One School Board seat is contested
Incumbent Suzanne Miller will face off against challenger Jason Stielow in spring elections for the seat representing the Town of Fredonia on the Northern Ozaukee School District School Board.
Miller’s third consecutive term is coming to a close and Stielow hopes to land on the School Board this spring.
Stielow, 47, is a network and solutions security architect who has lived in the town for about 10 years. He holds an associates degree in microcomputer specialty from Moraine Park Technical College. He completed a four year term with the U.S. Navy and formerly led a Boy Scout troop.
Stielow has four children, three of which are currently enrolled in the school district and the fourth a recent Ozaukee High School graduate.
He said he is proud of the high quality education and programming at NOSD and wants to ensure it remains a top tier institution for his children and other children in the community.
If elected, Stielow said transparency and communication would be a top priority.
He said there are often documents like a class rubric that are difficult to locate or access on the district website and that if elected, he would urge the board to make documents more accessible.
“I think a lot of that could be more visible to the parents,” he said.
As the School Board explores options of increasing district enrollment, Stielow said he believes a good way of attracting students is to further showcase the accomplishments and services of the district. He suggested putting together a community newsletter that could attract prospective families who may otherwise not know about the district’s offerings.
“Having that information out there for parents to know exactly what is offered would help,” he said.
Another way of retaining students, Stielow said, is retaining the quality school staff the district has built in recent years. He said while it is difficult to be competitive in a smaller town, it is important to keep staff wages at an industry average to attract talent to district schools.
Stielow said he would like to be a representative for all community members and encourages people to reach out to him with concerns or questions he could bring to the board.
“A lot of times issues arise when people don’t feel their voices are being heard so I just want people to know I’m an advocate for them. Anything people want to bring to our attention, feel free to let me know,” he said.
Miller, 52, is a risk product developer for Northwestern Mutual with a masters degree in higher education from Ball State University in Indiana and a bachelors degree in elementary education from University of Wisconsin Madison.
She has been a town resident for about 20 years and has four children, three of whom have graduated from OHS and the fourth who is a junior at the school.
Prior to joining the school board, she volunteered with various district sports teams but wanted to become more involved in the district.
She said in recent years the district and school board have built a solid team and that she would like to stay involved.
“I’m really hoping to continue with the momentum we started and partner with the leadership of the school district.,” Miller said.
If re-elected, Miller said her main goal would be to support students staff and the community at large.
On the topic of enrollment, Miller said the School Board has worked with the Village of Fredonia to provide land for the Hillcrest residential development which will bring new homes, and students, to the district. She said while providing high quality staff, classes and programs helps retain students, it is difficult to boost enrollment without new housing options.
“Until we have more business in town and housing available for people, it’s going to be hard to raise enrollment, but I think those two things will help,” Miller said.
Other School Board terms ending this spring are those of Dan Large, representing the Town of Belgium, and Rick Hamm, representing the Town of Saukville. Neither incumbents will be challenged on the ballot.
Also unchallenged on the ballot this spring will be District 2 Ozaukee County Supervisor, Joshua Haas, and Village Trustee seats held by Richard Abegglen, Bruce Paape and Haas.
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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
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