Meet the 8 candidates running for La Crosse school board in the Feb. 15 primary

Two incumbents, Juan Jimenez and Dawn Comeau, are running for another term, while the remaining six candidates are newcomers that come from a variety of backgrounds including parents and one college student.

Six of the candidates will move on to the April 5 spring election.

The Tribune asked each of the school board candidates a series of questions about the race and their platforms. Their responses are below:

Mary LaMothe

Age: Not given

Education: UW-La Crosse, B.S.; UM-Earl Brown, St. Paul, Minn., Master's

Occupation: Retired; president of S.T.A.T. (caregiver training company); vice president of operations for chains of Assisted Livings; licensed nursing home administrator; former board member, Wisconsin Assisted Living Association

Political experience: Past advocate, State Capital for Assisted Living Regulations

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

I am a strong advocate for quality education. As a health care trainer, I noticed students had a good intuitive sense for personal care, but reading basics was an issue. Many students could not read beyond fifth-grade level. This observation was mirrored by declining national achievement test scores. My students struggled with basic words and comprehension. I started my caregiver training company to improve their ability to read and comprehend medical terminology and techniques. Effective reading and writing skills are essential for most aspects of caregiving and documentation as well as with other occupations.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

I am a strong supporter of law enforcement and school resource officers. SROs play an important role in the school system. SROs perform as a law enforcer, mentor/counselor, safety trainer, perform safety assessments and consultations, respond to threat situations and engage and plan for emergency preparedness. We must retain and support our SROs and utilize their expertise for everyone's benefit.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

Masks have been ineffective in stopping COVID-19 and the variants. Additionally, per the CDC, children under 18 are at much lower risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. The death rate for children under 18 is about 0.01, compared to other age groups. The utility and necessity of masks is questionable, especially when compared to the negative effects of masking. I believe that parents should be making the decisions about their child's physical and psychological health based on recommendations from their pediatrician, not from school mandates. Mask wearing should be voluntary.

Editor's note: Federal, state and local health agencies recommend masks as an effective and science-backed way to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Juan F. Jimenez (i)

Age: 42

Education: B.S. Mathematics Education and MAEd Educational Leadership and Certificate in Ethical Leadership from Viterbo University; Ed.D. Developmental Education Administration from Sam Houston State University

Occupation: Associate dean of General Studies at Western Technical College

Political experience: School District of La Crosse Board of Education (2019-present)

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

Strong communities begin with strong public schools. I am running for this office because I believe in the power of education to break barriers — academic as well as financial — so that students and families can achieve whatever goals they have. My father worked in the construction trades; my mother was a laundry aide at a hospital. Because of their sacrifice and dedication, and with teachers and educational employees who believed in me, I have been able to accomplish what my parents believed was not possible for them.

As the product of public education, born to Mexican immigrants, and a first-generation college student. I have been involved in education for over 20 years and have taught in both a rural public and affluent private school, served as a director of two urban teachers' unions, a higher education administrator, director of a learning center, and school board member. I have also served on many local, state and national boards, including the Council for the Accreditation of Education Preparation, the accreditation body for P-12 teacher education preparation programs across the United States of America. I have also been recognized as a 2018 La Crosse Tribune Rising Star Under 40.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

The board voted to accept the superintendent's recommendation to reduce the number of school officers after conducting a program review, which had not been done in over 20 years. We found the SROs were being used outside their scope of employment — as disciplinarians and counselors — and students from underrepresented populations shared their concerns regarding police within schools. Having police work outside their scope of employment does not make sense and listening to student voices is a critical component of problem solving within a school district. I feel the right decision was made given the information provided at the time.

Currently, there is an SRO Advisory Committee working on determining what next steps make the most sense. The committee members are parents, a school board member, and representatives from diverse community and local government groups. I believe a school board member should always take the most recent information to make the best decision possible. So, once we must make that decision, I will take the best information we have at the time, including the analysis from the SRO Advisory Committee, and decide what is best for our students and community.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

We have been consistent in our use of the Harvard Global Health Institute guidelines during the pandemic. I believe our consistency has been a critical component of our success in keeping case rates low within the School District of La Crosse. I support maintaining consistency of our pandemic policies, only making changes as case rates warrant them (just as we did this past summer).

Katie Berkedal

Age: 40

Education: Graduated from La Crosse Central High School in 1999; B.F.A in Social Advocacy and Communication in 2003 from Pacific Lutheran University

Occupation: Program director at La Crosse Community Foundation, where my primary role is to run the competitive grant program for local nonprofits

Political experience: None

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

I was born and raised in La Crosse and chose to come back here after college and teaching abroad to raise a family. I have two children who are students at Longfellow Middle School and come from a family of educators. I'm running for the La Crosse Board of Education because I hope to honor the great education I received here in service to the board.

