New Bill Would Allow Racine School Board President To Appoint New Member

The Racine teachers union is accusing Republican state legislators of taking sides in a local dispute over how to fill a vacant school board seat, but the lawmakers say they’re just trying to break a deadlock so the school district can pass a budget.

The eight-member school board has held 35 votes on filling the vacant seat, but none of the candidates won the required five-vote majority. The board is equally divided among union supporters and those who support the limits on union power that took effect in 2011.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, has introduced a bill that would allow the school board president to appoint an interim member to serve until the next election. The current president isn’t a union supporter, and union Vice President Aaron Eick said that will unfairly tip the balance.

“To choose sides, which is essentially, what they’d be doing is heavy handed and will only sow more confusion,” said Eick.

But Waangaard released a statement calling on the union to focus on “student learning” and not on “protecting their fiefdoms.”