Three on ballot for Union Grove High School Board

By Patricia Bogumil

Editor

Incumbents Dawn Van Ess and Steve McClelland will be challenged by political newcomer Randall Henderson for two open positions on the Union Grove Union High School Board of Educatiom in the April 2 election.

Candidate information provided by Van Ess and Henderson follows. McClelland did not respond to requests for information.

• Dawn Van Ess, an incumbent, said serving on the high school board for 20 years has given her an overview of whether the district has been and where it is headed. Her 39 years in education lends expertise to board decisions, Van Ess said.

“As a taxpayer and resident, I am able to see both sides of many questions.”

Van Ess is seeking re-election in order to maintain continuity on the school board “and because I enjoy it, and I feel I can give back to the community through this service.”

If re-elected, Van Ess will work to continue helping the district remain financially strong and hold the line on taxes; increase the number of Advanced Placement courses available; enhance technology in the classroom and for hardware; and continue to emphasize meeting goals and working hard to achieve success to all students.

      • Randall Henderson names three main reasons for his decision to seek election to the board.

      • Standardized tests using date from 2009 and 2011 show a lower percentage of 10th-grade UGUHS students achieving “proficient” or “advanced” scores when compared to the scores of their cohort group when last tested in the eighth grade, Henderson said.

“We need to provide the needed resources to educators to enable all students to succeed on these benchmark tests,” he said.

Many initiatives from the state Department of Public Instruction are available, he said, “which must be implemented to assist our staff and students in improving and measuring the learning outcomes.”

Some of these are alignment of the curriculum with the Common Core Standards; implementation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment; and implementation of the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System.

“We will also need to fund the mandated changes to implement the statewide Student Information System,” Henderson said. This will require a conversion from our current use of ‘Skyward to ‘Infinite Campus’ ” technology.

• It is important for each of the high school district’s feeder schools to have representation on the high school board. Currently, there is no one serving to represent the residents in the Yorkville Elementary School District, he said.

• Finally, Henderson hopes to be elected to impact the referendum process for major expenditures in the high school district.

“I want to make sure that any items we put forth to the voters will occur on one of the two main election dates in November or April,” he said.

The higher voter turnout during those elections will provide the school board more feedback on how to proceed with major taxpayer-funded initiatives, Henderson said.

Henderson said that among the most pressing issues currently being considered by the board is the acquisition of additional property for future expansion. “I also feel we need to expands educational opportunities for our students through virtual learning programs and techniques.”

Henderson said his work experience as a computer  programmer early in his career gives him an understanding of the complexities of converting data from one student information system to another.

His current position as an educator allows him to provide a different viewpoint of the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System, Henderson added.

If elected, he will bring to the board knowledge of virtual learning opportunities, with which he has been involved in Racine since 2011.

As a lifelong resident of the UGUHS district, Henderson said he has demonstrated his commitment to the high school and community by chartering the Key Club when serving as president of the Kiwanis Club of Union Grove in 1996.