Six vying for three seats on Green Bay School Board

By Press Times Staff

GREEN BAY – Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education on April 5.

Laura Laitinen-Warren, who was appointed to the board last March to fill a seat left vacant by State Rep. Kristina Shelton’s resignation, will face Jason Johnson, Bryan Milz, Paul Boucher, Darin Kane and James Lyerly for the three spots.

The Green Bay School District has approximately 20,000 students and is the fourth-largest school district in Wisconsin.

Incumbents Brenda Warren and Eric Vanden Heuvel did not seek reelection.

The Press Times emailed each candidate the same question and gave them 200 words to respond.

What do you see as the most important issue facing the Green Bay Area Public School Board and if elected how will you address it?

Laura Laitinen-Warren

A: The single most important issue facing the Green Bay Area Public School Board is the same issue facing every school district nationwide – ensuring all children receive a quality education in an emotionally- and physically-safe environment, while public education continues to be underfunded.

Children must be at the center of all decisions.

As a trustee on the Board of Education, I will continue to make decisions with students at the forefront.

Public education and families are the foundation of a strong community; therefore, I will support policy that trusts teachers as professionals, values quality administrators and creates a districtwide culture that makes Green Bay Area Public Schools an employer and school district of choice, inspires excellence, instills a sense of safety, connectedness and hope throughout the community.

Jason Johnson

A: I am concerned with the quality of education our students are receiving in the Green Bay Area Public Schools (GBAPS).

As a parent and member of the community, I have watched my neighbors and friends pull their children out of the GBAPS system due to concerns about the quality of their children’s education.

Through discussions with other parents and educators in the GBAPS, I discovered that there are several issues causing challenges to teaching and learning.

The issues include: virtual learning, lack of discipline, lack of communication between teachers and administrators, and the lost education due to the pandemic.

If elected, I will advocate to keep our children learning in-person.

I will advocate to review and revise the discipline procedures in the classroom and with administration.

I will encourage communications between teachers and administrators by allowing teachers to voice their concerns without fear of retribution.

I will advocate to provide additional educators to intervene with students who have fallen behind during the pandemic, and are not achieving to expected academic levels.

As a community, we need to, and can, create a better environment in the classroom and schools for both our children and our educators. 

Bryan Milz

A: The mental health of our community is impacting the Green Bay Area Public School District.

COVID has brought attention to mental health issues that have existed prior to COVID, and impacts students throughout the country.

I support the community school model, which works to build partnerships between the school and community organizations, including mental health professionals.

This will help address the limited access to mental health professionals due to shortages of professionals, and will help educators focus on teaching our students.

This model also engages parents in their child’s school, and focuses on teaching the whole child, providing a safe and supportive learning environment.

As a board member, I will advocate for increased access to onsite mental health care services for students and the community, promote positive mental health education and increase services for students at risk for behavior disorders.

This will need to be a partnership with our state and federal representatives, and as a board member, I will work with them to support legislation that currently addresses these goals. 

For more on my platform, please visit votemilz.org or facebook.com/VoteMilz.

Paul Boucher

A: They say that the athletic program, or more specifically the football team, is the backbone of a school.

In some cities, athletics, including football, are extremely important.

I have some ideas of how to address the systemic issues.

We need bigger, better, brighter facilities (locker rooms, training rooms, weight rooms, fitness centers and fieldhouses).

We need to upgrade middle school programs to feed the high school teams, and look at consistency with the coaching staff.

We should see if local college and professional athletes can assist in off-season training.

Acquiring a Jumbotron video screen and state-of-the-art uniforms will increase school spirit.

We need:

• Laundry service for all athletes and physical education students.

• Morning stretch classes.

• More food at lunch for athletes.

• After-school nutrition program.

• Improve the fan experience with indoor seating.

• Try playing teams from outside the state. We’re tired of watching local teams beat up GBAPS teams.

• Educate athletes on the available collegiate programs.

• Develop a program for athletes who wish to attain athletic scholarships. Being an athlete is a year-round venture.

James Lyerly

A: Our kids deserve talented, energized teachers to educate and inspire them.

The biggest problem Green Bay Public Schools face is that there are fewer and fewer teachers. Overworked teachers are abandoning the profession after two years of sacrifice on the frontlines teaching kids under constant scrutiny during an unprecedented pandemic

If not addressed, understaffed schools will underperform.

More parents will send their children to neighboring districts.

Fewer kids will be challenged to excel, and our community will be fundamentally changed.

Our teachers need their administration, Board of Education and community to support them.

As a board member, I will press the administration to prioritize teachers by setting competitive salaries, reducing administrative burdens, rethinking how we can better leverage support staff and aggressively recruiting new talent to our district that is as diverse as our student body.

Every option should be evaluated.

People should visit Green Bay to see the Packers, they should stay because it continues to be a great place to raise and educate their kids.

Darin Kane

A: The district first needs to analyze the data from student scores in addition to teacher feedback – For example, if they are seeing trends for example by grades.

The district also needs to gain parental feedback, and a survey is a great place to start as parents may have some creative solutions as well.

If parents decide their child is so far behind that they would like to have them take a grade again, I think that is something that should be reviewed… it should be an educated choice of the parent and the student to make sure the child stays engaged.

Another idea to catch up is summer school or after-school programs.

We should be allowing our parents to decide if their children would benefit from summer school or after-school sessions to catch up.

Could some of the funds granted help to pay for an in-home tutor?

Unfortunately, the time lost can only be made up by putting in more time at this juncture.

Green Bay Area Public Schools should be in contact with our parents and offer our recommendations, but it really should be the parent’s choice as to how to move forward as they know their child best.