While many Milwaukee area school board elections will see current and prospective school board members running unopposed, there’s enough interest in a few races in the Milwaukee suburbs that primaries will be needed.
The deadline to file for the elections was 5 p.m. Jan. 7. Primary elections will be held Feb. 18 in three area school districts:
In the Cedarburg School District in Ozaukee County, eight candidates are vying for just three seats on the board.
In Waukesha County, the three available seats on the Hartland-Lakeside School Board have attracted seven candidates.
Farther south, in Milwaukee County, in the Oak Creek-Franklin School District, five candidates have filed for two seats.
There will also be a primary election for the state superintendent of public instruction. Incumbent Jill Underly will face off against Sauk Prairie Superintendent Jeff Wright and education consultant Brittany Kinser.
Milwaukee Public Schools’ nine-member board will look much different after April, as three of the four incumbents whose terms expire this spring are not running again. Only one of those four seats is opposed.
Here’s a look at who you can expect to see on the ballot this spring:
Arrowhead
Four seats, three three-year terms, one one-year term
Hartland-Lakeside seat
Chris Adsit (inc.)
Richmond seat
Brandon Miller (inc.)
North Lake seat
Tony Agnello
Lindsey Wood (inc.)
Stone Bank seat
Lynn Blazei (inc.)
Tim Langer, who previously held the Stone Bank seat, resigned in November. Blazei was appointed to fill his vacant seat until the April election. Whoever is elected to the Stone Bank seat in April will serve a one-year term.
Brown Deer
Three seats, two three-year terms, one two-year term
Lynn Halmar
Dorothea Macon (inc.)
Meredith Welch (inc.)
Incumbent Lisa Walker is not seeking reelection.
The top two vote-getters will get three-year terms, and the third place vote-getter will get a two-year term.
Cedarburg
Three seats, three-year terms
Matt Bord
Elizabeth Charland (inc.)
Paul Demczak
Brook JustingerJeff LarsonHeidi Laurila
Laura Stroebel (inc.)
Gina Tozer
Incumbent David O. Krier is not running for re-election.
A primary will be held Feb. 18.
Cudahy
Three seats, three-year terms
Kari Durr (inc.)
Nick Earle
Randy Hollenbeck
Justin Knash
Jim Papala (inc.)
Incumbent Crystal Silkwood is not seeking reelection.
Elmbrook
Two seats, three-year terms
Area II seat
Amit Singh
Wes Sylla
Incumbent Kathy Lim is not running for reelection.
At-large seat
Liz Beaudoin
Cheryl Milnes
Incumbent Linda Boucher is not running for reelection.
Fox Point-Bayside
Two seats, three-year terms Andrew CarlsonDavid Melbye (inc.)Rebecca Wahlburg
Incumbent Andrea Bernstein is not seeking reelection.
Franklin
Two seats, three-year terms
Ahalam Amali
Debbie Larson (inc.)
Mike Spragg (inc.)
Germantown
Three seats, three-year terms
Seat 2
Russell Ewert (inc.)
Seat 4
Sharon Kiernan
Jeff Voyer
Incumbent Brian Medved is not seeking reelection.
Seat 6
Michael Loth (inc.)
Glendale-River Hills
Two seats, three-year terms
Carla Pennington-Cross (inc.)
Chris Robinson (inc.)
Grafton
Two seats, three-year terms
Blair Jamieson (inc.)
Mark Koehler (inc.)
Greendale
Two seats, three-year terms
Tassia Hughes (inc.)
Robert Kobleska (inc.)
Greenfield
Two seats, three-year terms
Julie DeGaro (inc.)
Kristie Potter (inc.)
Hamilton
Two seats, three-year terms
Village of Sussex seat
Stacy Riedel (inc.)
At-large seat
Adam Gegare
Rachel Ziemer (inc.)
Hartland-Lakeside
Three seats, two three-year terms, one one-year term
Frank Brunner
Joseph Henderson
Morgan Henning
Matt McNulty
Niels Peterson (inc.)
John Poulous
Matt Schwab (inc.)
Incumbent Tiffany Hawley has not filed to run for reelection, nor has she filed papers saying she will not run again. Because of that, the filing deadline was extended 72 hours, according to state statute, to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10.
