Amid ACLU lawsuit, Greendale school board candidates share plans for DEI, school funding

In Greendale, a south suburb of Milwaukee that leaned just slightly left in the last governor's race, the candidates running for two school board seats April 2 are wary of aligning with either political party.

It's an increasingly unusual dynamic, as political parties have spent more heavily in recent years to stack local school boards with their favored candidates, despite the positions technically being nonpartisan.

Still, there are two candidates who are endorsed by the local teachers union: Brian Bock and Kristin Settle. They performed better in the primary election than the other two candidates, Elise Ciske and incumbent Mary Grogan. A fifth candidate, Michael Wiedel, was ousted in the primary.

Hot topics for the candidates include school funding; programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); and a decorum among the current school board members that many described as dysfunctional.

All candidates agreed the district needs more state funding. All but Grogan also said they support a referendum on the April 2 ballot that asks voters to raise property taxes to increase funding for the school district, as district officials say funding has not kept pace with inflation. If approved, homeowners will see a 5 cent increase per $1,000 of property value.

Separately, in 2019, the ACLU accused the district of failing to address a racially hostile environment, including repeated use of racial slurs and students sharing offensive videos. The district is still fighting a subsequent lawsuit from the ACLU, which alleged the district has not upheld its commitments to address the problem. A plaintiff in the case, People Advocating for Greendale Equity, continues to press the district about ongoing reports of racist incidents.

Since 2019, the district hired Director of Equity and Instruction Maggy Olson, who has provided quarterly "equity updates." The most recent update in December reported on a celebration of Native American Heritage Month, a unit for Spanish language students about Dia de los Muertos, a baking event to support soldiers, and a volunteer trip by American Sign Language students to help deaf residents decorate for holidays.

As the district continues to navigate DEI, school funding decisions and other policy questions, here's how each candidate said they would carry out their board duties.

Brian Bock

Background: Bock, 40, has a doctorate in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and works as a pharmacist. He has two children who attend district schools. Bock started substitute teaching in Greendale in 2020 and has continued subbing occasionally. He also coaches youth sports.

Website: brianbockforgsdschoolboard.com and facebook.com/Brian4Greendale

Supporters: Bock is endorsed by the local teachers union, the Greendale Education Association but he said he declined financial contributions from the group. Bock said he was contacted by the Democratic Party but turned down the conversation because he doesn't want a partisan endorsement.

Bock previously ran for Greendale School board in 2022

This is Bock's second campaign for school board. When he ran in 2022, he said he was frustrated by responses from board members about his concerns related to COVID. Bock, who said he had watched patients die from the disease, had advocated for better monitoring and more precautions.

Bock lost that election by 14 votes. He said he thinks he has a better chance this time, thanks to the time he has spent over the last two years connecting with more residents.

Bock has the second highest vote count in the primary election, just behind Settle. He said he's not officially backing another candidate in the race but said he has had "like-minded conversations" with Settle.

Bock supports more funding; critical of Grogan for stance on referendum

Bock said he supports the referendum for more tax funding for Greendale schools. He criticized Grogan, the incumbent in the race, for voting against sending the referendum to voters and for declining to make public comments on whether she supports the referendum.

Bock also said the school district should lobby state lawmakers to remove the caps on how much funding school districts can collect without going to referendum. Those caps have not been raised to keep pace with inflation since 2009.

Bock says 'equity' is key word

Bock didn't comment directly on the ACLU lawsuit but said there are "always opportunities" for the district to foster a more equitable environment by offering a range of books, courses and opportunities. While some public officials have pushed back on the concept of "equity," Bock said he supports equity as a goal beyond "equality."

"Everybody should have the tools they need to succeed in what they want to do, whether going to college or trade schools or other options," Bock said.

Bock critical of book bans in other districts

While the issue hasn't been prominent in Greendale, Bock said he is concerned by other districts that have removed books from schools in recent years amid a growing movement to restrict certain materials. He didn't totally rule out the possibility of supporting a removal, but said it would be "very unlikely."

