Parents for Public Schools hosts school board candidate forum Wednesday night

Four of the nine seats on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors are up for grabs on April 4, and there are two candidates vying for each.

To help voters get to know the candidates, Parents for Public Schools of Milwaukee hosts a candidate forum Wednesday, Feb. 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at MacDowell Montessori School at the Juneau campus, 6415 W. Mount Vernon Ave.

The program will also include a brief workshop on the proposed 2017-19 Wisconsin budget.

In District 4, Aisha Carr will challenge incumbent Annie Woodward; in District 5, incumbent Larry Miller faces Kahri Phelps Okoro; Tony Baez and Jonathan Zuniga are seeking the seat representing District 6, being vacated by Tati Joseph; and in District 7, Joey Balistreri and Paula Phillips are running for the seat currently occupied by Claire Zautke, who, like Joseph, was elected in 2013 and has declined to seek re-election.

“We can’t think of a more important way to celebrate ‘I Love My Public School’ week in Wisconsin than by meeting eight people who want to help shape policy and success for our district’s children,” said PPS-MKE President Jennifer Hofschulte in a statement.

“We know that Milwaukee’s future is tied to the success of our public schools. Let’s see where the candidates agree, and don’t, on a way forward for Milwaukee Public Schools.”

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and PPS-MKE says that candidates will respond to questions posed by PPS and audience members, “about the challenges facing Wisconsin’s largest school district, how parents can support and engage with the district, funding issues and more.”

School board elections are held every two years for four-year terms. In 2015, voters re-elected Mark Sain (District 1), Michael Bonds (District 3) and Terry Falk (Member at large), and picked new directors in District 2 (Wendell Harris, replacing Jeff Spence) and District 8 (Carol Voss, replacing Meagan Holman).

Because no more than two candidates are running for any of the open seats, there is no need for a primary this time around. To learn more about the candidates – including links to their websites – click here.

To learn more about the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, click here.