Meet the School Board Candidates

Name: Joel A Craven

Bio: My wife, Kara and I, live with our two children, Carter & Nalia, in Blue Mounds.  We moved to the Mt Horeb area in 2014.  I was born and raised in Belmont, WI prior to moving to Madison for college and the start of my career.  I received a double major from UW-Madison in Accounting and Information Systems from their business school.  I started my career as an accountant/consultant with Grant Thornton, then went to work in the insurance and financial services industry with Horace Mann.  In 2014, I started Astraios Financial, and continued my partnership with Horace Mann to provide insurance and financial services to the K-12 educator market.

Why are you running for a seat on the Mount Horeb Area Board of Education?

Craven: In a single word, to HELP.  My family has been a direct beneficiary of the good things our district has done.  I would like to assist in the challenge of maintaining and improving our district’s position as an educational leader.

Which qualities, skills and/or experiences make you the right candidate for the job?

Craven: Creativity, long-term thinking and objectiveness are qualities that are necessary in my daily work as a financial services professional.  Approaching current issues with these skills is critical to maintaining the high quality of educational delivery.  Taking some time to truly understand our educators’ challenges and supporting them in their mission will propel Mt Horeb forward in its educational leadership.

The past two years have been difficult for everyone, including children and teens in the Mount Horeb Area School District.  What has the school district done right during the pandemic, and what should it do differently moving forward?

Craven: Given the available information and the lack of medical details related to the virus, the district’s actions have made sense over the last two years. I compliment the staff for their ability to adapt and overcome adverse circumstances.  Going forward it will be important to reflect on what has happened.  Taking lessons learned and using them to inform education methods going forward will help us be prepared for the next crisis.  In addition, the mental health impacts were not clearly understood by the majority of our society.  Making sure that all forward-looking initiatives include the emotional and mental well-being of all educational stakeholders is necessary.

The physical toll of the COVID pandemic is clear and fairly easy to quantify.  The long-term developmental, psychological and emotional damage caused by the pandemic (and the steps taken to try and fight it) are much hard to gauge.  But it’s clear the people – particularly children – are increasingly isolated and fearful, and that learning outcomes have suffered, in Mount Horeb and across the country.  How can the board balance the risk of physical harm from COVID with the amorphous problems the fight against the pandemic can cause?

Craven: Continuing to follow the best guidance available in terms of underlying physical health and safety is critical.  I realize that this doesn’t come without its controversies, but it is the best information that we have.  We need to pay close attention to the emotional and mental well being of students and staff.  Keeping our schools open is very important for our students.  Following expert guidance in terms of safety measures (masking, etc.) will allow us to remain in class. As the pandemic continues to unfold, having the compassion to view solutions from multiple perspectives will help minimize setbacks.

The local school district includes about 2,500 students and serves eight communities.  It receives $30 million in funding annually, and receives 40 percent of the local tax bill.  Talk about the current state of school funding, and your vision for its future.

Craven: Money is always a scarce resource.  Being creative and thinking differently about finding alternative resources will be critical.  Leveraging all opportunities that are presented to support the mission of education in Mt Horeb will allow for our district to continue its leadership.

What, as you understand them, are the responsibilities of a local school board member?  What is the scope of your responsibilities if elected? Local issues? County issues? State issues? National ones?

Craven: The role of a school board member is to help our district think through strategic questions of import and help develop policies and procedures.  This includes taking the time to look at national, state, and local issues and to assist in making appropriate adjustments.  In addition, being an engaged listener to the concerns of the community and clearly communicating that to our district is important.

Who are the school board members elected to represent?  With the complexities and problems of the pandemic thrust upon everyone in a way that was maddening for pretty much everyone, the community debated whose interests the school board should be looking out for, particularly because those interests do not always run in tandem.  Students? Teachers? Parents? Taxpayers?

Craven: I believe taxpayer and parent interest are similar in this context.  Both of these parties are interested in making sure resources are used wisely in giving the children of Mt. Horeb the best we can offer.  As a result, there should be a balance in the representation of all three parties: students, teachers and parent/taxpayers.  I would use a 3-legged stool as an analogy in terms of defining the representation.  Each leg, without equal support from the other two, cannot hold the stool aloft.  It seems that we sometimes view politics, challenges, etc. as a zero-sum game.  If one group ‘wins’ the other group by definition has to ‘lose’.  When it comes to representation, if this is the mind-set, our kids can’t be best served.  We need a balanced approach to the concerns and opinions of all stakeholders using compromise to ensure the outcome that is best for the community and students as a whole.

