4 Challengers Set To Advance In Greendale's School Board Election

GREENDALE, WI — Four candidates for the Greendale School Board are set to advance after Tuesday's primary. An election on April 5 will determine which two candidates make it to the board.

Thor Misko, the only incumbent who was running, and Lorin Michael Schuchardt were not among the four who tallied the most votes in the latest unofficial counts. Misko congratulated those who garnered the most votes in a statement posted to his campaign Facebook profile.

"It's been an honor and privilege to serve the Greendale Schools and our amazing students, teachers, and administrators these past three years," Misko's statement reads. "I wish each of you the best of luck moving forward. As you focus on April's general election, remember to maintain focused on doing what's best for our students."

Tassia Hughes received the most votes in the race, unofficial counts have posted. Trailing just behind was Tony Novinska, Robert Kobleska and Brian Bock.

Thor Misko - Incumbent: 723

Tony Novinska: 917

Robert Kobleska: 867

Tassia Hughes: 944

Brian Bock: 761

Lorin Michael Schuhardt: 360

Unofficial totals last updated 10:51 p.m. Tuesday.

The remaining candidates had each campaigned with ambitious goals and priorities. Patch asked each candidate during their campaign about their background and priorities.

Here's how candidates answered our questions: Robert Kobleska, Brian Bock, Tassia Hughes, Tony Novinska, Thor Misko.

Hughes said one of the most pressing issues facing the board and district is recruiting and retaining the best educators possible, including teachers, substitutes and support staff.

"There is a significant lack of substitute teachers, which has been magnified by the pandemic. As a school board member, I would develop partnerships with local educational programs to help give the district a better avenue for hiring new graduates," Hughes previously wrote Patch. "I would also look for ways to make substitute teaching more accessible to Greendale parents."

"When a school is short on substitutes, the district must pull their reading and math interventionists to substitute in the classrooms," Hughes previously wrote Patch. "The district has utilized principals, the curriculum director and business manager as well to fill in where needed. We need to find alternative solutions to our substitute shortage, to keep these critical interventionists and administrator's where they are needed most."

"I'm running to improve communication, to boost academic proficiency, and to ensure our students, educators and taxpayers alike get the most from our finite resources," Hughes wrote to Patch ahead of Tuesday's election. "I would develop local partnerships to help give the district a better avenue for hiring. Parents have sometimes been taken off guard by district changes. One solution to address communication is a parent advisory group for middle and elementary levels like the one for the high school, as each age group has distinct needs."

Brian Bock, who came out ahead of incumbent Misko by 38 votes in the latest unofficial counts, said during his campaign that one of the most pressing issues within the district and board currently is a lack of effective dialogue with the community and within the board.

"As a healthcare worker, it is essential I listen to the patient and help guide their therapy for the best outcome," Bock wrote. "Listening to and coordinating with others is a skill I will bring to the board. I guarantee to listen to all members of the community and make a decision for the best outcome for the students of Greendale."

Bock said ahead of Tuesday the current board has struggled to be proactive in dealing with the pandemic, saying that decisions have been confusing.

"The reactive approach has led to frustration from all sides. In addition, parents have had to deal with constantly changing guidelines which has made childcare and work/life balance difficult," Bock wrote. "I believe all of these issue could have been prevented by a comprehensive plan for masking and unmasking, set at the beginning of the year in August. Metrics should have been voted on earlier in the year."

Bock said his four main priorities are continuing high scholastic achievement, partnering with local businesses for apprenticeship opportunities, opening communication between the board and the community, and improving technology in schools.

Novinska told Patch ahead of the Feb. 15 election his top priority was "raising the bar on academic achievement while maintaining fiscal responsibility. The school district needs to remain the heart of the district!" He said he's seen a decline in academic achievement since 2010 in math, language and reading.

One goal he'd like to see set as well: "ACT testing needs to be changed back to what it used to be. It needs to reflect only those students who will pursue College," Novinksa wrote Patch.

"There are a ton of kids that don't want to go to College, so why put them through ACT testing? All this "one size fits all" methodology does is lower overall test scores," Novinska wrote. "Let them go on to two-year degrees, or apprenticeships instead. I feel that we have swung too far in one direction in all phases of academia and that is a mistake. The total 'worth' of a human being should not rest on if they have a four-year degree or not."

Novinska said he's spoken to parents "in the district and they have told me that they are concerned that uptick in dealing with social issues has overshadowed the decline in academic achievement."

To Kobleska, two of the most pressing issues are academic achievement and transparency between the board and the community, he told Patch in a statement ahead of Tuesday's election.

"If elected, I view the parents/residents of Greendale as my boss. I serve them and I owe it to them to get back to them and explain my reasoning or the boards reasoning on issues," Kobleska wrote. "Having more dialogue with the residents will also allow me to be a better board member and I feel that more issues can be tackled."

Kobleska added "I have always and always will be a champion for parent's choice and I have spoken to a number of parents who want the choice on whether their kids wear a mask in school. Other school districts in the area have stayed open without mask requirements and I am confident we will mirror those districts."

He said other candidates before Tuesday's primary had been on the record in support of masks in schools.

"We need to put less of a focus on bringing political and progressive ideologies into the classroom and getting back to teaching kids how to think and not what to think. When I use the term 'how to think,' I am primarily speaking of critical reasoning," Kobleska wrote.

"We can teach our children the facts of history, the facts of the natural world, the facts of society and of science, but we should never forget that what we're really tasked to do is enable them to forge their path in this world and to compete," Kobleska added.

After Tuesday's primary election, Bock told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel some opponents are "trying to turn this into a messy political dogfight."

"They hope to divide," Bock said in the Journal Sentinel report, claiming some others were campaigning "on fear and anger."

"I'm committed to staying above the nonsense," Bock said in the report.

Want to know more about each candidate? See the profiles we published on each below:

Candidate Profile: Robert Kobleska For Greendale School Board

Candidate Profile: Brian Bock For Greendale School Board

Candidate Profile: Tassia Hughes For Greendale School Board

Candidate Profile: Tony Novinska For Greendale School Board

Candidate Profile: Thor Misko For Greendale School Board