Update: Katherine Vannoy won election to the Milwaukee School Board, District 7 seat, according to initial results.
Four seats on Milwaukee’s Board of School Directors are up for election this spring, but only one is a competitive race.
District 7, a horseshoe-shaped district that includes the city’s far west and southwest sides, is the only race with more than one candidate. Voters will choose between Molly Kuether-Steele, an MPS parent and an employee of the city’s fire and police commission, and Katherine Vannoy, a teacher and parent of MPS graduates.
Kuether-Steele and Vannoy are vying for a four-year term on the school board at an important moment in the district’s history: MPS is facing pressure from the state to get its finances and operations in order following mismanagement in 2024, and the board just hired a new superintendent, Brenda Cassellius, to lead its restructuring.
Three other districts up for election only have one candidate on the ballot:
- District 4: Incumbent James Ferguson II will serve his first full term after winning the seat in a special election in November 2024 following Aisha Carr’s resignation six months earlier.
- District 5: Christopher Fons will take the place of outgoing member Jilly Gokalgandhi.
- District 6: Mimi Reza will take the place of outgoing member Marcela "Xela" Garcia.
MPS school board races are nonpartisan, meaning any voter registered in the proper district may cast a ballot in the race.
Members elected to the board are paid about $20,000 per year.
Here’s what to know about the candidates:
Meet the candidates
WUWM sent a questionnaire to the candidates. Their responses below may be edited for length and clarity.
Molly Kuether-Steele
Basic information: Kuether Steele, 38, is a parent of an MPS student and works as a fire and police commission staffing services manager. She graduated from MPS schools and received her Bachelor’s degree from Alverno College. Kuether-Steele has been endorsed by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and her campaign website is accessible here.
Why are you running for office?
Enough is enough — I do not support the status quo. MPS needs to improve financial accountability and transparency. Also accountability in general, we continue to see news stories of administrators and the district dropping the ball. It is unacceptable that our children are not meeting the academic marker for success. This is not acceptable when you are dealing with children. MPS needs to be right-sized and there is a way to do that involving the community and parents, and have a better result for everyone involved. MPS should be the first choice, not the last resort or default option. I work for the city of Milwaukee so I understand bureaucracy, but I am not a bureaucrat. I know how to work within a system and create change. I am a mother and taxpayer who wants the best for her son and her finances.
How will you work with school administration to raise student academic performance?
We need to understand the needs of each school community. Lower performing schools may need different resources than higher performing schools. There are so many services available in the city and I think there are resources to help students and families that are not being utilized.
What do you believe to be the state of financial health of MPS? How will you improve the financial state of the school district?
I don't know what the current state is because there are unknowns and new information coming out every week. We were led to believe that if the referendum didn't pass MPS would have been in financial ruin. Now that the tax increase has occurred, MPS owes the state millions of dollars. I have faith in the new CFO, she managed the city's finances, so she can manage MPS.
Transparency is important in improving financial health. The Board needs to be aware of the budget they are responsible for approving. The Board should have financial and school funding education, especially if they are held responsible for the financial decisions. I will only make decisions once all of my questions have been answered to my satisfaction. I need all the facts before rushing to vote.
How will you bring MPS into compliance with a state order to implement a School Resource Officer program? What is your opinion on the efficacy of SROs?
Whether or not you agree with it, it is currently the law and is being enforced by a judge. MPS and MPD must work together to put the SROs in schools and given my current role, I have ideas of how to get the best SROs for each school, including having alumni serve in schools they attended. SROs can also foster good relationships between youth and police.
Katherine Vannoy
Basic information: Vannoy, 53, is a teacher with a Ph.D. in instructional design. She is the parent of MPS graduates and serves on the International Council for Media Literacy. Vannoy has been endorsed by the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, and her campaign website is accessible here.
Why are you running for office?
I am an educator who believes there are many ways to approach teaching and learning. We must know our learners, and their strengths, in order to develop an educational plan that is relevant and respectful to each of them.
I believe there should always be at least one highly qualified adult in a classroom with no more than 20 students. MPS should be able to attract and retain staff who feel empowered to help all students succeed.
Families should always feel secure in the knowledge that their child is getting the best possible education with quality resources in order to thrive in our global society.
How will you work with school administration to raise student academic performance?
I look forward to learning what the new superintendent has planned, how current employees respond to her vision and supporting the transition.
Specifically, I am interested in helping administration and teachers raise academic performance by reducing class sizes.
What do you believe to be the state of financial health of MPS? How will you improve the financial state of the school district?
The MPS website says it has roughly 77,000 students and more than 9,000 employees. That looks like a 1-to-8 adult-to-student ratio—if only half of those adults are teachers and teaching assistants, that is still a 1-to-16 ratio. I think that means MPS has the resources to provide a personalized education plan for each student. I again look forward to learning where MPS is spending the money it receives and what all employees are doing for students daily.
How will you bring MPS into compliance with a state order to implement a School Resource Officer program? What is your opinion on the efficacy of SROs?
I believe police officers should be in our community, not in our schools—unless it is for celebration and community building. The Milwaukee police force is not fully staffed as it is, and taking officers away from their current duties to patrol schools is not the best use of resources. If we reduce class sizes and support teachers and students more effectively—with the resources we currently have—police will not be needed in classrooms.
