By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
Two of seven Whitewater Unified School District (WUSD) Board positions will be filled by voters in April with the deadline of January 5 for citizens to indicate an interest in serving. Current School Board member Kelly Davis, holder of one of the two positions, has indicated that she will not be seeking reelection. The holder of the other position, Tom Ganser, told the Banner that he plans to run again.
Any person who is a United States citizen and a qualified elector of the Whitewater Unified School District is legally qualified to become a member of the School Board according the news release by WUSD. The release states that School Board candidates should have “… a genuine interest in and devotion to public education, a willingness to give time and effort to the position, a capacity to understand people” as well as “the ability to work cooperatively with others.”
Board members are elected for three-year terms, and may be paid $15 per meeting, although many decline to accept the payment. In addition to regular meetings on the fourth Monday of each month, members are also appointed to serve on committees. In December’s meeting there is planned to be discussion about the “quantity of school board meetings,” an item that was deferred from the November agenda. Reportedly in the past the board sometimes met twice monthly.
There are no signature circulation requirements for interested parties unlike Whitewater Common Council and other elected positions. Filing documents may be obtained at the office of the School Board Secretary at the WUSD Central Office, 419 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater.
WUSD provides an orientation session for Board candidates in January to help candidates become acquainted with the election process and Board members’ duties and responsibilities. The District Administrator has also developed, in consultation with the Board, a candidate orientation program to be presented by District staff and one of the current Board members.
Information and assistance in filing the required application documents is available from School Board Secretary Jaclyn Tueting at (262) 472-8702. Her email address is jtueting@wwusd.org.
The WUSD School Board is the body’s policy-making authority and is responsible for the District’s annual budget. The WUSD news release points out that the board “…is responsible to the public for the success of all education services offered by the District. This success is dependent on many individuals, but also upon each Board member’s understanding of the workings of the District-wide operations and each member’s ability to participate meaningfully in the decision-making process that governs the District.”
WUSD provides instruction at Whitewater High School, Whitewater Middle School and Lakeview, Lincoln, and Washington Elementary Schools. The District covers portions of a wide-ranging geographic area that includes parts of three different counties. Any citizen who resides in the District is eligible to serve on the WUSD Board.