"I’ve yet to see a school banned book list that I thought was appropriate," Bock said.

Elise Ciske

Background: Ciske, who declined to provide her age, has bachelor's degrees from UW-Milwaukee in marketing and in supply chain and operations management. She works as a sales executive and serves as treasurer of the Greendale Lions Club. Ciske has a second-grader in the district and another child who will enter kindergarten in the fall.

Website: bit.ly/CiskeforSchoolBoard

Supporters: Ciske said she was listed as a preferred candidate by the Republican Party of Milwaukee County but she hadn't sought its endorsement.

Ciske says she doesn't identify with a political party, supports other women in the race

Ciske said she doesn't identify as a Republican or a Democrat and has voted "across the board," noting that her husband, Marc Ciske, ran for state Assembly as an Independent. She said she hopes to foster better communication between board members with different political views.

"I just feel like there’s some disorganization in the board; I feel like they don’t work collaboratively and collectively as well as they could or should," she said. "You want a school board that has multiple points of view that can work together, and I just don't feel that's the case right now."

Ciske said there wasn't a specific candidate she was officially backing or opposing. She said she supports the women in the race, not based on their campaigns, but because she tries to support women when she can.

Ciske supports referendum and more state funding

Ciske said the district should lobby state lawmakers for more funding, and said she would go to Madison herself to do so. She said she supports the referendum as a parent and taxpayer.

"Having a good school district affects my home maintaining its value," Ciske said. "I mainly live here because my family lived here forever, but I wouldn't have moved here if it wasn't a good public school district."

Ciske rejects focus on racial harassment, praises Greendale's DEI work

Asked if she thought racial harassment was a problem in Greendale, Ciske said harassment of "any students" is a problem.

"I think pulling out one group of students isn't fair; I think it should be addressed in all aspects," Ciske said. "Obviously if it was just a problem of students of color, I'm not made aware of the statistics on all of it. I'm sure it's a school-wide issue of everyone, if it's a problem."

Ciske said she supported the district hiring Olson, the director of equity and instruction, putting on assemblies about different cultures and working to "promote a sense of belonging for students of color."

Ciske says book banning efforts are 'outdated'

Asked how she would navigate any requests to remove books from Greendale schools, Ciske said she would consult with district staff about what they think is best. Generally, she said parents who are uncomfortable with a book should have a conversation about it with their own child, rather than restrict it for every child.

"I think it's outdated to try to ban the content from the library," she said. "You can search anything on the internet, and 75 plus percent of students, at least in Greendale schools, have a Chromebook that they walk around with and they can access almost everything on the internet with it."

Mary Grogan (incumbent)

Background: Grogan, 57, has served on the Greendale School Board since 2021. Grogan has master's degrees from Marquette University in school counseling and educational leadership. She works as a counselor at Golda Meir School in Milwaukee.

Website: bit.ly/MaryGroganforSchoolBoard

Supporters: Grogan said she hasn't received endorsements or had conversations with political parties. When she ran for the board in 2021, she was supported by Rebecca Kleefisch's political action committee.

Grogan says she is the most experienced candidate

Grogan said she sees herself as the most qualified candidate because of her background in education. She started as a public school teacher in 1988, then homeschooled her children for about a decade before becoming a Catholic school teacher. In 2019, she started teaching for Milwaukee Public Schools and became a school counselor for MPS in 2021.

Grogan said she wasn't publicly backing any other candidate in the race.

Grogan lost four times before winning her seat

When Grogan's family lived in Sauk Prairie, she served on the school board from 2012-15. After moving to Greendale, she ran for school board in 2016. She tried again in 2017, 2019 and 2020 before winning her seat in 2021.

Grogan supports new district policies, including one on 'controversial issues'

In her time so far on the board, Grogan said she has been instrumental in updating district policies to align with recommendations from organizations like Neola, which guides many school districts on establishing legally sound policies.

Grogan supported the district's updated policy that sets guidelines for teachers discussing "controversial issues" in the classroom. She said newer teachers seem to be more likely to bring up such topics.

