16/02/2025
The Green Bay Press Gazette asked the candidates for the upcoming USDD election a series of questions for future publication. As our race is considered uncontested (3 candidates for 3 spots), our information may not run in the paper, or run at quite a bit later in the cycle before the election. As a result, I figured it would not hurt to post my responses to the request here, for anyone to see. Please note, I responded to this request back in January, so any updates to this information as my campaign progresses, is based on changes since the submission date. Enjoy!
Age: 48
Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/Clayton4USDDBoard
Current occupation: Civil Engineer
Education: Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, UW-Madison; HS graduate of Belmont Community Schools
Relevant experience or community involvement: I have served a 3 year term on the board, with the last 2 years having the privilege of being elected as board president. I do my best to stay active in different groups that support(ed) my children over the years. These include Football & Tennis Booster Clubs, DPHS Parent Club, and Hands Across De Pere and other volunteer activities our social workers host. In addition, I enjoy volunteering for different activities when possible, including Night of Jazz, Destination De Pere, and Destination Imagination, to name a few. I endeavor to be visible by attending our school’s activities whenever possible.
Do you have children in the district? I have two children currently enrolled in the District, and one child that graduated from DPHS in 2023.
Have you received any endorsements? None at this time.
Do you have any political affiliations? First and foremost, the school board is a nonpartisan elected position. The focus should always be to do the best we can to support all the students, families, and community members in the decisions the board makes. That being said, I am not registered as a member of any partisan political party.
Why are you running for school board? I am running to continue to support all students in our District, by focusing on the goals I set during my first campaign. These include:
• Address capacity needs in our schools
• Evaluate having adequate resources for our teachers, social workers, and staff
• Provide opportunities to involve the community and develop community business partnerships
• Maintain the District commitment to extracurriculars
• Expand and enhance the "ready to work" curriculum for students
• Provide opportunities to include more foreign language and STEAM curriculum into the K-8 grades
• Review alternative learning platforms to support learning for all students
What do you believe are the top two issues that need to be addressed in the district? How would you address them if elected? The top issues I see are building capacity, and student cell phone use in the High School.
The District will need to effectively communicate to the community about the capacity issues, the needs, and the viable solutions that are present. Our current buildings do have limitations, so an open, transparent conversation is necessary to ensure broad community support of the most appropriate solution to address the capacity.
Cell phone use is an emerging topic within the District, as well as around the country. The board will need to work to find the appropriate balance between student use, teacher empowerment, and fair enforcement.
De Pere has been reviewing its board member conduct policy, in part due to multiple complaints against members. What would you, if elected, do to address this issue? I would continue to work with the entire board to outline meeting expectations and address areas of concern. I want to help the board come together so we can keep the focus of our meetings on the success of our students, and ensure a positive experience for students, teachers, staff, and our community. I would support the ongoing effort to update the policy and/or set some board norms, to help facilitate effective meetings.
Do you believe the school board handled the Act 20 investigation well? What, if anything, would you have done differently? The investigation regarding Act 20 was initiated outside of the board as a whole, so there was little the group could have done to avoid it. However, I supported the District’s approach to being open, transparent, and providing DPI with as much information as possible to allow them to establish that the complaint did not have merit, and that our District is excelling at our approach to reading education.
Many of De Pere’s schools are at or over capacity due to enrollment growth. Do you support building a new high school in the district? Is there another solution you support? The District plans on hosting a community task force in 2025 to revisit and discuss solutions to address capacity. Whether the recommendation is expansion of existing schools, a new school, or some other mitigation plan, I will support that solution if it is the best alternative. The District may also need to take a hard look at the Open Enrollment practices, to ensure the best use of our existing facilities. Ultimately, the community is the decision maker on what they will accept as a solution to address capacity issues, so effectively sharing the “why” and “how” will be critical.
I am running for a seat on the Unified School District of De Pere board, and want to represent you!