I'm not driven by a single issue. I'm aware of many important issues facing the district and was asked to run by several community members whom I admire and respect. I am ready to study and learn about the issues and make the best decisions I can. I would love to join the current board and be part of such a thoughtful, dedicated governing body.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

From what I understand, the SRO program is not being phased out, but reduced. The district had five SROs, and currently has three, and may be reduced further to two. I understand the arguments for and against SRO in schools. I think our district has done a great job addressing many of the concerns: Our SROs dress in plain clothes, do not carry weapons, have been trained in trauma informed care and adverse childhood experiences, and no longer ticket students for truancy. An SRO Advisory Committee is working to gather and review data and the program and I look forward to learning from them. Given the information currently available, I support the plan moving forward.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

As a parent, my children do better socially and academically when they are in school, surrounded by trained educators and staff who care about them. We know the majority of COVID's spread has not occurred in schools, but in the community. I wish community partners had a handle on COVID as well as the school district does. I've so far been impressed with how the school district has handled the pandemic and am so thankful for all the teachers and staff who continue to show up for our children despite feeling overwhelmed and undervalued.

Dawn Comeau (i)

Age: 50

Education: B.S. in Biology with minor in Psychology

Occupation: IAM administrator

Political experience: Two terms on the La Crosse School District Board of Education

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

I believe that children are our future and that I would like the future to be better than our past. We can't accomplish that without education. The opportunity to learn should not be for just certain races, identities or socio-economic status', but for ALL students. I feel school is a place where kids have the ability to learn about many different subjects. This knowledge can unlock unknown passions or interests for a student and can allow them to follow a path to fulfill their dreams. The La Crosse School District has those opportunities. They have many choices for kids at all levels. I have also made connections with students, staff, administrators and taxpayers over the years. It has allowed me to get different perspectives about situations which has helped to influence my decisions.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

I have always supported the reason behind having SROs in the school. They are not there to police the students and to make them feel uncomfortable. The goal of the program was an is exactly the opposite. To build relationships. To have kids feel more comfortable with talking to an officer. It also gives the SRO the opportunity to get to know the kids, get to know what is happening in their lives. This allows the SRO to react differently to situations. They may understand that a child may be having a rough day at school because of an incident that happened at home. They can then adjust the conversation they may have with that student to help de-escalate a situation versus making it worse. I understand I voted yes to reducing the number of SROs in December of [2020]. However, it was not because I don't believe in the SRO program. It was because we were not sure what our budget would be with the pandemic that we were in the midst of. We were spending more on our SROs than other school districts of comparable size and I had to look at all aspects of running the school district and not just focusing on one subject.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

First, I can say hindsight is 20/20. Could we have done things differently. Sure. However, I feel the school district tried to do the best that they could at the time things were happening so quickly. They looked to the health care experts within our community for guidance. They communicated with parents, staff and community as best that they could. Things were changing weekly, daily and sometimes hourly. With such a large system to consider, the district had to think about students, staff, parents and families at home. They tried as best they could to follow what the experts suggested.

Merideth Garcia

Age: 48

Education: Ph.D., English & Education, University of Michigan; M.A., English Literature, Middlebury College; M.Ed., Curriculum & Instruction, University of Texas at Austin; B.A., English, University of Texas at Austin

Occupation: Assistant professor of English at UW-La Crosse

Political experience: None

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

I prepare young people to become teachers in our community, and I care deeply about the experience of students, staff and teachers. Serving on the La Crosse School Board would be my way of advocating for meaningful learning environments supported by the necessary resources.

I specialize in trauma-informed pedagogy, which I implemented as a high school English teacher in Austin, Texas, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Given the scale of the pandemic, my early training has become more relevant than I ever imagined possible. More recently, my work has turned to the research and practice of sustainable teaching, which is built on the belief that students receive the best education from instructors who are supported enough to thrive in their personal and professional lives.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

I've worked in public high schools with SROs and have seen some build genuine rapport with students. I've also read research about the negative impact that SRO programs have on marginalized communities, and I would like to see data collected on our local SRO program before changing any policies that the current board has put in place. My sense is that budgeting for mental health resources would ease the burden on police who are currently operating as first responders in situations that would be more properly addressed by people in social services with mental health or restorative justice training.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

Teachers, parents and students overwhelmingly prefer in-person learning, and I have been impressed by how the school district has managed to keep students in school in spite of community spread and overwhelmed hospitals. Common sense precautions like masking and staying home when sick protect our ability to keep students in school. I'd be interested in exploring ways to address the substitute crisis and to provide respite for teachers who are currently teaching their own classes and covering for colleagues who are out quarantining, often while trying to balance their commitment to teaching with their commitments to family members who may be at risk of serious complications if exposed to COVID (for example, very young, elderly or immunocompromised individuals).

