School Board Week Celebrated October 1-7

The School District of Belleville will join school districts throughout the state to celebrate the local education leaders during Wisconsin School Board Week on October 1-7.
Executive Director of the Wisconsin Association of School Boards John Ashley said, “School board members are ordinary citizens who undertake the extraordinary challenge and responsibility of leading and governing our local public school districts.”
The roles and responsibilities of school board members include: setting and following the school district’s mission and vision, advocating for schools locally and at the state-level, and providing accountability to the community.
School board members study, discuss, and research issues so they can make informed decisions on complex issues. The school board votes on multi-million-dollar budgets, approves contracts, hires and evaluates the superintendent, sets policy, oversees curriculum development, and more.
When doing this, the focus remains on the success of the state’s students. School boards play a role not only in the academic achievement and development of students but also in providing other career and education opportunities. In addition, school boards recognize the many challenges that students face.
In 2013, when I submitted my application to be a school board candidate one of my statements in response to ‘What are the top three issues in your district?’ was: “Not just in Belleville, but school districts throughout Wisconsin and the nation, are struggling to provide students with a quality education that prepares students for college and/or careers with budgets that are continuing to decrease. Our school district is in the process of hiring a new superintendent and I envision a superintendent who will advocate for our students and lead the school and community on a course of continual improvement through a carefully developed strategic plan that is effectively communicated with staff, students, parents, and the members of our community. As a member of the school board, I’ll advocate to empower teachers and staff through professional development with effective tools and knowledge of teaching students and assessing the results for success in college and/or in their chosen careers.”
Reflecting four years later during my second term on the school board and serving as clerk, as a school board, the school board has accomplished so much and one of most thrilling successes is the community’s approval of the $20,750 million referendum—a 68 percent approval rate. But it didn’t just happen.
The process started as newly hired Superintendent Pam Yoder put systems in place, hired staff, created community awareness and communication channels, and involved herself in village committees.
Community forums were held and collectively we developed our vision: Every student will achieve success and graduate as a lifelong learner, be globally competitive, and prepared for college, career, and life.
Our mission: The School District of Belleville is committed to providing all students with quality, personalized learning that prepares them to meet current and future challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
The School District of Belleville has three district-wide initiatives including: partnerships in comprehensive literacy, Project Lead the Way, and one to one technology that ensure every student will have a positive educational experience.
In 2015, the school board created the Ad-Hoc Educational and Facilities Planning Committee that was open to community members and was comprised of nearly 50 participants. Members of the committee presented the final report to the school board on June 29, 2016.
Based on the work of the committee, in August 2016, the school board voted to place a referendum question for a $20,750 million project on the November ballot. The proposal prioritized our students’ need for a quality education while also protecting taxpayers.
The school board believes strongly that this referendum project, Belleville’s first in 20 years, meets the needs of the students, now and in the future, and respects Belleville’s taxpayers.
During the summer, administration and school board kept an eye on the building project at the Middle School and High School and are delighted with the project and what it offers our students, staff and families.
As we start the second phase of construction at the Intermediate School, the excitement is growing.
As the School District of Belleville board, we believe in serving our community and families and we believe in our students and staff. The school board made a commitment to do our part to make public education the best it can be for every child with the resources available.
And, as we have said since one of the first community forums, “The best is yet to be.”