Two on ballot but only one wants School Board seat

There are two candidates on the ballot for the at-large Port Washington-Saukville School Board seat in next week’s Tuesday, April 2, election, but only one of them — Yvonne Klotz — wants the job.

Her opponent, at least on paper, Maureen McCourt Boylan, said last week that if elected she will not take the job.

“I deeply regret I’m unable to fulfill my desire to continue my candidacy,” she said.

McCourt Boylan, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board last year, said her decision is “due to serious personal concerns.”

That paves the way for Klotz, 54, to become the first person elected to the new at-large seat and fill a vacancy that has vexed the board for years.

Last year, voters approved the creation of a seat that can be filled by a person living anywhere in the school district to replace one that had represented small sections of the towns of Saukville and Grafton.

That seat has been vacant since October 2015, and with only about 350 registered voters living in the area, a candidate to run for the position or even apply for a board appointment has been elusive.

The other eight board members are elected from specific areas of the district — five from the City of Port Washington, two from the Village of Saukville and one from the Town of Port Washington.

Klotz, a City of Port Washington resident, is a veteran educator who teaches sixth grade at Webster Middle School in Cedarburg. She is making her first run for public office and said the time she has spent campaigning has been enlightening.

“I’ve found that the people in this community are very supportive of public schools, whether they have children in school or not,” she said. 

Klotz said she is committed to continuing the work officials have done to make the district an attractive place for teachers to work. Just the fact the district has a salary schedule is a draw for teachers, she said.

“With teachers and administrators working together, the district is attracting and retaining great teachers,” she said. “The Port Washington-Saukville School District has taken several teachers away from Cedarburg, where we don’t have a salary schedule.

“I will also work really hard to make sure our students and families have the resources they expect from the School District.”

Also on next week’s School Board ballot are incumbents Kelly O’Connell-Perket, who has long represented the City of Port Washington on the board and serves as clerk, and Brian Stevens, who also represents the city and is vice president of the board. They are both running unopposed.