Jake Williams

Age: 19

Education: Current UW-La Crosse undergraduate

Occupation: UW-L committee chairperson and full-time student

Political experience: None

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

 My age uniquely qualifies me to serve on the La Crosse Board of Education. I have a deep understanding of issues that current K-12 students face, and I have firsthand experience as a lifelong public school student (including during COVID). Older candidates will bring their own attributes to the table, but they're likely to be further removed from the classroom environment/student life than I am. I'll translate this into effective policy, because my No. 1 priority is to provide students with a high quality education! In addition to my youth, my time as a UW-L committee chairperson has given me experience in overseeing a public budget, using parliamentary procedure, and bridging gaps between students and educational administrators.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

Student safety should be one of our district's most important concerns in 2022, and I think every member of our community can agree that violence has should not be anywhere near a place of learning. In certain instances, that might mean that SROs and local police are needed to respond to a threat or situation in one of our schools. In general; however, we need to ensure that we aren't treating K-12 like criminals. An SRO presence in our schools could have serious unintended (and potentially negative) consequences instead of ensuring a safer learning environment. At the end of the day, all members of the La Crosse Board of Education will have to be willing to approach the conversation about SROs in a frank, good faith manner, and I promise to do exactly that.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

A motivating factor of why I am in this race is because the La Crosse Board of Education needs leadership that is committed to keeping students in the classroom (with safety measures in place, of course). Ensuring a safe, in-person learning environment for our students and teachers is critical. I have a lot of experience with virtual education throughout the course of COVID-19, and I think that it typically falls short of what our community members deserve from their school district. At the most basic level, we can't expect elementary and middle schoolers to be able to teach themselves! Similarly, we can't expect parents to stay home from work every day to make sure their child is attending class. As a member of the School Board, I will work hard to make sure we take COVID seriously while keeping students healthy.

Kimberly Krejchik

Age: Not given

Education: Physician assistant, certified

Occupation: I worked as a physician assistant for almost 12 years in the areas of Urgent Care, Family Medicine and Internal Medicine. I am a mother of two daughters, 11 and 17.

Political experience: I served as president of the PTO for two years

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

I decided to run because I don't like what I am seeing being taught to our children and want to affect change. The school district is focused too much on trying to divide our children rather than showing them what they have in common. Teachers are being forced to create equity lessons rather than being allowed to focus on the basics which is needed. Our local math and reading comprehension scores are below the state average, therefore, that should be teachers' focus. Parents send their children to school to learn sharing, cooperation, and the skills of math, history and reading. There is no accountability for our students, they need deadlines and consequences for not turning in homework or misbehaving in class. We should be holding all our students to a high standard and encourage them to succeed.

I think that the fact that I am a parent and community member who wants to see our children succeed is all that is needed.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

I support the school resource officer program. They form positive connections with the students. Students are more likely to talk to their SRO if they run into a problem because of the established relationship. I think they play a vital role in our schools for safety and the education they provide.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

I don't think it should be the unilateral decision of the superintendent. There has been no accountability for his dictates. I think the school boards should have been more involved making sure we were truly doing the right measures for the children. I have been to two school board meetings where the children have come in to talk about mental health. The students are not okay with what is being put upon them, but no one wants to look at how the COVID policies could be contributing to them.

Kent Stein

Age: 40

Education: M.S. in EHS Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology; B.S. in Marine Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy; A.A.S. Paramedic Tech from Western Technical College

Occupation: Medical communications

Political experience: None

Why have you decided to run for La Crosse Board of Education, and what experience sets you apart?

As a father of young children, I view education as one of the most important opportunities you can give a child. To give each child the best chance to take advantage of this opportunity, we have a responsibility to ensure an environment that is safe, teaches objective truth, and works directly with parents who are entrusting schools with their most valuable possession. The trends I have seen on a local and national level have been moving counter to those principles and I want to help bring education back to these foundational principles.

In 2020, the board voted to phase out the district's school resource officer program. Do you support continuing with that plan or would you like to bring SROs back?

 I do not support that plan and am strongly in favor of bringing SROs back into our schools. Having worked in EMS alongside law enforcement with direct experience of the demands currently placed on our public safety systems, the minutes of response time added by not having an officer present at the school canmake a very real difference to life and safety. In addition, the SROs working for La Crosse PD are exemplary people of integrity that are servants of their community. Having them in the schools provides excellent role models for our kids and builds a positive relationship with law enforcement early on dramatically decreasing chances of negative interactions later in life.

What would you change about the school district's pandemic policies?

Policy should reflect solid research based on underlying data that is objective unbiased. Families and teachers should have the choice to wear a mask if they so desire, but the current data from the WHO and the CDC indicate that children are the lowest risk group for all variants of COVID. With vaccines widely available, those that are eligible have the choice to receive them, both student and teacher alike. Kids learn best in person. Parents and teachers should be able to freely choose the measures they take against COVID.