Madison School Board Seat 3 Primary Overview

Susan Troller:

Watch the candidates' video presentations here.

At first glance, the three primary candidates seeking the seat that Shwaw Vang is leaving open on the Madison School Board appear far more similar than different.

Beth Moss, Rick Thomas and Pam Cross-Leone are all married, white, middle class parents of students who attend Madison public schools. Their ages range from 37 to 47, and all bring impressive records of school volunteer work and community involvement to the table.

Major props to Susan Troller and Lee Sensenbrenner for these online interviews:

The Capital Times recently asked the three Madison School Board candidates running in next week's primary election for Seat 3 to come to our office to discuss their priorities for the Madison district and to participate in a couple of exercises that might offer an unusual glimpse into how they view city schools.

We marked 10 cards with issues that the district has dealt with over the last year and asked the candidates to place them in order, based on what they would most like to protect from cuts. We also gave them a couple of wild cards they could use for items we had not included on the list. Then we asked them to take paper and a packet of crayons and use them to present their ideal classroom. Finally, we asked them to talk about each of these exercises, for which they were given 10 minutes to complete.

Both Pam Cross-Leone and Beth Moss listed class size and competitive salaries as among their top three priorities. Rick Thomas listed his top priority as school safety, and he placed competitive salaries last. Cross-Leone used multiple colors to write about her ideal classroom, while Moss drew a diagram using only a green crayon. Thomas drew a simple picture, with stick figures.

To hear what the candidates had to say, how they ordered their priorities and how they put their crayons to use, click on each of their names listed above.

Links, video interviews and more election information here.

Vote February 20 and April 3, 2007.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at February 16, 2007 8:01 PM
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