Learn about the candidates running for two seats on the Cudahy School Board
The April 2 election for the Cudahy School Board features four candidates running for two seats on the board.
Incumbent Michael Johnson, along with Lissa Skoglund, Ellen Price and Randy Hollenbeck, advanced from the Feb. 20 primary, while candidates Justin Knash, Jason Kuchenmeister and Charles Parkinson were eliminated. Incumbent Laurie Ozbolt is not seeking reelection.
Although her name will still appear on the ballot, Price announced on Facebook on March 13 that she was formally suspending her campaign. She said in her post she is now supporting Johnson and Skoglund for the election.
The top two vote getters will win three-year terms on the board. Here's more about the candidates.
Randy Hollenbeck
Background: Hollenbeck is a city of Cudahy alderman, a position he is also running for this year. He is also an IT architect.
Website: N/A
Supporters: Hollenbeck said he has no endorsements and has done no fundraising in a message sent to the Journal Sentinel.
Hollenbeck declined a phone interview
Although he declined a phone interview, Hollenbeck did provide written answers to the Journal Sentinel.
Hollenbeck wants to reverse bad district trends
The current alderman and board candidate wants to reverse trends such as low achievement and standardized scores, open enrollment transfers out, declining enrollment and budgetary issues. He also wants to add new programs and increase the district's gifted and talented program. Hollenbeck said he wants to make Cudahy a magnet district to "increase enrollment, reverse the transfers out and increase revenue all while having a positive impact on achievement/standardized scores."
He's not happy with how the board has been operating
Hollenbeck said the district can't live within its budget and says "when things go wrong with it, the District turns the dirty work of making the cuts on the Board."
"The District should present the Board with their version of the cuts they have picked and then turn it over to the Board to vote up, down or make their own decisions on the cuts," Hollenbeck said.
Hollenbeck also said he doesn't like that the district "holds marathon meetings to wear the board down" and that the district doesn't provide information "in a timely manner" to the board.
"I fault the board for allowing this behavior the District has towards the board to continue. The board is the driver and the power not the District. The Board needs to brush up on Robert’s Rules and Open Meetings Law as I think there are issues there," he said.
Hollenbeck said next superintendent needs to work with board's direction
Hollenbeck said the district's next superintendent "must be able to work with the ambitious direction" the board sets.
He also said the new superintendent must, among other things:
be dedicated to kids and learning;
passionate about innovative programs and creative about meeting the needs of all students, "not just the desired ones";
foster a culture of academic excellence;
escalate reading proficiency growth;
increase the gifted and talented program, as well as Advanced Placement classes and more.
He also suggested the new Cudahy superintendent give a "state of the schools" address open to parents, students and the public to attend. Hollenbeck also wants to see a joint meeting attended by the mayor and administrator of the city of Cudahy, along with the superintendent.
He also suggested the superintendent hold a public, recorded meeting about what they want to accomplish in their first 100 days as superintendent, as well as the next 100 days.
Hollenbeck wants more state funding of special education
Hollenbeck said that he wants the state to cover more of the cost of special education, saying the state's special education fund only covers one-third of what schools spend.
"The funding for that shouldn’t fall on political sides to cover special education services that are not reimbursed by state and federal special education funding. Fully paying for it would free up the funds for other things in the District," said Hollenbeck.
Michael Johnson (incumbent)
Background: Johnson, 46, has served two terms on the board since April 2018. He works as a special education teacher in Milwaukee Public Schools. Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Website: www.facebook.com/MichaelAJohnsonCSB
Supporters: The Cudahy Education Association has recommended Johnson and Skoglund, according to a post on the Cudahy Kids First Facebook page. Cudahy Kids First describes itself as "a group of parents who want all students in Cudahy Schools to have opportunities that will prepare them for a successful future." Johnson said the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has helped out with in-kind donations. The Wisconsin Education Association Council has also listed Johnson on its website as a recommended candidate.
Johnson proud of keeping the district's schools open during the COVID pandemic; reading curriculum; full-day 4K classes and getting meetings livestreamed
Johnson said he was proud the district stayed open during the COVID pandemic, using a hybrid model. Other achievements he noted include the district adopting a science of reading curriculum, introducing all-day 4-year-old kindergarten classes and streaming board meetings online. He wants to continue working toward having meetings recorded and improving the sound quality of the livestreams.
Johnson supports merging the district's middle and high schools
The Cudahy School Board voted in December 2022 to merge Cudahy Middle and Cudahy High School by moving seventh and eighth grade students to the high school building. However, last December, the board voted to pause that plan and keep seventh and eighth grade students in the middle school building.
