Board decorum, potential referendum among issues in Whitnall School Board race

The April 2 election for the Whitnall School Board features four candidates running for two seats on the board amid a backdrop of board division and the search for a new superintendent.

Incumbent Quin Brunette and challengers Sarah Blonsky, Sean Flynn and Rhonda Perry are this year's candidates for the board. Incumbent Kevin Stachowiak is not seeking re-election.

Problems with board decorum during meetings, the possibility of a referendum in November and differing opinions over a proposed name and pronoun policy discussed last September were among the issues candidates discussed with the Journal Sentinel.

The district is looking to address facility needs in its buildings that weren't able to be addressed by the district's $16.16 million facilities referendum in 2018. The district plans to send out a community referendum survey in April to residents.

The top two vote getters will win three-year terms on the board. Here's more about the candidates.

Sarah Blonsky

Background: Blonsky, 36, is a stay-at-home mom with two children, one of whom attends school in the district. Blonsky holds a bachelor’s degree in early elementary education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and formerly taught kindergarten in the New Berlin School District. She is a 2020 graduate of the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities' Partners in Policymaking training program, which focuses on advocacy through the legislative process.

Website: www.sarahblonsky.com; Facebook - Sarah Blonsky for Whitnall School Board; www.instagram.com/sarahforschoolboard2024

Supporters: Blonsky said the Democratic Party contacted her about in-kind donations but she declined. She is endorsed by the Whitnall Resident Engagement Network, a community group that Blonsky helped found.

Blonsky opposed gender identity policy

Blonsky said she opposed a proposed policy that would have required written parental permission for school staff to use students' chosen names and pronouns. The board neither took a vote on the proposed policy nor gave any next steps for it.

"I was very, very concerned about that policy. I didn't feel it had a place in our public school. I felt it would marginalize students further. It would really cause harm to our students who are the most vulnerable," Blonsky said.

Blonsky said prior legislative, advocacy training and recent events led her to run this year

Blonsky listed several reasons for running in this year's election, including the proposed name and pronoun policy, as well as dysfunction on the board and "outside agendas" that have been brought into the board.

"I feel like having the educational background and the legislative training and the advocacy training, I really would be a great person to have on the board to do the work that we need to do and to focus on our students and our community and make sure that we're doing what we need for our school district," Blonsky said.

Blonsky said she'll focus on bringing cohesion to the board

Blonsky said she's been concerned about the board's behavior, saying that there's been animosity between board members and even "screaming matches" among all seven board members. She said she's also noticed the board's failure to follow procedures, as well as open meetings violations.

Blonsky said she's been training on Robert's Rules of Order. In addition, Blonsky said she's read most of the board's policies and procedures and said she'd be respectful, transparent and honest, lead by example and speak up if she notices a board member doing something wrong.

"So if somebody is screaming at another member, I'll say point of order and hopefully then the president would step in and reinforce that and make sure that that behavior stops because we cannot continue to operate that way and get the work done that we need to get done," Blonsky said.

Blonsky said she supports Brunette; WREN also supports her and Brunette

Blonsky said she supports Brunette because of his experience on the board, saying he can help the board find its next superintendent and pursue a possible referendum. Blonsky also said Brunette has been a part of two referendums and in previously hiring a superintendent during his time on the board.

"If you do not elect Quin, then you have seven board members who are in their first or second term, and so you have absolutely no experience on the board," Blonsky said.

Brunette also said he and Blonsky agree on most issues affecting the schools. WREN also has posted on its Facebook page supporting both Brunette and Blonsky and encouraging voters to vote for both.

Quin Brunette

Background: Brunette, 64, has been a Whitnall School Board member for 12 years. He and his wife ran a painting contracting business before selling it in 2022 and retiring. He has had two children graduate from Whitnall High School.

Website: www.quin4whitnall.com

Supporters: On his website, Brunette lists several individuals who have endorsed him, including Greenfield Mayor Mike Neitzke; retired Greenfield Fire Chief Jon Cohn; former Whitnall School District superintendent Lisa Olson; Hales Corners Trustee and former Whitnall School Board President Bernie Shaw; retired Hales Corners Library librarian Pat Laughlin; Greenfield Ald. Karl Kastner; former Whitnall School Board presidents Jonathan Cagle and Nancy Zaborowski; former Whitnall School Board treasurer Steven Butz; former Whitnall School District teacher and coach John Quinlan and WREN. He said he has not taken money or endorsements from any national or local political organization or political action committee.

Brunette said he's proud of the district's student academic achievement, financial position, addition of counselors and psychologists

Brunette listed numerous district achievements he's proud of: the district's students for meeting and exceeding reading and math benchmarks yearly; the district's offerings for career paths such as scholarships dedicated just to careers at technical schools; and having a coordinator that works with three other schools to get students involved with apprenticeships, jobs, on-the-job training and interviews. He also said he is proud of the district's financial position, saying the district's favorable AA-2 bond rating allows it to borrow money at cheaper rates, which helps since he said the district is considering a referendum. He also said the district has "a very good fund balance" and "very low debt."

Brunette was also proud of the district increasing the number of counselors and psychologists in the district, as well as the creation of a student and family assistance program allowing any family and any student to get up to three counseling sessions.

Brunette originally had not planned to run again but changed his mind after receiving calls, texts and emails urging him to do so; he thinks this will be his last term

Brunette said if he's not re-elected, there will be five first-term and two second-term members involved in selecting the district's next superintendent, considering another referendum and the other work the district needs to be done.

