Vander Meulen has faced an opponent in each of her two previous campaigns. In 2017, Ed Hughes was on the ballot but dropped out of the race following a health issue in his family and in 2020, the late Wayne Strong ran against her, but suspended his campaign amid his own health issues before returning to the campaign later in the spring. Vander Meulen said she expects to have an opponent again.
“If there isn’t, I will be pleasantly surprised,” she said.
The last three years have been an especially busy time on the board. In 2019, then-superintendent Jen Cheatham announced she would leave, and the board hired Jane Belmore as interim for the 2019-20 school year.
During that year, the board hired Matthew Gutierrez from Texas to take over as permanent superintendent, but he withdrew amid the onset of the pandemic to help his district through the challenging time. The board reopened the superintendent search over the first summer of the pandemic, eventually hiring Carlton Jenkins, who started his tenure a month before the 2020-21 school year.
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
No When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?