What can the school board do to promote and protect local government transparency?

Craven: The board has done a great job in promoting transparency through public listening sessions, publishing board meetings notes, communicating with parents, etc. I feel that while I don’t agree with everything the board has done, they have been more than fair in sharing the information they are trying to assimilate into driving the strategic direction of the district.  More of the same would be in order. 

How do you define Critical Race Theory and what do you feel its role, if any, should be in the classroom?

Craven: Critical Race Theory is a set of ideas that gained traction in the 1970’s as a way to explain persistent disparities despite the civil rights era legislation.  In terms of its application today, it is important to look at history and current events from as many perspectives as possible.  The discussion of race as a part of current and historical events is extremely helpful in creating compassionate and well-adjusted adults.  While the theory itself is not something that is specifically taught at the local level, it makes sense to look at multiple perspectives in learning about our collective experience.  This provides opportunity for families to have conversations about the fact that their singular experience isn’t that of everyone.

If elected, what are your top priorities?

Craven: The top priority for our district should be to increase competitive advantage.  We need to attract and retain excellent teachers and bring new students to Mt Horeb.  To do this, we need to do the following:

Make sure we adequately address mental health for staff and children as part of our safety measures.  

Offer our educators the freedom to find new and exciting ways to deliver on the mission of our district.  

Wisely utilize resources for infrastructure and technology that push Mt. Horeb to the forefront in terms of getting the most out of what we have.

What is the school district’s biggest challenges in 2022 and beyond?

Craven: I think that the biggest challenge for Mt Horeb going forward is to make sure that the district is positioned as a leader in education for Dane County.  Keeping a competitive edge in attracting both students and teachers will help us do this.  We need to support the great teachers we already have through an emphasis on new, innovative, and exciting education strategies.  In turn, this will allow us to attract the best talent and more students to Mt Horeb.

What are its greatest opportunities?

Craven: We need to understand the demands on teachers’ time and focus on finding efficiencies there.  Helping our educators focus on their specific mission and eliminating extra noise can improve results.  Finding creative sources of funding and support is important.

What role can/should local schools play in addressing mental health issues in the community?

Craven: Mental health needs to be one of the major concerns when discussing and implementing any policies.  We are facing new kinds of pressure in terms of the mental well-being of our students, teachers, and community.  The board needs to be cognizant of this when making decisions.  In any strategic initiatives there should be an allocation of resources to emotional and mental well-being. 

Three years ago, the Mount Horeb Area School District completed work on $38.5 million in building expansions and upgrades approved and paid for through a voter referendum.  I was the largest successful referendum in district history, and future referenda are currently in the works.  What role should these ballot measures play in funding the district going forward?

Craven: Any ballot funding questions must be focused on forward movement in terms of delivering the district’s mission.  Funding for infrastructure or funding to increase educational excellence is the appropriate use of ballot measures.  Beyond this, as a district we must find ways to maintain operational excellence within the annual budget constraints, as should any organization.

What is the district currently doing well?

Craven: Our district has continued to broaden offerings to our students.  In addition, through wise use of assets, we have some very modern and functional facilities that are serving our community well.  Mt Horeb has continued to provide high-quality education despite challenges.

In what areas could it improve?

Craven: As with most organizations, efficiency can always be improved.  Understanding educators’ time allocations in accomplishing their priorities will be helpful in finding additional ways to improve efficiency.  In addition, a more robust focus on the mental and emotional well-being of the educational community in Mt Horeb needs to be addressed.

In a very crowded field of candidates, what message would you like to make sure voters hear about you and the job you would do on the board if elected?

Craven: Our society is going through a period of extremely challenging political polarization.  Involving all perspectives and exercising compassion will be important as we work to move toward a brighter future for all.  These are things that I have the privilege of practicing every day in my career and I look forward to the opportunity to put these characteristics to use in the service of our schools and community.