School Board Meeting “Takeovers” Show Need to Return to Civility, Find Common Ground

by Sen. Bob Wirch, Rep. Tod Ohnstad and Rep. Tip McGuire

Following the second instance of a raucous, out of control Kenosha Unified/KUSD Board of Ed meeting, we all had one common thought: “This isn’t Kenosha.  This isn’t who we are.” In Kenosha, we are proud of our neighborhood schools.  We support their athletic programs, fundraisers, band concerts; we take pride in the academic success of our young people.  We respect our educators and recognize the hard work they put in for the betterment of our children.  We want the best for our kids and are willing to provide our schools the resources they need to make that a reality. We respect our friends and neighbors, even those we may disagree with. We can’t deny that there are currently deep divisions in our country, state and even community on a number of issues; we fear that these divisions are boiling over and creating a hostility and incivility that are now impacting our children’s educations.  Cutting the KUSD budget by $1.2 million without discussion and disparaging the duly-elected members of the school board are not answers to our problems; they create further division.  Those who serve on the school board are members of our community; they shop at our grocery stores, attend our houses of worship, shovel our sidewalks after a heavy winter snow.  Whether you approve of their decisions or not, they deserve a level of respect.  After recent incidents and the cut in stipends, who will want to step up and serve? Right now, the loudest voices in the room are getting the most attention, but they don’t represent the majority of people in the Kenosha area. We would like to see a return to civility, where we can talk to each other about our differences, particularly when it comes to the discussion of our children’s education.  Our futures depend on it.