School Board seeks member after Uselding resigns

First-term Port Washington-Saukville School Board member Matthew Uselding has resigned, and now the board is looking for a new member to represent the Town of Port Washington.

Uselding, who was elected to the Town of Port Washington seat on the School Board in April 2020, said this week he purchased a home in Bayview and has moved out of the district.

The board intends to fill his seat by appointing a person to serve the remainder of his term, which expires on April 23, 2023.

Uselding, a 2014 Port Washington High School graduate who works as the budget manager for the Village of Germantown, served on the board during a particularly active and sometimes tumultuous time.

He was a member of the board that oversaw the district’s response to the pandemic and dealt with the controversy surrounding its hybrid teaching model under which most students in the district attended in-person classes two days a week and learned online the remainder of the time for a semester.

He was also a member of a board that hired an unprecedented four top administrators, including Supt. Dave Watkins, who took over for Mike Weber at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year. The other administrators it hired — Director of Instruction Tammy Thompson Kapp, Director of Special Services Brian Sutton and Port High Principal Rachel Biertzer — began work in the district last week.

“It was a challenging time to be a first-year member,” Uselding said. “While we didn’t all agree all the time, I think we got a lot done.”

The district will accept letters from people interested in serving the remainder of Uselding’s term, who must live in the Town of Port Washington and the School District, until 4 p.m. Friday, July 29.

In addition to the name, address and telephone number of the applicant, the letters must include the reason the applicant want to serve on the board, the person’s qualifications for the position and experience relevant to it, what he or she believes should be priorities for the district, the person’s opinions on the role of the board, administrators and other staff members and his or her availability for board duties.

Letters should be sent to Heidi Belohlav, deputy school district clerk, Port Washington-Saukville School District, 100 W. Monroe St., Port Washington, WI 53074.

Questions can be directed to Belohlav at 268-6005 or heidi.belohlav@pwssd.k12.wi.us.

The board will interview candidates and make an appointment, although a timeline has not been set.