Notes from the Madison Campaign Trail

Thanks to the kind folks who visited with me this afternoon as I made the rounds with my petition to run for school board. So far so good -- no doors slammed in my face, no dogs mistaking me for a yummy mailman. Even the folks who did decline to sign my petition did so politely.

I'll be going door-to-door around town again tomorrow, so if you're a registered voter in the Madison Central School District and you'd like to grant me your permission to run for a seat on the school board, drop me a line, and I'll stop by.

While I was pounding pavement and doors, MDL reported on the front page that Jay Niedert, an MDL employee and education professional who's worked at AIM High, Madison's alternative high school, was planning to turn his petitions in today. (Chuck, you didn't mention anything about that when you talked with me this morning! ;-) ) That makes two professional educators seeking seats on the school board. Go figure!

MDL's Chuck Clement quoted Niedert on alternative education, noting that with the state Department of Labor planning to cut its financial support for AIM High and other alternative school programs, Madison Central is going to have to figure out a solution for the kids that program is currently serving. As Superintendent Schaefer said at the Feb. 12 board meeting, we'll likely have to work on a cooperative effort among surrounding districts to maintain an alternative education program.

Chuck nicely summarized the answers I gave him about big issues for the school board: teacher pay (and pushing the Legislature to do more, the way North Dakota's is doing -- hat tip to a reader, and more on that later!), No Child Left Behind (I thought it died last fall!), laptops (expect me to quote Professor Schaff), fine arts....

One of my signers mentioned hearing that some of our incumbents may be looking to run again as well. Goeman, Thomson, Zolnowsky... if we get at least two of them to try, then yahoo! we'll have a real race!

Seriously, I hope we do get at least a couple more people on the ballot. A full election is good for the school district. It gives us a chance to have a community-wide conversation about our schools and our priorities. What do we want our kids to learn? What kind of support are we willing to show our teachers in terms of pay, benefits, schedule, etc.? Nothing will draw out and test ideas better than a healthy democratic contest.

Petition deadline is Friday, 5 p.m.! Should you let Mr. Niedert and me have a free pass? Heck no! Let's see some petitions!