2030 Tosa Task Force

To Tosans concerned about the future reform of our school district:

The 2030 Slate — a nonpartisan slate of four candidates — was the first organized reform effort to compete under the new at-large, winner-take-all rules. While it did not prevail at the polls, it did reveal something important.

What stands out to me is that this year’s slate was meaningfully more potent as a bloc than the opposition field was last year. In 2025, under the old seat-by-seat contest rules, the combined candidacies of Chris Merker, Kaitlin Lemke, Shannon Malnory-Silbernagel, and Troy Woodard received 30,243 votes, amounting to 37.8% of the two-group total across their respective races. In 2026, the 2030 Slate — Heather Birk, Todd Koehler, Chris Merker, and Dan Stemper — received 27,427 combined votes, but its share rose to 43.8%, compared with 56.2% for the incumbent-aligned group. In other words, while the slate received fewer raw votes this year, it performed materially better relative to the other side.

That becomes even more significant in context. Wauwatosa turnout was 70.83% in the April 1, 2025 spring election. In the April 7, 2026 spring election, turnout was 54.19%, based on the official ward-level voter and ballot totals. At the same time, the city’s Supreme Court vote was almost identical across both years: 74.2% to 25.8% in 2025, and 74.7% to 25.3% in 2026. That suggests the broader partisan environment remained very strong, yet the 2030 Slate still improved the reform share by roughly six points. To me, that is significant evidence that the slate largely succeeded in presenting a nonpartisan message capable of reaching beyond the prevailing partisan current, especially because the incumbent-aligned candidates clearly identified with — and received support from — the predominant party.

My recommendation is that future reform efforts should build on this model and continue to run as a clearly nonpartisan slate. School board elections remain one of the few arenas in public life where a community can still be asked to think first about stewardship, judgment, governance, and the needs of children rather than national political identity. If reformers remain disciplined, run together, and continue to train the electorate to value nonpartisanship in school board races, I believe that share can grow over time. This year’s result, while not a victory, appears to me to be proof of concept.

I wish the district well in the years ahead, and I encourage the future reform-minded candidates to study the efforts of the 2030 Slate and build on what was learned here.

Regards,

Chris Merker

2030 Task Force

Three more Tosa community members have shared their stories. To read more, please visit https://www.tosa2030.com/2030-slate/community-voices

We are 2030 and more Tosa residents are stepping forward to share their stories.

Take a moment to read this one and hear directly from our community: https://www.tosa2030.com/2030-slate/community-voices

This week's 2030 Community Voice story is a bit different - it comes from Mike Meier, a past school board member and Tosa resident. To read his story of support, please visit https://www.tosa2030.com/2030-slate/community-voices

The 2030 Task Force is calling for an immediate independent investigation into statements made during the March 18, 2026 Wauwatosa School District Finance and Operations Committee meeting regarding communications with Moody’s.

During the public meeting, District CFO Scot Ecker appeared to acknowledge that a Moody’s analyst may have been left with the impression that the full $16 million operating referendum would be used to rebuild the District’s fund balance. In the same exchange, he stated that he “wasn’t going to correct them,” while also maintaining that he had provided “honest information.”

These remarks raise serious concerns.

Credit ratings affect borrowing costs, public credibility, and taxpayer exposure. If a ratings agency was allowed to rely on a materially inaccurate or incomplete understanding of the District’s financial plans, that warrants immediate review.

This issue should be examined independently and transparently. The public deserves to know:
what representations were made to Moody’s, what district officials understood Moody’s to believe, whether any material misconceptions were knowingly left uncorrected, and whether the Board exercised meaningful oversight over the process.

These concerns are heightened by the continued delay in public release of the FY2025 audit. Taxpayers should not be asked to accept reassurances while key financial questions remain unresolved and essential public documents are still unavailable.

The 2030 Task Force therefore calls for:
an independent investigation into the District’s communications with Moody’s; prompt public release of the FY2025 audit; full disclosure regarding the District’s actual fund balance restoration plan; and a public explanation of what corrective steps will be taken to restore trust and accountability.

The public deserves a full accounting of what was communicated, what was understood, and whether material misconceptions were knowingly left uncorrected. Wauwatosa taxpayers are entitled to honest financial stewardship, transparent governance, and meaningful oversight.

For more information, please visit the 2030 Task Force at this link: https://www.tosa2030.com/news-insights/news-release-wsd-communications-with-moodys

Our teachers are the heart of our schools; and right now, they need us.

Stories from the 2030 Task Force highlight real concerns: rising costs, challenges with take-home pay, and the risk of losing great educators if we don’t step up.

If we want strong schools, we have to support the people who make them work every day.

Let’s show up for Tosa teachers.

For more information, check out the Task Force webpage at: https://www.tosa2030.com/news-insights/tosa-teachers-need-our-support

This week we share two stories of our 2030 community - one from a former Tosa School District staff member and another from a lifelong Tosa resident.
For the full stories, visit https://www.tosa2030.com/2030-slate/community-voices

We Are 2030 - Community Voices. For the full stories, visit https://www.tosa2030.com/2030-slate/community-voices

Our teachers deserve better.

The “Teacher Compact Broken” report from the 2030 Task Force highlights how leadership failures in the Wauwatosa School District have weakened the promise made to educators. What was sold as competitive pay and financial stability after the 2024 referendum has instead resulted in

• A $4.2M budget error that effectively wiped out promised raises with higher health premiums
• A sharp drop in teacher satisfaction and morale
• Expansion of central office budgets even as classroom support has been cut
• Nearly half of students still not proficient in reading or math

This isn’t about teachers wanting more it’s, about honoring commitments to retain and support them so our kids can thrive. Let’s keep this conversation going and demand accountability and stability for our schools.

To read more, please check out, https://tinyurl.com/bdejcx78

2026 School Board candidate and Tosa parent, Heather Birk, shares her story for the latest 2030 Community Voices.

"Last year, the only thing I looked forward to was leaving Wauwatosa. After more than a decade of advocacy, I knew that speaking up would come with consequences. I questioned decisions. I challenged inequities. I stood up for staff and students. I told the truth. The response was predictable, but extreme. Exclusion, retaliation, and the dismantling of a support system I had spent years building. There are good things happening in this district. But progress that ignores harm isn’t progress. You cannot build trust without acknowledging pain. You cannot strengthen a community by silencing the people in it. After speaking publicly about my child being used as leverage, I connected with new people. We do not agree on every issue, and that’s exactly the point. Independent thinkers should not agree on everything. What matters is that we engage directly, challenge each other respectfully, and move forward where we align: responsible financial stewardship, academic excellence for every student, and a culture that supports staff instead of eroding them. Real community isn’t built on forced agreement. It’s built on courage, accountability, and the willingness to stay at the table even when it’s uncomfortable. It’s choosing connection over division, clarity over comfort, and unity without uniformity."

If you’re concerned about rising property taxes and how our schools are spending money, check out the Focus on Results Series: Fiscal Reality Check by the 2030 Task Force. It breaks down the district’s financial situation and calls for more transparency, accountability, and responsible budgeting for the future of our schools and community.

Let’s stay informed and engaged — our tax dollars and kids’ education deserve both!

For more information, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/ye29ytaj