All eight candidates for Wauwatosa School Board spent two hours on stage March 2 responding to questions about educational issues, school conditions and the district’s future, at a public forum that offered voters clear contrasts in the candidates’ personalities, viewpoints, preparedness and points of emphasis.
The forum in the Longfellow Middle School auditorium was organized and hosted by the Wauwatosa Council of PTAs. Derek Gottlieb, an education researcher and Wauwatosa resident, served as moderator.
The candidates were seated on the stage behind tables, positioned alphabetically by their last names: Heather Birk, Liz Heimerl-Rolland, Todd Koehler, Melissa Lamers, Christopher Merker, Dan Stemper, Jason Wautier and Lynne Woehrle. Heimerl-Rolland, Wautier and Woehrle are incumbents running for re-election. Of the five challenges, four have declared themselves part of a unified “2030 slate”: Birk, Koehler, Merker and Stemper.
All will be on the ballot in the April 7 election, running for four seats on the volunteer School Board, the district’s primary governance and policy-making body.
The forum opened with welcoming remarks from Rita Wiesneski, president of the Wauwatosa Council of PTAs. Gottlieb then explained the format, which was intended to give each candidate equal time to respond to questions grouped into four main topics, as well as a round of short-answer questions.
After those formalities, nearly all of the remaining two hours was devoted to hearing the words of the candidates themselves, as a crowd of more than 100 people listened from the auditorium seats. A livestream also was provided.
The best way to experience the forum was to attend in person, and the next best way was to watch the livestream or the video replay (which can be accessed here). Tosa Forward News also has compiled some highlights from the candidates' responses below. An earlier Tosa Forward News article about the candidates' backgrounds and reasons for running is available here.