LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CANDIDATES
CAMPAIGN 2024
Our Goal This Election Cycle
Once our Coalition knew there would be FIVE seats up for election on our local Board of Education (BoE) in the upcoming general election in November, we knew this was going to be a pivotal year for Rochester Community schools! With so many wonderful people coming forward offering their time and talents, we also realized it was going to be essential to fully research each one of those candidates. Each candidate is, of course, for “civility”, “collaboration”, “literacy”, and “the children”. (And we're glad to see that thoughtfulness amongst them all.) Take notice though of 'how' they say they support each issue - how do they address academics? How do they feel about inherent parental partnership in education? Fiscal tranparancy and stewardship of taxpayer funds? How are they aiming to focus on the classroom (teachers, paras, students)? Doing so will help identify if they prioritize a political ideology or lend insight into how they will likely vote at the Board table on behalf of all the diverse parents they seek to represent.​
---Click on images below to link to each candidate's website---
Independent Candidates ALIGNING WITH our CFOK Mission
These four independent candidates strongly align with our Coalition's mission. Being parents first, and not politicans, these candidates seek to be the fresh voices our Board needs instead of the tired priorities of the Status Quo board majority, who has long neglected their actual trustee duties in favor of political agendas over educational outcomes and district fiscal business. Instead, each of these independent candidates being parents to young children in the district, they wish to bring a modern and fresh perspective to the board table. Prioritization of the classroom over pet projects, political agendas, and for-profit boondoggles is a common thread between each of these candidate's platforms. Policies which better support and protect teachers and students on their education journey is something CFOK strongly believes in. We're happy to see these independent candidates feel the same.
Independent Candidate with PARTIAL ALIGNMENT
to our CFOK Mission
Candidate Taara Donley has been active in attending BoE meetings for a few years now. Our Coalition has noticed how dedicated she is to the issues of transparency and accountability, particularly in the area of district finances. She brings a desire to more openly and effectively communicate at the board table to achieve the best possible educational outcomes for students. With these key issues being amongst our Coalition's mission, she is someone who has positively caught our attention. We hope her personal dedication to the ideas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) can be one which will also work cooperatively with other board members in the application and prioritization of its precepts to our district policies. Diverse ideas are not thought of negatively by our Coalition... closed minds and unwaveringly strong political agendas are.
Status Quo Slate Candidates NOT IN ALIGNMENT
with our CFOK Mission
Two current trustees, Michelle Buetel and Barb Anness, are running to remain on the board in the two 2-YEAR seats available on this year's ballot. Two appointees who were not previously elected to the board but rather, selected personally by the current board majority themselves to fill vacancies which arose, are running for the 6-YEAR seats for a position at the board table. They are Julie Alspach and Jayson Blake. The four candidates have found a fifth person to join them, Richard Kraczanowski, and they have formed a slate they call, "5 For ALL". This term 'ALL' is used abundantly in their campaign materials, and something asserted often by four of this group who currently make up the majority of the board. Their ongoing prioritization of all things diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) above and beyond all else is what has taken our district in the unfortunate direction it has. Their continued obstruction to transparency and accountability in curriculum matters as well as district finances is objectively, negligence. Our Coaltion stands firm on the issue of developmentally appropriate curriculums, and we do not think all the political and societal baggage of the DEI consortium belong in K12 educational settings. This, along with the candidate's histories of not fulfilling their fiduciary and administrative duties as Board of Education Trustees, is why the candidates of the "5 for All" slate do not align with our CFOK mission.
