing the De Pere School Board, and if elected, how will you address it?
Each candidate had 200 words to respond.
Brittony Cartwright
A: The most important issue facing our district is improving the communication and relationship between the board, parents and community.
The success of the De Pere School District is crucial for our students and an area as a whole.
As a mother of three kids in the district, I have a vested interest and want to be involved in my children’s education, as do so many other parents.
If elected, I would ensure meeting and agenda information is more readily available to the public to facilitate more involvement from parents and community members.
I would introduce a student representative program that would regularly present to the board.
This would encourage student involvement, while also teaching them skills they will use as an adult.
I would work to create a culture of transparency at the board level by engaging parents through regular surveys on issues and decisions affecting their students and the district.
Outcomes of those surveys should be honored, regardless of board members’ individual opinions.
I am a strong believer that the board is to work with, and for, the parents, not against them.
My role as a board member will be to work with parents.
I am the parents’ choice.
Mark Meneau
A: The biggest issue the Unified School District of De Pere is facing is growth and the impact on our facilities.
If elected, we will have to dig in to understand the areas that will experience the biggest growth, and how those facilities either need to be expanded with additions to facilities, or the possibility of new facility construction.
We currently have good projections of where we see that happening, and that will help us with our planning.
In addition, it will be critical to understand what the district’s academic, extracurricular, technology and maintenance needs are, through involving not only internal staff and administration, but also clubs and groups that use the facilities, as well as the community, for valuable input.
The district has done an outstanding job the past 10 years in keeping taxes very low, with minimal debt for taxpayers as we balance spending to maintain and expand our current offerings in the district.
I have made it a priority to challenge our decisions in making sure that the changes that do take place are in the best interest for all of the stakeholders involved.
I would look forward to continuing to serve the residents of the district.
Adam Clayton
A: The most consistent topic from both residents and the superintendent candidates was that the schools are at a crossroad with facility capacity, and we need to have a strategic plan to address it as a community.
In addition, student and staff mental health and board transparency are at the top of my list from residents.
All these issues will need to be addressed as a team with the board, administration and community working together to identify specific challenges and define solutions together.
With good communication and a collaborative effort, we can address these and many more challenges.
To continue our schools’ success, we cannot get complacent by riding our current accomplishments, but rather continue to evaluate ways to make ourselves even better.
Proper planning for the long-term challenges needs to begin now, to ensure we are poised for progress and can adapt rapidly if necessary.
Community support and participation are vital, and I want to engage all stakeholders in our process to regain community trust and bring everyone together.
Check out facebook.com/Clayton4USDDBoard to learn about more ideas that I have to continue to make the De Pere schools an excellent example of a strong educational team.
Bob Mathews
A: Restoring a sense of unity and pride of the De Pere schools within the district.
COVID-19 significantly impacted the staff, faculty, students and families in our district.
Students struggled educationally, mentally and emotionally with the loss of structure and consistency in the delivery of education.
Students lost their school experience – seeing their friends, being involved in extracurricular activities without limitations and having a consistent classroom experience.
Teachers and staff will be focused on meeting students where they are at, and redeveloping the classroom community.
All people that were impacted by COVID are tired and frustrated, and they desire a return to normalcy and community.
My focus will be to work with the board, administration, faculty, staff and parents to reestablish healthy lines of communication and to address perceived gaps.
The transition to a new superintendent will provide a great opportunity to create conversation within the school and community as he seeks to understand and evaluate what is working and what we can do better.
The return to normal will not happen overnight, but can be restored with patience and persistence.
I want to be part of the board that reestablishes the pride in the De Pere School District.
Chad Jeskewitz
A: The most important issue De Pere faces is rapid growth and the future of our facilities.
Our community and district are growing extremely fast with new housing and development.
Key decisions must be made to help accommodate this.
Planning needs also include infrastructure around roadways and parking.
There have been several recent incidents in school parking lots and close to schools with students being hit by vehicles and accidents.
We need to make sure we provide safe access to and from schools for students walking, biking, parents dropping off and students driving to school.
With growth, we also need to make sure we not only retain our amazing teachers, but attract new ones.
The U.S. currently has a major teacher shortage.
I will advocate to make sure our teachers and faculty have competitive salaries and benefits for our area to retain our current staff and attract top talent needed for the future.
Lastly, I want to make sure we remain fiscally responsible.
Our district has done a great job with our tax rate over the years.
I will advocate with the private sector to help alleviate costs of these growth needs without the community being burdened with tax increases.
Melissa Niffenegger
A: The most important issue facing our school is getting children caught up from the COVID-19 pandemic learning loss.
Providing grade-level content and addressing learning loss is not new to educators, but learning loss has looked different throughout the pandemic with all the additional learning interruptions caused by quarantines.
It is crucial that students consistently receive grade-level instruction, along with making the work accessible through the school year.
Learning loss is specific to each child.
By using teachers’ talents and expertise we can make instructional decisions to bring the child up to grade level standards.
The COVID-19 pandemic is over and should not be used as an excuse to prevent teaching students their grade level standards.