Brunette said he was considering retiring from the board, but changed his mind after receiving numerous calls, texts and emails from constituents asking him to run again.

"I truly care about the kids, and it's only about the kids. I care about the kids, I care about the staff, I care about the taxpayers, and that is truly why I'm running for re-election," said Brunette.

If he's re-elected, he expects that term to be his last.

Brunette didn't like the way proposed name and pronoun policy was introduced

Brunette said he asked why the board was even discussing the name and pronoun policy, saying it should have gone to the board's policy committee before being brought to the full board. He did say there should be a policy in place so staff members know what to do.

"What that may look like, I can't give you an answer, but I think we need to have one, and we need to have input from teachers, from staff, from the community and then the board members," Brunette said.

Sean Flynn

Background: Flynn, 38, was part of the U.S. Air Force for 14 years. He currently works as a recruiter for TEKsystems. Four of Flynn's six children currently attend district schools.

Website: www.flynn4whitnall.com;Facebook - Sean Flynn for Whitnall School Board  

Supporters: Flynn said he found out that the 1776 Project PAC had endorsed him. He said he hasn't had any contact with the group or money come in from it. The Milwaukee County Republican Party has also listed Flynn on its Facebook page as one of the Whitnall candidates it supports. Flynn said he hadn't been aware of the party's endorsement and only learned of it from a reporter.

Flynn decided to run after noticing board division

Whenn Flynn attended some Whitnall School Board meetings, he noticed a lack of decorum among board members and "a lot of division seemingly from the top." He said he "almost walked out of there, embarrassed." The board needs to work together and set aside differences to reach common goals, he said. He added that the board should set aside petty differences and focus on what it needs to accomplish, including finding a new superintendent, and deciding on a possible referendum and facilities projects.

"For me, I'm not the type of person that can look at what I perceive to be a problem and just ignore it," he said. "I teach my kids if you see a problem, you need to try and address it. I'm trying to demonstrate that to my children that, hey, I identified this as a problem so I'm going to go in and try to use my knowledge and my background of working with diverse groups of people toward a common goal and see if I can't help move the district in a positive, forward direction for everybody in the community."

Flynn wants to help show students other post-graduation pathways besides college

Flynn said another reason he's running is to encourage opportunities for students who don't want to go to four-year colleges or universities, such as the trades or the military. He said he'd like the district to have an apprenticeship signing day to recognize students who want to pursue those other pathways. Flynn also said the district "can do a better job" working with unions and technical schools to show students their options after high school.

"You may end up with a four-year degree, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to go to a four-year college right away. You could start here and move to here and seeing those opportunities and being able to navigate those things is something that I think we've been a little bit lacking on," Flynn said.

Flynn said names and pronouns should be handled on case-by-case basis

When it came to the proposed name and pronoun policy brought to the board's September board meeting, Flynn said that while parents should be involved and a school district should not hide things from parents, he did not think the district needs a blanket policy.

"These are all things that should be handled on a case-by-case basis with the family, with the child so we can get the best understanding of what's going on and what's the best path for each individual child," Flynn said.

Flynn and Perry support each other's campaigns

Both Flynn and Perry have posted on their campaign Facebook pages supporting each other's campaigns.

Rhonda Perry

Background: Perry, 42, works as the leader of a team within customer supply chain work in a corporate setting. She is also co-president of Hales Corners Elementary's PTO and has two children attending Hales Corners Elementary School in the district.

Website: rhonda4whitnall.my.canva.site; Facebook – Rhonda Perry for Whitnall School Board

Supporters: Like Flynn, The 1776 Project PAC also endorsed Perry. She said she did not talk to the group or reach out about an endorsement, saying it was a surprise to her. Like Flynn, the Milwaukee County Republican Party has also listed Perry on its Facebook page as one of the Whitnall candidates it supports. Perry said she was not aware of the party's support and learned about it from a reporter's email, saying she did not seek it out and said she has not asked for an endorsement.

One of Perry's priorities is to improve academics

Perry said, if elected, her immediate focus would be helping the district find a new superintendent and a possible referendum in November. More long term, her focus will be on academics.

"I know what our state report card shows, but if you dig down deeper a little bit, we definitely have some improvements that need to be made in the district. I think we need to get back and focus on what can we do so that we ensure that all the students are getting what they need," Perry said.

She said looking at data and talking to teachers and staff are important in deciding what to focus on to drive student growth and achievement.

Perry said there should be transparency around gender identity

Regarding the proposed gender identity policy, Perry said that parents should be involved.

"I would like to know what's happening with my child with things, in general, but if my child were to identify as the opposite sex, I would want the teachers to come talk to me and not keep that from me. We want parents to be involved in the school, and this is a case the parents should be aware of and there should be some transparency there," Perry said.

Perry wants to attract and retain teachers

Perry said attracting and retaining teachers takes listening to feedback from teachers. She said the district's interim superintendent is evaluating teacher pay, for example.

"I think we all know education right now is tough and there's not a lot of people that want to be in it, so we need to make sure that who's in it right now is happy and that we're listening to what they have to say," Perry said.

Perry said she'd support a referendum, depending on the dollar amount

Perry said that the district needs to prioritize what facility improvements are needed and educate the community on those needs. She also said the district should make sure it's financially responsible and set up so that it doesn't have to go back to referendum again in two years. Perry said she'd support putting a referendum on the ballot "for a certain amount."

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) at @AlecJohnson12.