News & Events

City of Whitewater Finance Committee = Tuesday @ 5:00 p.m.
Agenda includes Discussion and Direction on the Future of the City’s Shared Ride Transportation Program.
Whitewater Municipal Building Cravath Lakefront
Conference Room, 312 West Whitewater St.,
Whitewater, WI 53190 *In Person and Virtual
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 – 5:00 PM
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86897950397
Editor’s note: As of 5/25 the agenda does not include a call-in number.

Whitewater Unified School District Policy Review Board – Tuesday @ 6:40 p.m.
Agenda: animals in classroom for educational purposes
Whitewater High School Library
435 South Elizabeth Street, Whitewater, Wisconsin

Whitewater Unified School District School Board – Tuesday @ 7:00 p.m.
Agenda [click on “meetings” in upper right corner] includes Resolution Establishing Parameters for the Sale of Not to Exceed $15,000,000 General Obligation Promissory Notes, B. Approval of JP Cullen as Construction Management Company for Referendum-related work C. Approval of Building Solutions as District Owner’s Representative for Referendum-related work.
D. Proposal to recruit and retain qualified multilingual educators

Whitewater High School Library
534 South Elizabeth Street

URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84293137868?
pwd=NDQvcHdVa0p1MFVqbHVuZU9OTHhQZz09

– Passcode: 978535

• Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
• Webinar ID: 842 9313 7868

– Passcode: 978535

Closed Session to select the final candidate and possible consideration of
contractual terms of employment/contract for the new superintendent.

Open Session via Zoom Online

• URL: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87351152199?pwd=CAn8My6TB1jnfAPijtUbsFKVtZAjaU.1

– Passcode: 256839

• Dial-in: 1-312-626-6799
• Webinar ID: 873 5115 2199

– Passcode: 256839

2025 WHITEWATER UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT RETIREMENT CELEBRATION – Thursday @ 4:00 p.m.
Whitewater School Board members will be attending the 2025 Whitewater Unified School District Retirement Celebration at Willow Brook Golf Course on Thursday, May 29, 2025 beginning at 4:00 pm. A quorum of the School Board may be present; however, the Board will not be conducting any business during the event.

City of Whitewater Police & Fire Commission – Thursday @ 6:00 p.m.
Agenda includes Department Updates to include: Public Safety Referendum Passage, Spring Splash
Overview, PD Evidence/Training Garage, Removal of Public Comment on Social Media and
an Update on the School Resource Officer (SRO) Agreement and CLOSED SESSION, followed by open session, to interview patrol officer candidates.
Municipal Building Community Room,
312 West Whitewater St.
Citizens are welcome (and encouraged) to join our webinar via computer, smart phone, or telephone.
Citizen participation is welcome during topic discussion periods.
Police and Fire Commission Meeting
Please join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://meet.goto.com/597366141
You can also dial in using your phone.
Access Code: 597-366-141
United States: +1 (224) 501-3412

Walworth County Health and Human Services will host a free film screening of an award-winning documentary about generational substance abuse and poverty.

Further information regarding the film, including a preview, may be found here.

“A Complete Unknown”

Tuesday, May 27, 1 pm

(Biography/Period Drama/Music)

Rated R (language); 2 hours, 21 minutes (2024). 

19 year old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan‘s (Timothee’ Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer from bars, to concert halls, to top of the charts. His mystique captures the attention of icons like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Johnny Cash. Nominated for eight Oscars; winner for Best Actor (Chalamet) Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG-AFTRA). 

Seniors in the Park is located in Starin Park, 504 W. Starin Road. Although there is no charge to attend, regular participants are encouraged to join Seniors in the Park. The annual fee for residents of the Whitewater Unified School District is $10 and non-residents is $15. The funds support about half of the cost of our front desk staff person for 15 hours per week. The rest comes our of our fundraising monies. If you cannot afford the fee, we have a fund that will cover it for you. Fees are accepted at the Starin Park Community Building or online at https://schedulesplus.com/wwtr/kiosk/

Final arrangements have been made for Memorial Day activities to be held on Monday, May 26th in Whitewater and hosted by American Legion Post 173 and VFW Post 5470.

At 6:00 AM members of the American Legion and anyone who wants to help will gather at the American Legion, 292 S. Wisconsin St., Whitewater to place American Flags along Main Street.

The parade will form at the Hearthstone Memory Care at Fairhaven parking lot [426 W. North Street] at 10:00 AM and will march off promptly at 10:30 AM concluding at the Downtown Whitewater Armory.

In case of inclement weather, the parade will be canceled but the program will be held at the Armory beginning at 11:00 AM. 

