The Janesville League of Women Voters hosted a forum Thursday for Janesville School Board candidates, including (from left0 Lisa Hurda, Karen Hirsch, Karl Dommershausen and Colton Measner.
JANESVILLE — The four candidates vying for three seats on the Janesville School Board in the spring election were in the local spotlight Thursday in a forum hosted by the Janesville League of Women Voters at the Hedburg Public Library.
The Janesville League of Women Voters hosted a forum Thursday for Janesville School Board candidates, including (from left0 Lisa Hurda, Karen Hirsch, Karl Dommershausen and Colton Measner.
RYAN SPOEHR/RYAN.SPOEHR@APG-SW.COM
Incumbents Lisa Hurda and Karl Dommershausen are being challenged by 2023 Craig High School graduate Colton Measner and Karen Hirsch, a former long-term substitute teacher in the district.
Dommershausen has been on the school board for 15 years. He also has been on the state school board.
“I really want to follow the referendum. I’ve been on the finance committee for about 13 years and I make the point almost every year of taking a refresher course with the state on school finance. I don’t know it perfectly. It’s impossible. It’s very complex, but I have a very good idea of what’s happening,” Dommershausen said. “But, I want to make sure our referendum is doing well. I just enjoy it and I love the children.”
Hurda, a lifelong Janesville resident, has been on the school board since 2018.
“I know how our schools deeply shape individual futures and the economic strength of our city,” Hurda said. “Our students are our future workforce, our leaders and our future, and investing in their education is Janesville’s future.”
Hirsch was a substitute teacher in the district from 2019 to 2023.
“My heart is in the classroom and with the teachers, and I feel the best way I can give back to my teacher friends is for me to be on the school board and to support them and the students,” Hirsch said.
Measner first ran for school board in 2024 and ran again in 2025, narrowly missing a seat to current school board member Tyra Johnson.
“My motivation to run for the school board stems from a desire to give back to the district that shaped me into a positive role model for my students, but most importantly, my two brothers,” Measner said. “I support the comprehensive approach to attaining our mission of our school district and support a balanced approach of the most recent strategic plan.”
Candidates were asked questions from the audience and were allowed 90 seconds to respond. Among the questions, candidates were asked about suggestions for retaining and recruiting licensed teachers and non-licensed staff.
Hirsch said she believed that the new staff coming in are being paid at a too similar wage as tenured staff, which is a “big slap in the face to our teachers that are there.”
“I think we need to find a way to help the teachers to get a better package so we can retain these teachers and keep them in the district for a long time. The newcoming teachers, we need good packages for them too,” Hirsch said.
Dommershausen said it’s very important to work with the teachers and keep them in the city. Those who are older will “hang on.”
“It’s the young teachers that come in that I worry about. Teachers do stick around if they are here three to five years, but they do need better compensation than what we have now. Their raises are less than the real cost of living. Insurance is killing them, as it is many of the people out in the audience,” Dommershausen said.
Measner also said compensation packages need to be addressed.
“I would love to pay our teachers what they deserve, but it has to be financially feasible for the district,” Measner said.
Hurda said things the district has already done have helped, like increasing the starting salary for new teachers and adding another layer to the salary schedule for tenured teachers.
Candidates were asked what is their vision for the district’s future.
“I want it to be a desirable district from a student standpoint, a parental standpoint and a teaching standpoint. It’s a tough job. Teaching today is a tough job. It’s very complex, especially things that weren’t there 20 years ago, 40 years ago. I want to make this district a place people want to be in one way or another,” Dommershausen said.
Measner said his vision includes supporting the recently-approved referendum.
“I think that’s huge and make sure the taxpayers know that we’re being responsible with their money and we know what we need to do with that,” Measner said. “I would like our district to be a destination district where if families would like to have a choice to move to Janesville or Sun Prairie, they move to Janesville because the schools are great. And, we’re getting there. We saw state report cards that were very good.”
Meanser added the vision includes more parental involvement.
Hurda said she would like to see the district execute the strategic priorities laid out in 2024 by the district: student academic excellence, operational excellence, family and community partnerships and staff excellence.
“I believe that if we can fulfill and achieve those four priorities it will be a destination school district.
Hirsch said her vision includes working together as a community to “build a strong school district and support our teachers and our students. We look to our future, the technology that will be coming and how we’re going to adapt to all of those.”
They were also asked if the district should join the lawsuit against the Wisconsin State Legislature filed in Eau Claire County Court Feb. 23 by parents and educators, alleging that lawmakers are “not meeting its constitutionally mandated obligation to provide all children with an equal opportunity for a sound, basic education. They were also asked about supporting special education students, giving teachers flexibility in the classroom and what excited them about the coming school year.
