As schools and school districts start to form, they need a group of people to oversee and make sure that the schools in the district are running smoothly and are maintained properly. These people are usually elected to their positions and maintain them for a couple of years, or a term, before they must run again. In the Whitewater School District, these elections are coming up, so the community must know who they are voting for.

On Jan. 28, the League of Women Voters hosted a candidate forum for the candidates for the Whitewater School Board at the Whitewater City Hall. The forum, which lasted two hours, was moderated by League member Lynn Binne. The candidates that are running for this position include Thayer A. Coburn, Will Dammeir, Daniel Dern, Stephanie Hicks, Lisa Huempfner, Joseph A. Kromholz, Christy Linse, Chuck Mills, Brian Schanen, John D. Truesdale, and Michael Bergman, who was not present at the forum.

“I’m an educator at UW – Whitewater teaching courses in communication and public speaking as well as leading the University’s competitive public speaking team,” said board candidate Brian Schanen. “I have experience bringing groups of people together to work in finding solutions to the challenges that we face.”

Throughout the forum, candidates for the position on the board answered questions that were asked by the audience. Questions ranged from asking about students and teachers to how the candidates would better the district. The first question that was asked was something that the candidate is most proud of about the Whitewater schools.

“I’m proud of how much the community is involved with the schools,” said board candidate Lisa Huempfner. “I think one of the things that attracted me the most when I came here was the diversity.”

Whichever six candidates receive the most votes by Feb. 21 will be on the ballot for the April 4 election. Along with this forum that was hosted, the League of Women Voters will hold another forum which will include the six candidates that got the most votes in March prior to the April 4 election. To learn more about the candidates. To learn more about the candidates, you can visit the League of Women Voters forum video here.