The activism of University of Wisconsin students has changed the face and direction of our city. From Mayor Paul Soglin, whose leadership in the anti-war and civil rights movement on campus presaged a history-making career in public service, to the teaching assistants and UW students who were the very first to march in opposition to Gov. Scott Walker’s actions last February, we need your connection to the issues that face our city.
 

On April 3, you will have the opportunity to vote in the Madison School Board election, and I would appreciate your vote. I am honored to be endorsed by the Teaching Assistants’ Association; Leland Pan, who is running for County Board; Mayor Soglin; Supervisor Analise Eicher and a growing list of more than 250 elected officials and community leaders.
 

Let me tell you a bit about why I’m running and what issues the Board faces.
 

Public schools face unprecedented challenges. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum recently called public school systems “anachronistic.” Walker’s budget contains the biggest cut to education in Wisconsin history.
 

Here in Madison, the Board of Education faces many significant issues: an upcoming budget with a multi-million dollar deficit; children of color, often living in poverty, who do less well in school and graduate at lower rates and a difficult transition from collective bargaining agreements, which Walker eliminated, to a personnel “handbook” that will define our relationships with teachers and staff.
 

When our schools face multiple challenges, board members must have the backbone to focus on what is most effective in helping all children learn and achieve. We must prioritize initiatives that provide the biggest bang for our buck. When there are hard choices to be made, we owe it to the children we serve to engage in respectful debate in order to find solutions. 
 

I approach my work on the board from many perspectives: as a parent, businessperson, taxpayer and advocate for public education. I will continue to fight against assaults on public education, whether they are attempts to privatize public education or ones that demonize teachers.
 

My belief in the power and importance of public education comes from my own experience as the grandchild of immigrants, as the daughter of working-class parents, as the mother of a child of color who attended Madison schools and as a businessperson who sees firsthand the connection between strong public schools and a community’s ability to attract businesses and families.
 

The achievement gap in our school is not acceptable. It has been, and will continue to be, an issue our entire community must confront. Starting early helps reduce this gap, which is why I advocated for 4-year-old kindergarten. I created the new parent engagement coordinator position because parents are critical partners in education. I supported the introduction and expansion of the successful AVID/TOPS initiative. I advocated expanding summer school programming so students have more opportunities to be in a learning environment. 
 

I supported our high school reform, designed to strengthen college and career readiness for our students. 
 

We must also work collaboratively and respectfully with our teachers and staff to move from collective bargaining agreements to a “handbook”  governing employee-district relations. Walker has given districts the option to unilaterally impose conditions; that is counter-productive. We must negotiate, develop and adopt as policy a handbook both the district and teachers can live with. It will be a complex process and we must start now.
 

My commitment to public education, Madison’s 27,000 students, our outstanding teachers and staff and to staying in the fight for good public schools are the reasons I am running for re-election. I would be honored by your vote on April 3.

Arlene Silveira ([email protected]) is a member of the Madison Board of Education.