Four vie for two open School Board seats

By Tracy Ouellette

SLN Staff

There are four candidates for the two East Troy School Board seats on the April 6 ballot.

The newspaper asked the candidates – incumbent Jessica Fuchs, Dale Ames, Amber LeMarr and Anna Kostopoulos Janusz – their thoughts on the School District and referendum questions which are also on the ballot. Here are their responses:

Do you support the School District’s referendum questions and why or why not?

LeMarr: I understand in great depths the pressures of the referendum and controversy it has caused our community. I have informed myself of all sides of the referendum, considering the different circumstances our neighbors may be facing and the lenses through which they may be looking at the situation. While this decision may be easy for some, it can bring challenges to others. I understand deeply what is at stake if the referendum doesn’t pass. I believe the referendum will ultimately avoid cuts and keep our doors open, safely and proudly. I also am fully prepared for the consequences of what may happen if the referendum does not pass. As a forthcoming board member I do stand behind the referendum because I know the benefits and greatness it will bring to our school district and community as a whole.

Ames: Here is what I support. I support what the community wants. I support what the School Board and the superintendent want. I support a fiscally sound budget that does not require a referendum so jobs won’t be lost or maintenance postponed. A budget that will ensure that the best and brightest teachers are retained to provide the best education for our children. I am confident that this can be accomplished.

Janusz: I strongly support the two referendum questions and will vote Yes Twice. No one likes to see their property taxes increase. But when you value education and you value your community, you know those things come at a price. The state has East Troy locked into a funding formula that is decades old. We continue to be under-funded by the state year after year. I value our district’s ability to continue offering programs and courses that keep us competitive with our neighboring districts. We may be smaller, we may be more rural, and yet, we provide a strong academic and whole-child education. I plan to continue learning and lobbying to pressure our state to revisit the funding formula that resulted in referendums being the only way for school districts to obtain funding that keeps with the times.

Fuchs: Yes! The overall tax impact is a small price to pay for investing into our most valuable assets- current and future generations of kids! In addition the tax impact is actually less dollar-wise than the last time we went to referendum.

What are your thoughts on incorporating more Black history in the district’s curriculum as some community members, student and alumni requested last year?

Ames: I was unaware if Black history is or is not represented properly in current history curriculum so I will not be able to speak to this. What I can speak to though is providing more opportunity for all minorities through the skilled trades program at the high School. I encourage this strongly and fully support it.

Janusz: To answer this question requires layers of explanation but I will try to make this brief. According to ASCD.org, the goals of education are to nurture students to be lifelong learners who are passionate and ready to take risks, be able to problem-solve and think critically, be able to work independently and with others, be creative and persevere, care and want to give back to their community, have integrity and self-respect, be able to use the world around them well, speak well, write well, read well, and work well with numbers and truly enjoy their life and their work. As a district, we have an obligation to give students opportunities to practice and hone all of these skills. To do this well, we need to continue evolving our curriculum to stay current with the times. We need to look inward and be critical of what we are teaching students. We need to provide a variety of thought and perspective to subjects like history. What a disservice to the critical thinkers we are nurturing if we don’t help them recognize that history can and should be told from multiple perspectives if we are to learn from it. I know that teaching time is limited, and so are resources. It is not always easy to change curriculum or to study a subject deeply. More important to me than saying “We need to teach more Black history” is to say “We need to teach history that is representative of the event itself in fair and unbiased ways.” We shouldn’t be afraid to look at history through the lens of all nationalities, religions or races who were/are a part of it. Black history, Asian history, Hispanic history, indigenous American history, it’s all important to our evolution and growth as a human race.

Fuchs: Black history is important. It’s important to not whitewash the history of the rest of the world either. Acknowledging, rather than cancelling, all of the terrible things that transpired throughout history helps us learn important lessons and grow as humans. When we continue to cancel everything that doesn’t align with our immediate view, there is no room for nuance, discourse or real conversations and debate. Cancel culture creates an echo chamber. There was an old adage: those whom fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

LeMarr: Having children in our school system, I do know that the teaching and learning throughout black history month differs at the various ages and levels, but important people and events are taught at each level. Children as young as 5 come home talking about a man named Dr. King, and their curious little minds start asking questions that seem so obvious to answer, and they are confused by some of the horrific events of the past – like, why were African Americans treated so unfairly? And how could people be so mean just because of the color of skin? Most people are born innocent and kind, but somewhere along the way, some minds grow prejudiced – so if we do not teach widely about the good in all people early on, we risk transferring that racism that may be present in some households.  I support growing opportunities for learning history and culture, especially, in a small community like ours, where diversity is not as prominent as other areas like Milwaukee. It is our responsibility to educate our students about all different cultures – black history included. We need to ensure that we are teaching history and modeling respect for all people and celebrating the greatness that people of all colors and ethnicities contribute to our world. It is very important for our children to understand how our past has brought us to where we are today. Multi-cultural differences are what makes us a diverse world and being able to value people is incredibly important.

Aside from funding, what do you think is the biggest challenges for schools right now?

Janusz: I imagine many districts face this challenge that I see in East Troy, and that is maintaining a strong connection between school and community. This challenge is two-fold.

