School board elections: The candidates speak for themselves
In this year's spring election for Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education, seven candidates are applying for three seats in areas III (Cross Plains), IV (mostly city of Middleton) and V (mostly town of Middleton). The current Board member up for reelection in Area III, Bob Green, is the only candidate for his succession. Area IV is an open seat, as Gail Shepler is not running again. Four candidates are vying to succeed her: David Bell, Nate Day, Katie Frank and Lauren Rogers. The vacancy in Area V is also an open seat, as Simrnjit Seerha is not running for reelection. Two candidates want to replace her: Bartlett Durand and Daniel Osborne.
Primary elections for Area IV will take place on February 20, regular elections for all areas on April 2. This newsletter is hosting a public forum with the candidates for School Board on Thursday, February 8, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm at the Middleton Public Library.
In preparation for these elections, and to introduce the candidates to you, the readers of this newsletter, I have asked all of them the same four questions:
1. Personal and community-involvement information.
2. What motivates you to run for office?
3. What are the biggest issues/challenges facing the school district currently?
4. Do you think the school board adequately represents the district taxpayers, or is it just an elected rubber stamp for the district administration?
They could be as concise or long-winded as they pleased, and their answers have not been edited, except for some minor quibbles to comply with the Middleton Review style guide. They supplied their own photos, and are presented here in order of areas and in alphabetical order by last name.