- A four-candidate reform slate is running for the Wauwatosa School Board.
- The slate is focused on financial accountability, teacher retention, and academic performance.
- The candidates point to falling student enrollment and rising staff numbers as an unsustainable budget issue.
- If successful, the slate’s victory could signal a voter preference for governance over partisan culture war issues.
Chris Merker ran for school board last year and lost by a slim margin. This year, he thinks he can not only win a seat himself but help elect a four-candidate reform team to secure a governing majority on the Wauwatosa School Board.
A federal education policy analyst by day, I’m watching this race closely because it tests a national question in miniature: Can a slate focused on the nuts-and-bolts of good governance and financial accountability win in partisan times?