First, I have noticed a shift in the number of people, both parents and not, participating in the community, and ensuring the rich, rural, friendly neighborhood many of us brag about, and treasure. We have some INCREDIBLE volunteers in this community. Churches, civic organizations, scouts, sports clubs that keep the heart of East Troy very much alive. And also, I think our pool of contributors has gotten smaller, and we need to be consistently adding to our group of committed volunteers. This last year, with so many things cancelled and life looking so different, I realized just how much is at stake for East Troy if we don’t continue to fight for our small town values. If we don’t rally behind our students–be it theater, sports, music, technology, etc. If we don’t clap along to the marching band in the Fourth of July parade. We think that those things will persist. That they will always be there. The truth is, those things happen because committed people MAKE them happen. We need volunteers to each find the events or activities they care about and help with them.

The second part of this challenge is making sure families know about all of the opportunities available for their child. I would like to take initiative and rally a group of people to make the connection between the school and the community even stronger. ALL students should know what is available to them at the library, through the theater program, in our area club sports. It’s not that we don’t do any of these things now, but I know that we can do them better and find involvement for more families. To me, a thriving school invigorates a thriving community. And thriving communities fortify thriving schools.

LeMarr: One of the biggest challenges we are currently facing and will continue to impact us for some time yet, is our current pandemic. The pandemic seems to have divided our teachers from the board members and I want to make sure that this is not a recurring situation. The teachers are more stressed than ever from burnouts, long hours, and resourcing all efforts to fill the needs of their students. They deserve to feel valued and respected for their hard work and devotion. Finding ways to connect on their level and start a foundation that builds our relationships will only help us all grow together and work as a team. This truly is important to be able to be on the same page and continue to build on the foundations of what makes our community great.

Ames: The world around us is constantly changing. The district needs to understand these changes so when the student graduates, their education provides them with the tools they need to be successful in life.

Fuchs: Being tied up at a legislative level. There are so many laws dictating what you are allowed for funding and how you’re allowed to spend it. Revenue limits are a real issue state-wide, especially for those districts like ETCSD that are historically fiscally conservative.

What do you think is the School District’s best feature?

Fuchs: Its students and staff, 1000%.

Janusz: East Troy Community School District is a beautiful example of a robust rural school. A small district with incredible programming and offerings for students interested in technology, art, music, agriculture, theater, sports, writing, etc. Though our budgets are limited and our funding is insufficient, our district has maintained robust, diverse programming, comparable to much larger districts with deeper pockets. Continuing to appeal to families who value a smaller district with an abundance of opportunity will be key to maintaining our offerings. We choose to live in East Troy because we value the commitment of our teaching staff, the programming of our schools, the small size of classes and the schools as a whole.

Ames: The bright spot of the School District is their technical trades program. This is a growth area and needs to be expanded. I am uniquely qualified to do just that.

LeMarr: I think one of our best features of our School District is our Tech Ed program. It is an honor to be known as the first school district to have Smart Lab dedicated to our students in Wisconsin. Another thing that always stands out the most to me is our teachers. Our teachers have dedicated and devoted so much into our community and our children that they make them feel like family. Our teachers showed us, especially through the pandemic, how much they care about our children. If you see a teacher, please do express your kind words to them, they deserve credit for the challenges they faced.

What do you think your personal experience and knowledge will bring to the role?

LeMarr: As the mother of five children throughout our East Troy Schools, including one receiving special education services, I am deeply committed to ensuring our schools are operating at their best. I also recognize the importance of representing our community as a whole. As a hairstylist serving in our community for 16 years, I listen to the many various perspectives that exist aside from just my own. Coupling these qualifications with my degrees in accounting and business management, I believe my lenses would represent so many of the voices in our community.

Ames: I was a journeyman electrician tradesman. I took this experience and became the lead robotics technician at American Motors. I then was a new model launch automation equipment design engineer for Mitsubishi Motors. I then went on to be an automation specialist at the Chrysler Corporation. While at Chrysler I secured an MBA in International Business. I am confidant with my technical and business background that I will be able to oversee the trades program while constantly improving this important cornerstone of the school district. I will also help the school district partner with large corporations such as Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Target, Walmart and others to prepare our students to enter the world of robotics and automation. Demand is high for this student. That is why I am already talking to Target at this time. The more students we can bring in for this program, the brighter our financial picture looks.

Janusz: I’ve built a successful career managing millions of dollars in marketing, communications and technology work for reputable brands like Johnson Outdoors, Trek, Wilson Sports, Generac. Those companies trusted me to be an advocate for their product and responsible for their brand. We built success together. I joined my last company, a start up, as the 9th employee. We maximized our market, built an incredible reputation and sold five years in for tens of millions of dollars. Companies value what I bring to them. They appreciate my ability to solve problems we’ve never solved. To find opportunities we weren’t looking for. To ask questions others don’t want to entertain. Each day in my job I am presented with problems I have never before faced. I draw on the experience I have, I do my own research, I ask many questions of the experts around me, and finally, I make decisions and move our business forward. I look forward to providing a fresh, curious, persistent, honest perspective to the board.

Fuchs: I have three years under my belt so far. I have learned so much since I started in 2018. I continue to make decisions with the students in the forefront; they are the reasons we exist.