Police in schools supporter Laura Simkin wins contested Madison School Board race | Local Education

Newcomer Laura Simkin, who distinguished herself from her opponent as a supporter of police in schools, will join the Madison School Board after winning the district’s only contested race in Tuesday’s election.

But Simkin said Tuesday night she didn’t think reinstating school resource officers would be broached by the board in the near future. Instead, she plans to spend some time looking into what work has been done regarding school safety so far and to figure out what options there are to address the issue.

“I’m feeling like the work is just about to begin,” Simkin said.

Simkin’s opponent, Shepherd Janeway, whose preliminary results showed trailing by a significant margin, did not rule out a future run for public office.

“Congratulations to Laura Simkin. This was a fantastic opportunity,” Janeway said. “I’m incredibly pleased with the results, and I look forward to using the community connections that I’ve built and bolstered and using the lessons learned in the future.”

The candidates aligned on many issues facing the district and on controversial stands taken by previous boards, except for one: the June 2020 unanimous vote to remove school resource officers from Madison’s four main high schools.

Janeway expressed support for the decision to remove police from schools while Simkin told the Wisconsin State Journal in March she would like to see the reinstatement of SROs at Madison’s four main high schools.

But on Election Night she sounded a cautionary tone on whether she would engage the School Board on that issue.

“I plan to work with the School Board as part of a seven-person team, and I will work with the School Board to decide what issues we’re going to be working on,” she said.

Simkin said she believes voters were impressed by her 30 years of experience in childcare and as a parent of a Madison student.

“When I talked to people, they were looking at the whole picture,” she said.

Over the next few days, she said she plans to relax and continue to educate herself on issues faced by the board before she’s sworn in on April 25.

Board president and first-term incumbent Ali Muldrow, who was endorsed by Dane County Democrats, will retain Seat 4 after handily beating registered write-in candidate and conservative blogger David Blaska.

Muldrow’s long-term plans include expanding access for students to dual-language programs, making sure students are prepared to vote — with a driver’s license — once they turn 18, as well as making the arts part of the core curriculum at the elementary level.

“I am so grateful for my community,” Muldrow said, and thanked her supporters, her partner and Madison teacher Sandy Welander, and her three children. “It is such an honor to serve and I will always be grateful for this opportunity.”

Nichelle Nichols, a former district administrative staff member and a parent of four former Madison students, ran uncontested and will also join the board later this month. She told the Wisconsin State Journal in January that her main concerns about her are the lasting impact of staffing shortages on the morale of teachers, staff and students.

“I’m looking forward to being on this board and starting to focus on making our district stronger,” she said.

The three members will be sworn in during the board’s regular meeting on April 25.

Madison School Board elections are likely unique in Wisconsin and unusual nationally in requiring candidates to run for numbered seats that are not connected to specific geographic areas in the School District. Madison candidates run only against those running for the same seat, even as all seven board members are expected to represent the entire district.

In Mount Horeb, Adam Mertz, Carly Fisher and Leah Lipska won school board seats after an election season heated by controversy surrounding COVID mitigation policy and K-12 curriculum brought out 11 candidates ahead of the February primary.

A field of candidates was whittled down from 11 — making it the largest school board race in Dane County in the February primary — to the top six vote-getters, which included newcomers Mertz, Fisher, Joel Craven, Jeff Shields and Kristen Karcz, as well as incumbent Leah Lipska, who had previously survived a COVID-19-related recall effort.

Voters in the school districts of Barneveld, Belleville, Cambridge, Columbus, Deerfield, DeForest, Evansville, Lodi, McFarland, Middleton-Cross Plains, Milton, New Glarus, Pecatonica, Poynette, River Valley, Sun Prairie, Verona and Waunakee also elected board members Tuesday.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on April 6 to include an explanation of the way Madison elects its School Board.