"It was very much drilled into us that if there's anything controversial that you want to bring up, you should run it by your principal, because probably he or she is going to get phone calls about it," she said. "So most teachers from my generation, we just want to avoid controversy. But it seems like the generation of teachers behind me, they seem to be more willing to bring up things in the classroom."

Grogan says she falls between groups who want more DEI or less DEI

Asked about the ACLU case, Grogan said she couldn't comment on it but supports the work by the district's director of equity and instruction. She said there are some in the community who want the district to do more work promoting equity, and some who want the district to do less.

"I try to listen to both camps and bring their voice to the table," Grogan said, adding that it's not her main focus. "The board should be primarily focused on academics."

Grogan voted against referendum

Grogan cast the lone vote against sending the referendum to voters. Before casting her vote Nov. 13, she said had wanted the referendum to be worded differently. Rather than asking voters for the ability to raise an additional $2.5 million, she wanted the referendum to ask for "up to" an additional $2.5 million.

Asked whether she supports the referendum as it stands, Grogan said she believed she wasn't legally allowed to share a public stance on the referendum as a board member.

Grogan said she also wants to see state lawmakers change the funding formula for schools, since they stopped providing increases for inflation. She also suggested lawmakers use the state's budget surplus to provide tax refunds — money that, for some residents, could offset the cost they may be paying for referendums in their districts.

Kristin Settle

Background: Settle, 46, has a master's degree in public administration from Syracuse University and works as a freelance communications consultant. She has two kids in Greendale schools, and she previously served as president of the parent-teacher organization at Highland View Elementary.

Websites: Kristinforgreendaleschools.org; facebook.com/kristinsettleforgreendaleschoolboard

Supporters: Settle is endorsed by the local teachers union, the Greendale Education Association. Settle said she's not accepting campaign funds from any organizations but has received some donations from individuals.

Settle supports referendum, wants to prioritize teacher retention

Settle said the district needs to make changes to keep "top talent" in its schools. She said that could include higher pay, better advertising of career opportunities, and hearing from teachers what they need.

Settle also said every school board should be lobbying state lawmakers for more funding, and she supports Greendale's referendum.

Settle says schools should embrace education about AI

Settle said the district should be educating students about AI, not by having AI do their assignments for them but by studying different uses.

"I think what our schools need to teach is how to use AI, and how to capture its power and how to use it for good versus avoiding it entirely, because the rest of the world is utilizing it in multiple industries," Settle said. "Instead of saying you're not allowed to use it, it's about how to use it the right way, and look at the dangers it could pose."

Settle wants to expand diversity and inclusion programs

Settle said the district's director of equity and instruction has done a "phenomenal job" of working on DEI, but she wants to expand that work. Settle said she would start by having forums with students and stakeholders to learn what the district might be missing.

"It might get ugly and uncomfortable, but we need to have those conversations," she said. "How can we teach kids to be more accepting and welcoming and understand that there are billions of people with different experiences?"

Settle also said she thinks its important to use pronouns that students want used for themselves — something that has been restricted in some districts for trans students.

"The pronouns I use for myself have no impact on your ability to learn, or your freedom to feel safe, or your freedom to feel like you belong," she said. "But the pronouns you use for me have a profound impact on my ability to learn, to feel safe, to feel like I belong. The respect with which we address each other matters in school and in life."

Settle says students should be involved in any book banning decisions

While Settle said she generally opposes removing books from schools, she said if she was asked as a board member to remove books that she would try to follow the desires of the majority of the school community.

"While personally I may say banning is wrong, period, I think you need to look at each case," she said. "My personal views on any number of issues don’t necessarily matter; I am one person. If the majority people say book X is terrible, I may say, hey, I’m not in favor of banning it, but the people have spoken."

Settle also said, prompted by her daughter who is a high school student, that students should be involved in any discussions about banning books.

Contact Rory Linnane at [email protected]. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @RoryLinnane. 

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meet the Greendale School Board candidates in April 2, 2024, election