Bill Oemichen

Age: 61

Occupation: Senior Research Fellow in National Defense and Food Systems Issues affiliated with the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Law School

Years Lived in District: 22 years

Incumbent? Yes, current New Glarus School Board President

Have you been on the school board or held any other public office before? If so, please describe: Yes, I was first elected to the New Glarus School Board in April 2019, and I serve as the board's President. I currently Chair the Board of Trustees of the nearly $8 billion Wisconsin College Savings Program Board (Edvest) and was appointed to the positions by Governors Doyle, Walker and Evers, and confirmed by the State Senate four times. I have also been appointed to serve as Wisconsin's top Consumer Protection official, as Wisconsin Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Medical Services Director, as Deputy Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner, and was elected four times to the St. Croix County (Wisconsin) Board of Supervisors. I currently serve as a member of the Green County Leaders Board of Directors, serve as the elected Treasurer of the Group Health Cooperative Board of Directors, and serve as a member of the AgCountry Farm Credit Services Board of Directors, an $11 billion Upper Midwest cooperative owned by 15,000 farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. Finally, I have also served as Chair and Treasurer of the Monroe Clinic Board of Directors.

Why are you running for the school board? Great public schools make a great community. New Glarus is a special place and I want to make sure all students in grades 4K-12 reach their full potential. I work well with my school board colleagues, district administrators, teachers and administrative staff. Together, we are focused on ensuring the New Glarus School District hires, trains and retains high quality teachers; provides a safe, positive and nurturing school environment; provides nutritious food to those who are economically disadvantaged or who experience food insecurity; provides a full range of enriching and enjoyable student activities and sports; and ensures taxpayer dollars are well spent. Finally, I see service on the School Board as a way to give back to the community and school district. Both played such an important role in how my wife, Mary Anne, and I raised our two children, Amy and Will, both of whom are New Glarus High School graduates.

What issues do you find most important to the school board? How would you handle these issues? The key issues to me are as follows: (1) transitioning our school district back to a more typical classroom learning environment as soon as it is safely possible; (2) ensuring our students continue to progress academically and socially despite COVID; (3) building upon our school district's current "Exceed Expectations" ranking from the State of Wisconsin; (4) ensuring taxpayer dollars are efficiently and effectively spent on the Tech Ed addition at the High and Middle Schools, the Elementary School improvements, and on the design and construction of our new Primary School building; (5) making sure our curriculum is focused on educating students so that they can successfully move on to employment, a technical trade, or to study in a technical college, college or university following graduation; (6) hiring and retaining the best possible teaching and administrative staff; (7) providing student club activities and sports that teach leadership and collaboration; and (8) insuring the District continues to focus on social-emotional development and positive mental health outcomes, both during and after the pandemic. I work hard with my school board colleagues and district administration to build consensus on the above issues, to make our decisions based on meaningful data, and to listen closely to the concerns of students, parents and teachers so that all viewpoints are heard and considered.

Any additional comments? I would greatly appreciate the support of New Glarus School District voters on February 15. I have worked to bring common sense, and a balanced and data driven approach to the sometimes controversial issues before the School Board. I appreciate and encourage community engagement and public comment during board meetings, and I work hard to respond thoughtfully and promptly to each person who takes the time to voice an opinion. My top priority right now is to ensure our nearly 1,000 4K-12 students remain in school learning in a high quality environment, and are as safe as possible doing so.