ELECTION: SCC incumbents seek re-election

Talk about it

The three incumbents who are up for re-election to the St. Croix Central School Board are running again. No challengers have decided to run against them. Following is a list of the candidates and their responses to a survey sent to them.

Name: Scott DeGross

Position seeking: St. Croix Central School Board director

Age: 46

Family: Wife Kelly, three sons in St. Croix Central, eighth grade, 10th grade, senior.

Municipality or school district of residence:  Hammond, SCC.

Years living in community:  20

Occupation: Manager

Public Service experience:  Past nine years on SCC Board

Two top issues facing the board or council you are running for: Space needs and budget limitations. Growth of our district has stressed our facilities, staff and programming ability. We will replace this year’s graduating class of around 88 with a likely incoming kindergarten class of more than 125. We have experienced this trend for several years.

Most of the jobs these students will take after college or other training programs do not exist today. We need to move forward thoughtfully, but with purpose to provide the educational resources to compete in a global economy. This will benefit the entire district, not just families with school aged children.

Why did you decide to run for office: The quality of a school district directly impacts the entire economy of the district. When I first decided to run for the board, I was concerned about the district, and decided to try to do something about it. I am very proud of the course the district is on and look forward to more positive changes that will ensure the success of our students and positively impact the lives and livelihood of all of the residents of the district.

Name: Howard Kruschke

Position seeking: School board member, St. Croix Central Schools

Age: 55

Family: Married to Doreen Kruschke, have three adult sons, Greg, Doug, and David. All three sons were graduates of St. Croix Central Schools.

Municipality or school district of residence: Town of Warren

Years living in community: I have lived in the Roberts area for 31 years.

Occupation: Chemist at 3M

Public Service experience: Served 12 ½ years as St. Central School Board member. Served 23 years as an EMT for Roberts-Warren Fire & Rescue, nine years as director of Rescue Squad. Served as a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader for 13 years. Coach for various Roberts area youth sports leagues over the years.

Two top issues facing the board or council you are running for: The top issue the board has been working on for the last three years is increasing student achievement. The board has made significant investments in curriculum alignment, testing and professional staff development. We have seen improvements across the board in all areas of student test scores. I am proud of the performance of the teachers, administration and staff over the last tough couple of years and hope continuing implementation of changes result in even better achievement for our students. The ultimate goal, as always, is to produce the best prepared students possible to reach their full potential in life.

The second priority is to maintain a fiscally strong school district. This involves spending tax dollars wisely, maintaining a balanced budget, maintaining school facilities and continuing strong community trust and support.

Why did you decide to run for office: Though I have been on the board for a while, there is still much to do. I would like to continue the programs implemented to produce students eager to learn and succeed in their future endeavors. Changes in teaching techniques have shown improvements in student comprehension and performance. We are also evaluating priorities needed to propel our school district into the future. I am asking the voters of SCC for their continued support.

Name: Kay Zwald

Position seeking:  St. Croix Central School Board

Family: Husband Bob, and five children who all graduated from St. Croix Central and have gone on to graduate from college, our youngest is a senior in college. Our oldest three are married. I have seven grandchildren.

Municipality or school district of residence: Pleasant Valley Township

Years living in community: I have lived in our school district since I was in first grade, except for one year.

Occupation: Dairy farmer

Public Service experience: I have been involved in 4-H most of my life. I am currently on the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Board.

Two top issues facing the board or council you are running for: We have new state mandates in all of our subject areas. I feel one of the biggest issues facing our board currently is ensuring our curriculum matches the state requirements. The second issue I feel our board faces are the facilities/programming needs.

Why did you decide to run for office: Education is very important to all of us. Our mission statement is to, “Be Great At Student Achievement.” We as a board have been working hard and challenging both our students and staff to excel at all they do.

Tags: st croix central, communities, education, hammond, roberts