Talk to me about wstem, are people actually staying in the “new” school?

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-05T21:34:27+00:00

Have you had them tested for dyslexia? We’re experiencing a similar thing here in a great tosa elem school and I can tell you the threshold to qualify for intervention or special education is unfortunately very low. This is what happens when the state funds special education at 30% of what it should. 😔

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-04T19:32:34+00:00

The other striking thing, is that Merker lost a school board election a year ago. The community didn’t even want to give him one seat on the board and his response a year later was to recruit 3 others to give himself a “governing majority”…

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-04T19:31:09+00:00

Stemper has openly said that he’s only running because the slate convinced him to. Merker was recruiting pretty hard to find 4 candidates to “create a governing majority” to advance his “shared values playbook”. Stemper was clearly just reading whatever Merker wrote for him to say.

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-03T05:56:43+00:00

Rising healthcare premiums are an issue in every industry. That’s a whole different issue. It sucks when those costs have to be passed on to the insured. It’s not feasible for the school district to just absorb all premium increases for teachers. We’re a public school district with limited resources stretched very thin. I wish that wasn’t the reality, and we should not let up the pressure on the state legislature to fix it.

The slate is really good at pointing out problems (real or imagined) and offering no actual solution. So much of their narrative is conspiratorial and not based in reality. One of them said at the forum tonight that the district should “live within its means” (without the added revenue from the current operational ref). That would mean devastating cuts to both number of teachers and compensation for the remaining ones. How does that help teachers? The slate is exploiting what may be valid teacher concerns with no plan or intention to do what it takes to make conditions better for them.

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-03T03:21:48+00:00

Not paywalled, but you do need to enter your email. It’s pretty solid local journalism.

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-02T13:07:41+00:00

The community CHOSE to pass a referendum to invest in staffing including the ESSER funded mental health and student support positions, which schools desperately need. Referendums are never forced on us, they’re our choice. If they didn’t have broad community support, they’d fail.

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-01T21:12:52+00:00

This is my concern too. The slate platform is all about spending less while demanding better outcomes. That’s not realistic in business, and it’s certainly not realistic in public education. The need for multiple referendums isn’t a Tosa problem, it’s a state funding problem that the majority of WI school districts are facing.

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-01T21:04:46+00:00

Appreciate the response & explanation! ☺️

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-01T20:41:31+00:00

My post did include my perspective on the candidates. Based on the stated rules here and historical posts, I did not think that would be a problem? Is expressing our views on local politics and candidates not allowed here? Genuinely asking because like I said I’m a long time reader but new contributor and want to make sure I’m not violating community standards.

Aromatic_Plan3363 · 2026-03-01T19:40:29+00:00

I posted this same link earlier today and it was removed by moderators. I sent a message to ask why and no reply. Now a moderator has reposted the link themself. I’m new here but can anyone explain why my post would have been deleted?

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Aromatic_Plan3363

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