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School board candidates share views at forum

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Karl Dommerhausen

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Kristin L. Hesselbacher

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Diedre Richard

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Peter D. Severson

JANESVILLE — A Janesville School Board member said the board bears some responsibility for not knowing about money spent on the recent high school improvement projects.

The district administration recently told the board at least $390,000 was shifted from the district’s operating budget to the referendum project this year, apparently without the board’s approval.

The administration has not yet detailed what happened, but school board member Tim Cullen has said more than $3 million may have been spent without board approval.

Peter D. Severson, who is running for re-election, said at a candidates forum Monday that he and other board members did not ask the right questions as the $70.8 million referendum project went forward.

“I think over the next couple of months we’ll be asking those hard questions because I think we’ve seen the error of our ways,” Severson said in response to a question at the forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters and Janesville Area Council PTA.

Four candidates are running for three seats in the April 6 elections. They are incumbents Severson and Diedre Richard as well as Karl Dommershausen and Kristin Hesselbacher.

Renee’ Bue’s name also will appear on the ballot, but Bue told The Janesville Gazette on Monday that she has informed the school district she is no longer running.

Richard said it’s not yet clear how much was spent that the board didn’t know about.

“I feel strongly there needs to be accountability,” Richard said, adding that it appears most of the decisions were made more than a year ago, when the district had a different superintendent, business director and comptroller.

“I don’t know if anyone can be penalized if they’re not here,” Richard said.

Severson noted that the voters only approved borrowing the $70.8 million, not the actual spending.

Dommershausen said the board should learn how it happened and should install safeguards so it doesn’t happen in the future.

“I don’t feel I want to hang anyone or be after anyone,” Dommershausen said.

Hesselbacher also asked for an accounting of any “discrepancies.”

If the board didn’t approve some of the spending, “then perhaps that needs to be addressed,” Hesselbacher said.

Here are some other responses at the forum:

WRS liability question

Candidates differed on how to pay off a $17 million liability to the Wisconsin Retirement System. If the district continues past practice, the liability would balloon to more than $30 million by 2029.

Dommershausen said the district could have started paying off the liability years ago, and he’s not sure why it wasn’t.

Dommershausen said more information is needed, but “we have a problem, and we must solve it.”

Hesselbacher noted that the two basic options are to take out a loan and pay off the liability at an interest rate that is below the 7.8 percent the state charges or to go to referendum to issue bonds. Bonds are a different form of borrowing that would raise taxes but not take money from the operating budget.

“I’m not sure the district is ready for another referendum,” Hesselbacher said, so a loan would be best.

Richard said it’s too early to decide the best course, as all the information is not yet in hand.

Severson agreed more information is needed but “I would probably lean right now towards trying a referendum” in order to relieve pressure on the budget.

If the referendum fails, the board could then borrow, Severson added.

Drug dog searches

A caller asked whether the candidates favored having police dogs sniff staff members’ cars as well as those of students. None did.

Dommershausen at first said the decision should be up to police and school authorities, but then he said he would like to think about the question before responding further.

Hesselbacher said she served on a committee that considered the question, and the consensus was that the dog searches’ goal is to deter students—not staff—from bringing drugs to school. She noted that the dogs tire after sniffing about 200 cars or 200 lockers, so a decision would have to be made about what’s most important.

Richard said staff cars should not be sniffed because the objective is to deter students.

Students are minors and as such have less of an expectation of privacy, Richard added.

Severson said he prefers staff members’ cars not be searched because of privacy issues.

Saving energy

Asked about saving water and energy, candidates differed in their emphasis.

Dommershausen said that when he ran for school board last year, he was advocating the district look into geothermal energy.

Even though the initial investment would be expensive, “I believe we should take a hard look at it.”

Hesselbacher said the district should consider buildings that have inefficient heating/cooling systems, but she noted upgrading those systems would be “very expensive.”

Richard said the district should stay away from such big-ticket costs and focus on changing behaviors, such as emphasizing turning off lights and turning down thermostats to make a difference.

Severson said the district missed opportunities with the recent high school additions to include enhancements such as geothermal energy.

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Renee’ Bue said Monday she is dropping out of the race for Janesville School board because of “personal health issues.”

“Right now I just didn’t feel I could commit to being on the school board if I am having these issues,” Bue said.

Bue’s name still will appear on the ballot, said County Clerk Lori Stottler.

Stottler said if Bue is elected she could resign, and then the school board could appoint someone to serve a one-year term. The board also could decide to go with eight members for a year, but Stottler, also a Janesville School Board member, thought that would be unlikely.

Bue, 48, is bilingual outreach coordinator at Hedberg Public Library. She had said that if elected she wanted to improve communications between the board, teachers and families.