What School Board Candidates Want Teachers to Know

One of the more passionate conversations during Thursday’s Greenfield School Board candidate forum came when retired Greenfield Superintendent Louis Birchbauer, serving as the moderator, asked candidates what message they’d give teachers in light of all the changes and challenges they’ve faced over the last 14 months.

Cathy Walsh, a longtime board member hoping to make a return this spring, told teachers to hang in there and hoped that the public’s perception of the profession would change soon.

“I can’t imagine what it feels like right now to be a teacher in the state of Wisconsin,” she said. “There’s been an attitude throughout the state that we somehow .

“I think at some point the public is going to wake up and value the work that the teachers do and what they had to do to get there. Most people don’t understand what it takes to be a teacher. … There are lots of parents our there that appreciate you, there are board members that appreciate you and hopefully at some point the tide will turn and people will say, ‘Thank God you’re my (child’s) teacher; you’re doing a great job with my kid.”

Candidate Paul Palama said teachers shouldn’t feel alone, that professions in both the private and public sectors are making concessions and feeling the economic crunch, while incumbent Rick Moze said teachers have been in a whirlwind as of late.

“They don’t know what’s happening to them,” he said. “They need to be kept informed as to what’s going on. We need them. We have quality teachers in Greenfield. … We need to keep them and make them feel good about what they are doing.”

Russ Spahn, the city’s former fire chief, said he can empathize with teachers because his former profession has been perceived in a similar fashion. In fact, . He said the board members need to get to know the teachers and open the lines of communication between board members, administration and teachers.

“People need to know what’s happening to be reassured,” he said. “If you understand and know what’s going on, you’ll be a lot more comfortable in your environment.”