Candidate Profile: Diane Voit For Waukesha School Board

WAUKESHA, WI— The 2021 election is heating up in Wisconsin and there are plenty of races with candidates eager to serve in elected office. Voters will also decide the outcome of state representative, senate seats and local government and school boards.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles as election day draws near.

Three people will be elected to the Waukesha School Board in April.

Diane Voit hopes to retain her seat on the on the School District Of Waukesha School Board.

Age (as of Election Day)

67

Position Sought

School District Of Waukesha School Board Member

Party Affiliation

Nonpartisan election

Family

Husband, Dennis. Adult daughters Greta and Sarah. Grandchildren ages 2 and 5--the oldest in 4K in the District.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

no

Education

Completed a double major in Special Education and Business Education at UW Whitewater

Occupation

Business and Special Educator in the School District of Waukesha for 38 years including 10 years part-time with eAchieve teaching online classes

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

Elected to the Waukesha Board of Education in 2018; Board Clerk 2019 and 2020

Campaign website

https://tinyurl.com/VoteVoit

Why are you seeking elective office?

I want to continue to serve on the Board of Education for the School District of Waukesha to work with community support to build great public schools where ALL students can succeed.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

Recovering from a year of disruptions during a global pandemic, we have to refocus on the success of all students by closing opportunity gaps. I will advocate for quality early childhood education and support services for those who have struggled with mental health issues. I will lobby in Madison for more funds from the state budget to reimburse the district for required special education services currently reimbursed at 28% with the goal to return to the earlier 60% rate. This difference required the District to pull $18.7 million from the General Fund (for all student expenses) in 2019-20 to cover the costs of mandated services. We have had to make so many cuts over the years (like closing Blair) to balance our budget under this reimbursement formula, and if we could reach the 45% reimbursement rate we are seeking, we could reduce class sizes and offer programs to benefit all kids!

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I bring 45 years of experience in the classroom as a teacher, volunteer, and community servant leader to the table when determining policy and making financial decisions. The lens of a parent and now grandparent of students in the District makes me keenly aware of the need for safety and security and the desire to offer the highest quality programs to meet the learning needs of ALL students. I am willing to respectfully listen to the opinions of others and weigh the facts as presented to determine the best course of action. I have worked hard during my first three-year term in elected office to earn your vote on April 6.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Facing the many unknowns of a global pandemic was a challenge for all local leaders, and I respect the efforts to try to maintain a safe environment for everyone in the community. In November I began to advocate for all of our teachers and support staff to be vaccinated as a top priority as essential workers--finally, now in March, we are meeting the goal to allow them to feel safer in their daily contacts. You can use hindsight and second guess the switch to virtual education last March, the mitigation procedures that we have used, the contact tracing protocols, etc. etc. but I believe we all tried to do what we thought was in the best interest of our families to keep them safe.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I have lived each of my campaign goals:
*Promote Career and College Readiness by teaching business skills at North High School for 38 years.
*Attract Quality Educators by starting two scholarship programs to encourage aspiring educators to go into education.
*Retain Quality Educators by working with the Waukesha Education Foundation, Inc. to encourage staff creativity worthy of $35,000 in grants each year and celebrating excellence in the classroom.
*Build Community Partnerships like I did for hundreds of North High School seniors to be involved in on-the-job work experiences for wages and credit.
*Equity is a core value as seen in my early efforts lobbying for curb cuts and elevators for students with physical disabilities on the UW Whitewater campus to seeking ways to close the opportunity gaps for our current students through programs like AVID and early childhood education.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

During the past three years, the School District of Waukesha passed a successful referendum with 66% approval by the electorate, and we are being fiscally responsible about paying it back in under 7 years to save millions in interest costs.

We conducted a nation-wide search and screened and interviewed to hire a new superintendent to lead our District for years to come.

We survived a year of education during a global pandemic! In March, since each student had an iPad, even at the 4K level, we were able to pivot and continue class activities virtually with very little downtime. In September, all elementary students had the choice to continue virtually or return face-to face. Secondary students could also return to the classroom on alternate days to allow for the recommended social distancing. As many other large districts across the state and nation grapple with returning in April to the classroom, we can be proud of how well our staff has adapted to extensive mitigation procedures and have worked through the challenges of online instruction to make a successful school year possible for students in the School District of Waukesha.

My fellow Board members elected me to serve as Board Clerk for the past two years. Along with serving on the Finance and Facilities and Policy Committees, I have chaired the Technology Committee for the past two years. I have served as the Board representative to the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance, and I have learned how to advocate for the benefit of 220,000 students through education policies that support strong public schools.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

My godfather who served as a school board member for years advised me to respectfully listen to others and then use your heart as a guide to do what you feel is right.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I am a servant leader. As many of the people who know me have shared during this campaign, I always have the best interests of the kids as my focus. My aspirations are NOT political, and I pray every day that the divisiveness of the last decade can be bridged so we can work TOGETHER to build great schools for ALL students.