Gregg Schneider

Good evening. I thank you for the opportunity to be with you this evening. 

 

My passion for education has led me to observe and interact with the school board for the last three years and to serve on the board since being appointed in September 2021.  However, the time has come to run for a full term on the board. I have added my knowledge and experiences of 40 years in education to the school board to continue moving the district forward. Public Education continues to be under attack across the country, especially in Wisconsin and now, with the Lincoln Academy, and big money, in Beloit. I have experience as a school board member, a teacher, a co-teacher, program coordinator, a program manager, a Transition Specialist, and a Supervisor of Special Education, and a parent (Scott). I have been responsible for programs, budgets, in-services and staff. I have worked closely with businesses and governmental bodies to enhance education in the schools and student experiences in the community. In North Carolina I worked closely with the Department of Public Instruction on curriculum writing for one of the diploma tracks, transition services, and staff development.  These experiences and more have given me the skills necessary to serve the students and staff as a member of the school board.

 

While the school board has an important role to play, they do not have a direct role in the day to day operations of the district. The board establishes the Vision for the district. Then using that vision, adopts strategic priorities and goals. Everything should be based on these three things; the budget, resource allocation, policies and procedures. The board must always make its decisions based on what is best for the students.  The board works closely with the superintendent to lead the district into the future. The board also directly supervises the superintendent.

  

COVID-19 has challenged schools but also provides opportunities. We have learned that students can learn virtually but that parental support is critical for student success. We also know that it is not the best way for most students to learn. We have learned what works and what doesn't with teaching styles, techniques, but also with technology. I want to ensure that teachers creativity is supported by the board and administration. A teacher's ability to be creative with how they present instruction and to use the technology we have in new and creative ways must be encouraged.  I think the future of education will be different, a combination of face-to-face instruction and virtual and/or technology based. I can see a future in where teachers show pre-recorded lessons virtually while they move around the classroom assisting students individually; or the “lesson” is assigned as homework, paper or video, and class time is used to dissect and discuss the lesson.  Beloit has three high school social studies teachers who have been trained in the Harvard Case Study method. They have access to the same case studies that are used at Harvard University in their classrooms. 

 

Schools being virtual for so long has given administrators, and maybe some teachers, time to take a closer look at how they will be consistent and stay consistent with behavior and discipline. The same policies apply to all students equally.  Student achievement is much more than a score on a test. Tests measure cognitive memory and application at a given point in time. Tests do not measure the student’s soft skills, their character, how well they get along with others, etc. These skills are also critical to student achievement.

 

One of the largest issues in Beloit is the lack of stability in leadership. We must strive for quality and stability. Since I came to Beloit in 2007, we have had at least 7 superintendents, some left after a short time after struggling to work with the school board. There were others that never should have been hired. With each new leader comes new priorities, changes in administration, changes in resources, etc. After working hard to set up or revise a curriculum, it is frustrating when the curriculum changes after a short period of time. 

 

I retired from the district in 2018 because of lack of support not only for myself, but for colleges trying hard to provide what the students need to be successful in life. I experienced and saw many poor management decisions. The 2019-2020 exit survey, which matches my experiences, indicated that employees were leaving because they felt their concerns we not being addressed, specifically in the areas of resources and support from district staff, as they work with students where they are, and to make the progress necessary to meet the grade level standards; lack of early interventions regarding student behavior and lack of consistency in discipline and interventions. Teachers also felt that their supervisor would not support their decisions in the classroom on how to best serve their students. These areas are of great concern to me as they impact staff retention, open enrollment out of the district, and student achievement. 

 

Other ways to help retain teachers include at a minimum, a cost-of-living pay raise every year, longevity pay and post-retirement health insurance. I have benefited personally from longevity pay and from post-retirement health insurance. Having been employed in North Carolina for only five years, where teachers are employed by the state and not the district, I qualified for insurance coverage after retirement at age 60, even though I had already moved back to Wisconsin. Without it, I could not have retired until age 65 because of the effects of Act 10.   

 

With the information I have, I think the district made a mistake changing from reading interventionists and behavior interventionists in the elementary schools to assistant principals. The district must get a handle on the behavioral issues. Teachers need additional support with disruptive students. There is a limit to the time available to not only deal with the student’s behavior, but to teach replacement behaviors without denying the rest of the class instruction time.  I am not a behavior specialist. While I know what worked for me, I must rely on others for their expertise, their ideas on how to improve behaviors within the resources that the district has. The administration and the board must listen to the concerns and ideas from the staff. Then working together, we can solve any problem we have.  

 

Families are open enrolling out of the district for the same reasons that teachers and staff are leaving the district; a feeling that the district did not connect with them, that their concerns were not being addressed, that there were student behavioral issues, lack of consistent and equitable discipline and interventions. Families left this year because the school buildings were closed to students. 

 

The district needs to increase opportunities to listen to and understand the families concerns. The family deserve a response and even if their concern cannot be solved right away, we must take their concern seriously. This is also an opportunity to include the family in a work group developing solutions for their concerns. 

 

As a result of declining enrollment and continuing reductions in state and federal aid, the district continues to have an ever-shrinking budget. It is important that the board and the community continue to demand increased aid and a total makeover of the aid formula. If nothing changes, the board will, at some point, be at point where layoffs and program cuts may need to happen. My first priority would be to maintain the staff, mainly teachers, that interact with the students on a daily basis. I do not believe in cutting whole departments or programs. Decisions on what to keep has to be based on what is in the best interest of all students. The school board and administration will have to be fiscally creative while at the same time, continuing to lobby the state and federal governments for additional funding. A referendum to exceed the revenue limit for operating expenses may be necessary to maintain staffing and programs and at least a cost-of-living increase for staff.   

 

I have been a union member in every job I have had that were unionized, even if it was not necessary to do so. I have worked with and supported unions when I have been in non-union positions.  Unions, especially in education, bargain for a lot more than just pay and benefits. They bargain for what benefits the students, and holds the district accountable. I support the return to collective bargaining as soon as possible. In the meantime, I support maintaining a good working relationship between the district and unions on all aspects of what had been the contract; including at least a cost-of-living raise each year, and as much as possible maintaining the current level of healthcare benefits at the same level of cost-sharing.  I have personally benefited from longevity pay and believe it is essential to retaining teachers in the district. 

 

I do not support using student test results to evaluate professional educators nor in determining pay of professional educators. Student test results are based on the accumulation of knowledge and there are many factors that impact student performance. It is not fair for a teacher to be evaluated on how well the student does on a particular test on any given day. It would be like firing your car mechanic because your car wouldn't start today. It was doing fine before. There are so many factors that influence student achievement, some the teacher can control and some they have no control over. I have not yet found a proposal as how to isolate one teacher’s impact on student test scores from everyone and everything else. For this reason, I am not sure how I feel about merit pay, I can see the incentive for teachers to hone their skills to become better, but it can also push teachers to only teach to the test and not the full curriculum. 

 

Having worked in the district for over 10 years, I understand the issues and concerns of the district. I have met many of the teachers, secretaries, and other staff in the district and hope they would feel comfortable reaching out and sharing their thoughts, successes and concerns with me. Beloit is a much better school district then it appears on paper. Test scores are only one piece of who we are. I will work with the district staff to overcome the issues the district faces. The district has strong, dedicated and caring staff, whom working together and not in isolation, has the knowledge and skills to make the district one of the best in the state. While considering everyone's input, I will always focus on what is in the best interest of the students. The same is true for anyone who financially supports my campaign. While campaigns are not cheap, I will not accept contributions from PACs. Even though I will not let money influence me, I do not want the appearance that I could be influenced by special interests.