Johnson, who had voted for the merger plan both times, said he still supports the merger idea, saying it would give the middle school students the opportunity to take classes they wouldn't normally take and it would help the district financially by not needing to hire additional staff and more sharing of staff between the middle and high schools. He also wants to sell Park View Elementary School.
"I will continue to push for that because I think it's best for our kids. It allows for a lot of possibilities for our middle school students both in terms of academics and also career and technical education. They will have the chance to do woodworking from time to time whereas right now, they're not typically doing that in middle school. Same with mechanics, metal shop, cooking as well," Johnson said.
Johnson also said he wants to test out ideas for magnet schools, have district offer a Montessori option
Johnson said he does not want to cut programs or close elementary schools. He also wants to start a "stream" within each elementary school and maybe one at the middle school after the merger to test out ideas for magnet schools. He said he has been working with fellow Cudahy School Board member Crystal Silkwood "to get people on board" with a Montessori option for the district. Johnson also suggested the district offer a bilingual class or bilingual Montessori class, as well as an arts or STEM or engineering stream.
"What those individually look like, I'm open to. I have no problem, but I think that that would be one way to be able to attract more people to our district. That would both help grow enrollment and offer specialty classes for our own students," Johnson said.
Johnson, Skoglund supporting each others' campaigns
Johnson shared a post from Cudahy Kids First that recommended voting for both him and Skoglund on April 2. The post also noted that the two would appear together at a meet-and-greet event.
"We try to work on door knocking in different areas at different points and time so that we're not swarming one area and overwhelming people, of course, right? And we share each other's flyers and stuff like that. When I knock on doors, I carry her flyers and vice versa," Johnson said of campaigning with Skogland..
Lissa Skoglund
Background: Skoglund, 44, is a high school English teacher and a Lincoln Elementary PTO member and volunteer. She has two children attending school in the district. Skoglund holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction from National Louis University and a bachelor's in English and secondary education from Marquette University.
Website: Facebook - Lissa Skoglund for Cudahy School Board
Supporters: Skoglund said the Cudahy Education Association recommended her for the School Board. She has also been endorsed by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, a group "dedicated to economic, racial and environmental justice, and achieving a Wisconsin and an America where every human being has an equal opportunity to live a meaningful and fulfilling life. She said the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is supporting her through in-kind donations —"basically getting out the vote to their base." The Wisconsin Education Association Council has listed Skoglund on its website as a recommended candidate.
Skoglund said her experience in education and concerns about possible district programming cuts compelled her to get involved.
Skoglund said concerns about cuts to programs in the district, and her experience in education, made her think about running for the board.
"I believe in neighborhood schools; my kids are in it, and I want them to have the best opportunities," she said. "I guess I felt like I could potentially help serve the community."
Skoglund wants to solve the district's budget issues
Skoglund said she wants to have a conversation about why the board reversed its decision to merge the district's middle and high schools and what can be done to make the merger a good thing.
"We have to be responsible with the financial piece and our buildings, because as buildings age, there's no way we can continue to maintenance them," Skoglund said.
Skoglund also referred to the district's community facilities advisory committee, which consists of district employees and residents who examine the district's facility needs.
"With the budget, it's just asking questions like that and making sure that we value students and programming over buildings themselves, even if it means making tough decisions and getting creative with how we go about structuring the system," Skoglund said.
She sees other areas for improvement, such as duplicate software systems that could be merged into one, for example. Skoglund also wants to research what other school districts are doing that are facing financial cliffs.
Skoglund wants to improve district's academic performance
Skoglund wants to improve academic performance at the middle school. She sees the district's focus on reading at the elementary level as having a "trickle-up" effect as students get older. Skoglund also wants to know whether middle and high school teachers are collaborating and how the system is asking teachers to use their time.
In addition, Skoglund wants to examine data to see where changes could be made.
"I think looking at data around where are students deficient? What particular areas of testing are they deficient? Where are they not college ready, and then just setting some concrete goals around that. At the building level, that can have a lot of power," Skoglund said.
Skoglund wants more state funding for schools, also more state support for student mental health
Skoglund wants to see changes to the state funding formula, as well as the state doing more to address child and teen mental health. She said the state could do a better job coordinating with local public health departments on the issue.
"Those are my two real areas of interest because, again, our schools are the foundation of the community, and we've got to have healthy kids, and the teen mental health issues, in my two decades plus teaching, it has really changed and evolved. There are some cool schools doing really cool things, but I think they're more outliers, so how could we create some state standards around that?" Skoglund said.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or [email protected]. Follow him on X (Twitter) at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meet the candidates running in the April 2 Cudahy School Board race
