Hello, I am Wayne Redenius, a 5th generation Richmond resident, retired teacher, and partner of a owned and operated farm with my brother Carl. I am a 1978 graduate of WHS. During my high school years I was very active in the FFA organization participating in various activities and judging teams that competed at the state and national levels. Those activities provided me with numerous opportunities to travel nationally and develop leadership skills that I am extremely grateful for. My education continued at UW Platteville receiving a BS degree in Agriculture Education in 1982 and I also had the opportunity to serve as a graduate assistant there and earn a MS degree in 1983.

A teaching career began in the Agribusiness Department at Janesville Craig HS. While there I assisted two other department members in leveraging DPI approval of Ag. courses to meet the general Science requirement, wrote curriculum and restructured classes to a semester framework. That model and adaptations of the curriculum are still being used in many Ag. departments.

I enrolled in UW Whitewater Special Education courses in 1989, was hired by CESA 2, and subsequently became DPI certified in multiple areas of Special Ed and also Alternative Ed. For the next 27 years I instructed elementary and secondary students from a wide array of social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds; first at Rock County Adolescent Day Services and then at the Rock County Juvenile Detention Center. That position enabled me to work directly with Social Services, Juvenile Probation, Juvenile Corrections and numerous school districts in southeast Wisconsin. My teaching career ended after 32 total years of educational service.

During the years from 1999-2013 I also served as the Town of Richmond Chairman. Some of my duties included: oversight of daily operations, development of the town budget with the clerk, and collaboration with neighboring towns and Walworth County on land planning/zoning, fire, rescue, and other services. I am especially proud of the town board’s fiscal responsibility during those years. We were constantly planning for the future and never operated over the approved taxpayer budget and had zero debt.

I have attended various Whitewater School Board committee meetings and nearly all of the regular board meetings for the past two and a half years; listening and learning how the board and district operates as well as listening to issues and concerns of the residents. Communication, accountability, student achievement, transparency, fiscal responsibility, and the desire for a greater opportunity for community engagement are items that people want addressed, and which I would work towards.

Residents want to feel the district respects them. They want their and board member’s
issues/ concerns heard, discussed, and answered at open board meetings. Each board
member should feel equally important. The reason(s) why large numbers of parents are enrolling their children in neighboring schools needs to be openly discussed and corrective actions taken. This also holds true to the above average number of administrators, teachers, and support personnel leaving the district.

Curriculum and student achievement needs constant attention and evaluation. The district needs to use its limited resources in a responsible manner to improve not only academic results but better prepare students with adult life skills. This also entails balancing services and opportunities to students at all ability levels and areas of interest ranging from academics to vocational technical. We need to explore what is making neighboring districts successful and collaborate more extensively with UW Whitewater and the local Technical Colleges.

Fiscal responsibility is another area I would like to address. While past board spending cannot be revisited, residents are asking for greater involvement of the board members in development of the budget, planning for future capital improvements and maintenance, and to better communicate how and where their local school tax payments and the State and Federal aid payments the district receives are being spent. Why has the district’s Citizen Financial Advisory Committee been inactive and only met one time over the past five years? The current school facility referendum, city referendum, impact of potential housing developments, and
recent and future property reassessments in the Townships are all weighing heavily upon the community members.

I believe there is a wealth of talent, expertise, and willingness in the community to become more involved and supportive of the school system. We must all work together to restore the district to a level of educational excellence and athletic competitiveness which the community can be proud of. My work ethic, knowledge and experience in education, local government, and business ownership well qualify me to assist in this process. Please vote, Wayne Redenius, Whitewater School Board.