I received this email from a concerned parent who received this email from Don Petre, the WEAC Union officer who teaches in Oak Creek.  This letter from what I was told went out to all Franklin Public School teachers. Please read this letter and consider writing one of your own to FranklinNOW before March 16th. Let Don Petre know we don’t need him or want him on the Franklin Board of Education. We already have board members who are mindless sheep and do not need him to add to the flock.

From: Don Petre <djpetre@wi.rr.com>

Hi again!

I wanted to ask yet another favor…

The Franklin NOW section is currently accepting “Election Letters” – these are public forum letters from readers pertaining to the election. They generally come from readers, not candidates, supporting some issue or candidate tied to an upcoming election.

These letters are limited to 300 words.  They must include your first and last name, community where you live, address and phone number.  (The address and phone number will NOT be printed in the paper.)

The deadline to submit a letter is Friday the 16th.

These election letters can be emailed to jriccioli@cninow.com

Would you be willing to submit a letter in support of my candidacy for the Franklin School Board?

I would appreciate any words of support that you would be willing to write!  Thanks!

Here are some key differences between myself and Janet Evans and Aimee Schlueter…

Don – BS in Education from UW-Madison, MS in Educational Administration and Supervision from UW-Milwaukee, and 23 years of experience working in the education field, along with ten years of teaching a graduate level college course.

Janet – HS diploma only

Aimee – Degree in Psychology but NO experience in the field.

Neither of them would ever get any consideration for a Board position at any multi-million dollar company

I have two children currently in the school district.  Janet Evans’ children are adults.

I want to improve our school facilities while maintaining reasonable property taxes.  No one wants to raise our taxes.  I have endured a 9% pay cut this year and cannot afford any increase in my own taxes.  I am hoping to secure  financial donations from Franklin businesses for things like naming rights for auditoriums, gymnasiums, and technology labs.  I have many personal connections to local businesses to try and get this done.  We also have other financial options available to our district, such as TIF’s coming off of the books and reserve funds in the school district.   I am for the many taxpayers in Franklin that want to maintain our reasonable taxes while still making improvements to our facilities.  Janet Evans is interested in keeping away progress out of our schools.

They are trying to use my union membership against me.  I believe it enhances my credentials and resume.  I will be able to use this experience in labor and in management to bring both sides together and see issues from both perspectives.  In order to see progress in our district, we need the School Board members to be on the same page.  The staff in Franklin will be more willing to listen and accept suggestions from someone like me – that can relate to their experiences.    In order to make progress, we need to be on the same page.  We need to get away from the “us vs. them” mentality that Janet Evans promotes.  This leads to gridlock in Washington and polarization in Madison.  We do not need that to find its way into our local school district.

I represent a diverse group of Franklin taxpayers on both sides of the aisle.  Janet and Aimee represent only a small fraction of people.  The School Board election is not a statement for or against the recall election of Scott Walker.  People in Franklin do not want that situation dragged into our local elections.  I want to bring our community together in the common goal of improving our school facilities so that the entire community – those with children and those without – can benefit from using these facilities, such as theater arts or an indoor walking track and community exercise facility.

I want to see an expansion of the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) Programs, such as PLTW (Project Lead The Way) and promote additional business partnerships within our school system.  Janet and Aimee do not want programs to be expanded.

Thanks for anything that you may be willing to submit to the NOW section to promote my candidacy.

These election letters can be emailed to jriccioli@cninow.com

Thanks!

Don