REVISITING THE CANDIDATE FORUM
Photo, left to right: Jay Crouse (incumbent), Amy Richards, Dr. JJ Andrews, Tracy Brymer, 3 student senators.
On Thursday, March 9th, our KM Student Senators led a civil, structured Candidate Forum where the four school board candidates shared their views, opinions, and comments.
We here at KM Alliance can clearly hear why Jay Crouse and Dr. JJ Andrews are the candidates who align with our values of non-partisanship, parental engagement, integrity, fiscal responsibility, and trust in our public schools and educators.
In their own words, each candidate shares their views in relation to our KM Alliance values. They themselves explain how they would or would not support these values if elected to the School Board.
We encourage you to view parts or all of the video of the Candidate Forum to hear from the candidates themselves and in their own words. In the first hour, the candidates each have 2 minutes to answer the student senators’ prepared questions. In the last 45 minutes, the candidates each use 1 minute to answer the questions submitted by the audience members at the Forum.
We tracked the questions and topics that were discussed at the Forum and tracked the times for your easy reference (note: questions are paraphrased).
0:01-0:11: Introductory remarks by each candidate
Student Senate Questions (2 minute answers per candidate)
0:12-0:19: What strategies are most effective that are currently being used by the district and new strategies that could be implemented?
0:20-0:28: What areas of improvement for our district could be made and how would you support them?
0:29-0:35: What is the work of the school board regarding daily operations?
0:36-0:44: Considering the last few years, where do you see Kettle Moraine in the next five years?
0:45-0:53: What professional and personal qualities set you apart from the other candidates?
Audience Questions (1 minute answer per candidate)
0:59-1:03: If the pandemic happened again, what would you do the same and what would you do differently?
1:04-1:07: Regarding the record number of teacher resignations, what would you do to attract and retain teachers in KM?
1:08-1:12: What is the role of the board members in writing, selecting, and reviewing curriculum? What are your qualifications for doing so?
1:13-1:17: What are your top three items to address declining enrollment? How do KM charter schools play a role in this?
1:18-1:21: How would you address the mental health climate among our students to help them feel accepted?
1:22-1:26: Define your understanding of district fiscal responsibility.
1:27-1:30: What will you bring to the school board to unite this deeply divided community?
1:31-1:34: What is the role of PACs [political action campaigns] in your campaign? Who have you sought endorsements from? What actions are involved with these endorsements?
1:35-1:39: What is your position on vouchers? How could this position conflict with your position as a school board member and the financial interests of our district?
1:40-1:44: What are the top three challenges of KM? What are your recommendations for addressing these challenges?
1:45-1:49: What are the important indicators of student success
Closing Remarks
1:50-1:58: Closing remarks by each candidate. 2 minutes each.
In summary, Jay Crouse and Dr. JJ Andrews shared in their own words how they align with our KM Alliance values. That’s why we are putting our support behind them. Jay’s and JJ’s own words explain:
Non-partisanship: Jay and JJ have not directly sought national PAC funding nor are they allied with any political party that will steer their decisions for what’s best for our KM community.
Parental engagement: Jay and JJ listen to parents, their concerns, and their accolades for KMSD. They listen and consider all parent voices, and they don’t favor the few, loudest voices.
Integrity: Jay’s 18 years of school board experience underscore our community’s continued confidence in his judgment in decision-making. Dr. JJ’s distinguished career in education would follow him into this position.
Fiscal responsibility: Jay’s track record with the KM community has lowered our taxes while maintaining the highest quality education and averting fiscal trouble during the Great Recession and the new schooling formulas in Wisconsin. Dr. JJ’s commented that fiscal responsibility is one of the top responsibilities of a Board member and his experience with budgeting school programs is a valuable skill to bring to the Board.
Trust in our public schools and educators: Both Jay and JJ highlighted the integrity of the Board is sustained by trusting the educators to make the daily on-the-ground decisions for educating our kids. Jay’s track record shows his support of trusting our educational professionals. As an educational professional himself, Dr. JJ explained how he understands the separation of the Board from the classroom.