Leading the parade will be the color guard of William Graham Post 173 American Legion.
The Whitewater High School Band and the Whitewater Middle School Band will provide music for the parade.
Featured in the parade will be guest speaker Air Force Senior Master Sergeant and American Legion Post 173 Vice-Commander Jessica Kienbaum.  Also participating will be American Legion and VFW scholarship winners, Badger Boys and Girls State attendees, the American Legion Americanism award and the American Legion Outstanding Athlete award recipient.  Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Whitewater Youth Soccer, and other youth organizations are invited to participate.

Editor’s note: This announcement was provided by Steve Smith.

Gov. Evers Orders Flags to Half-Staff in Honor of EMS Professionals Who Have Given Their Lives in the Line of Duty

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #262 ordering the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Sat., May 24, 2025, as a mark of respect for the emergency medical services (EMS) professionals who have given their lives in the line of duty. Gov. Evers proclaimed National EMS Week throughout the state of Wisconsin beginning Sun., May 18, and lasting through Sat., May 24, 2025. The governor’s National EMS Week proclamation is available here.  “EMS professionals play a critical role in ensuring the health and safety of Wisconsinites across our state, as well as the safety and security of our communities. No matter the emergency or the danger of the situation, we count on first responders to be there and care for us when we need them most,” said Gov. Evers. “National EMS Week is an opportunity for us to reflect on and acknowledge this difficult and even dangerous work and all of the folks and their families who make these daily sacrifices while honoring those who have lost their lives in service of the health and safety of others.”

Updated 5/23/25 @ 10:23 p.m. to recognize photos by Tom Ganser. Apologies for the omission.

By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

Editor’s note: The school board’s announcement regarding their choice of finalists may be found below the “Meet & Greet” article.

Thirty-one community members and parents attended the “Meet & Greet” for the three finalists for superintendent of the Whitewater Unified School District at the high school auditorium on Thursday evening. Most in the audience stayed for the entire two-and-a-half-hour session. Bios for the candidates were provided in this previous Banner article. The candidates appeared in the order shown above. Each was allotted a forty-five minute period to introduce themselves and answer questions.

Some of the participants had done their homework, bringing prepared questions or even referencing matters that they had found in doing media research. Fiorenza, at the conclusion of her question/answer period, brought up something she thought might be an elephant in the room: why she resigned from her recent employment without landing another job. She stated that she left that district on very good terms but recently having achieved empty nest status, she was ready to take on a superintendency and knew that if she took the plunge she would land such a position.

All of the candidates had a number of positive comments to make about what they had seen and heard in their tours of the buildings earlier in the day. They remarked on the recently passed capital referendum, the increasing focus on tech ed as well as the plan to hire a Career and Technical Education Coordinator, and the 18 pathways that are being developed at the high school. They were also impressed with the ability of students to earn credits through Gateway Technical and UW-Whitewater.

This writer cannot reference who asked many of the questions, but Kelly Davis consistently stated that she has three children in the district and asked each candidate if they would live in the district. While insisting that they would be visible in the community regardless of their residency, neither of the men made a commitment. Fiorenza stated without reservation that she would be living here.

Other comments/questions referenced such subjects as:
– Concerns from students/parents that so much focus is placed on serving students with special needs that others don’t feel that they get the focus that they deserve.
– Would the candidates be open to teachers or parents bringing concerns to them?
– What would they do to stem the tide of open enrollments out of the district?
– Their role with the school board.
– How to reduce bullying, for example on social media.
– Improving teacher retention
– What learnings do they take from the COVID-19 experience? How do they feel about e-learning?

Parents and other community members who attended were given the opportunity to respond to an online survey regarding what they felt each candidate would have to offer to the district together with any questions they were left with about them. As Fiorenza left the auditorium, the representative of the search firm asked for a show of hands for each candidate to indicate if audience members felt that they were a good fit for the position. It seemed clear that Karns received the most affirmation. The representative opined that the other two candidates received a rather similar number of votes. He also expressed appreciation for the good turnout, which he said was about twice as large as the average such audience, though university towns usually do turn out better. He seemed satisfied that he could tell the board that all the candidates received more than a token number of votes. Geoff Hale, however, asked how many people didn’t vote for any of the candidates, so a new raise of hands was requested. Four hands were observed.

WUSD Board Issues Statement on Superintendent Finalists

The Whitewater Unified School District issued the following statement on May 23:
“The Board of Education has narrowed the search for the district’s next superintendent to two finalists: Kurt Schneider and Samuel Karns.

The board met Thursday evening to continue deliberations, and while no final decision was made, the board is confident in the two remaining candidates. Each candidate brings a strong background in educational leadership, and the board is carefully considering who will best serve the needs of our students and school community.

The board appreciates the engagement and input from staff, parents, and community members throughout the process.

Pending further discussion, a final decision may be made at the upcoming board meeting on Tuesday, May 27. The board remains committed to a thorough and thoughtful selection process.”

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