Candidate Profile: Kelly Piacsek 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.

Kelly Piacsek hopes to be elected as a Waukesha School Board member.

Age (as of Election Day)

47

Position Sought

School District Of Waukesha School Board Member

Party Affiliation

non-partisan

Family

Married. Husband Tom, 51; 3 Children, ages 14, 13 and 10

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

no

Education

PhD, Biomedical Engineering

Occupation

Healthcare Research Executive, (20 years)

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

none

Campaign website

www.piacsek4sdw.com

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running for Waukesha school board because I believe public schools are the foundation for growth and success in our communities. I believe I can bring diverse leadership experience and a district parent’s perspective to the board, both of which are vital in setting future directions.

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

Achievement. Not only must we close the achievement gap created by ineffective learning practices since spring 2020, but we must also address the gap that existed pre-COVID. School performance across the district is far too inconsistent, especially at the high school level. I intend to review budget and policy proposals with a lens for what will have the greatest impact on student achievement and overall school and district performance, and with the expectation of raising all schools to meeting or exceeding expectations.

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

A mother of three students in high school, middle school and elementary school, I am the only candidate with children actively enrolled in the district. In addition to navigating school policies and practices firsthand, I regularly engage with hundreds of district families. I will be a voice for students and families, and I will personally bear the consequences of my decisions as a board member.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

Several board members, including two of the three incumbents, allowed personal loyalties and unsubstantiated predictions to inform multiple votes against full face-to-face learning. This, despite the desires of a majority of district parents. These board members subsequently failed to validate assumptions about the hybrid and virtual learning models, while overall student performance plummeted. Given recent opportunity to improve excessive quarantine practices across the district, these incumbents again declined to vote in support of keeping healthy children in school. While COVID isn't the only issue our public school system is facing, it is quite possibly the most important issue school boards have been called to address in a very long time. The past year has revealed the imbalance of school board representation, and has led to an erosion of trust, and a desire for change, by many district constituents.

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

State and county health officials and state DPI leaders did not effectively track and assess the COVID situation in schools in an effort to support administrators in returning students to the classroom. A consistent theme was that parents and community members had to pursue open records requests, and aggregate data on quarantines, student outcomes and learning models to create the valuable information that should have been maintained by local leaders. Despite what we have learned about the very small number of school-related quarantines that evolve to a positive case (<1%), health officials and district leaders continue to support aggressive student quarantine practices that penalize healthy students. I would have voted to give families a full face-to-face option at the beginning of the school year. I further support, and have advocated for significantly reduced quarantines, using evidence to relax the definition of a close contact and discontinuing quarantines from exposure to possible cases and seating chart close contacts.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

I believe public schools have the principal responsibility to deliver an exceptional education and prepare children to be productive, contributing members of our community. Our district faces financial challenges resulting from decreasing enrollment and increasing costs that will need to be resolved through objective strategies that protect academics and essential student services.

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

I have led large global teams, successfully overseeing clinical trials and product development of drugs and medical devices in a highly-regulated healthcare industry. I have designed and taught college engineering courses, and previously worked closely with STEM educators to create and introduce a STEM university experience for middle school girls that has grown to become a national program. I have initiated cross-sector business collaborations, and I have vast experience in contract negotiation, and financial accountability for personnel and capital budgets on par with district resources.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Faith can move mountains, but hope is not a strategy.