Peterson was appointed in December to the seat that was formerly held by Amy Harker-Murray. Peterson was appointed to serve until the April election and has filed to run for the seat.
A primary will be required Feb. 18.
The top two vote getters will receive three-year terms, while the third place vote getter will receive a one-year term.
Kettle Moraine
Two seats, three-year terms
Carl Millard (inc.)
Tracy Brymer
Incumbent Kelly Brown is not seeking reelection due to moving out of the district.
Lake Country
Two seats, three-year terms
Adam Bickel
Emily Gooding
Monique Henry (inc.)
Peter Maurer (inc.)
Maple Dale-Indian Hill
One seat, three-year term
Julie Murphy (inc.)
Mequon-Thiensville
Two seats, three-year terms
Jason Levash (inc.)
Michael Stadler (inc.)
Menomonee Falls
Three seats, three-year terms
Derek Blemberg
Nina Christensen (inc.)
Jesse Cramer
Adam E. Sachs
Chris Stueland (inc.)
Incumbent Shelley Holzman is not seeking re-election.
Merton
One seat, three-year term
Megan Cole
Patrick Griffin
Incumbent Troy Andersen is not seeking reelection.
Milwaukee Public Schools
Four seats, four-year terms
District 4
James Ferguson (inc.)
District 5
Christopher A. Fons
Incumbent Jilly Gokalgandhi is not seeking reelection.
District 6
Mimi Reza
Incumbent Marcela “Xela” Garcia is not seeking re-election.
District 7
Molly Kuether-Steele
Katherine Vannoy
Incumbent Henry Leonard is not seeking reelection.
Mukwonago
Four seats, three three-year terms, one two-year term
At-large
Kyle Schmidt
Carolyn Simon (inc.)
Central Region
Dale Porter (inc.)
West Region
Two seats
Craig Vertz (inc.)
Jason Bennett (inc.)
Aaron Hackett
Chris Nowak
Jason Bennett was appointed in November to fill the seat formerly held by Vito Schwartz, who died in November. The top vote getter in the West Region will receive a three-year term, while the second place vote getter will receive a two-year term.
Muskego-Norway
Two seats, three-year terms
Laurie Kontney (inc.)
Pattie Morales
Christopher Szolyga
Incumbent Brett Hyde is not seeking reelection.
New Berlin
Three seats, three-year terms
Mitchell Helmer (inc.)
Renee Koneck (inc.)
Janet Schultz (inc.)
Nicolet
One seat, three-year term
Andrew Franklin (inc.)
North Lake
Two seats, three-year terms
Marty Iverson (inc.)
John Marchek (inc.)
Oak Creek-Franklin
Two seats, three-year terms
Frank Carini (inc.)
Genene Hibbler
Brianna Allen Kaiser
Jerry Krist (inc.)
William McIntosh
A primary will be required Feb. 19.
Oconomowoc
Three seats, two three-year terms, one one-year term
Andrew Maduscha
Kate Marks (inc.)
Neal Ninmann (inc.)
Incumbent Bill Thiel is not seeking reelection.
Marks was appointed to fill former member John Barnes’ seat, as Barnes had moved out of the district. The top two vote-getters will receive three-year terms while the third place vote-getter will receive a one-year term.
Pewaukee
Two seats, three-year terms
Larry Dux (inc.)
Bren Sawall (inc.)
Port Washington-Saukville
Three seats, three-year terms
At-large seat
Yvonne Klotz (inc.)
Sulaimon Jimoh
City of Port Washington seat
Karen Krainz
City of Port Washington seat
Brian Stevens
Richmond
Two seats, three-year terms
Chris Fogel
Matthew Krasucki (inc.)
Jennifer Miller (inc.)
Shorewood
Two seats, three-year terms
Aaron Lippman
Mary Theisen
Incumbents Emily Berry and Becky Freer are not seeking reelection.
South Milwaukee
Two seats, three-year terms
Steve Hansen
William Sakalaucks
Matthew Scales
Sophia Williams (inc.)
Incumbent David Maass is not seeking reelection.
Stone Bank
Two seats, three-year terms
Mallory Biersack (inc.)
Eric Schneider
Jeff Smith (inc.)
St. Francis
Two seats, three-year terms
Lisa Geiger (inc.)
Nancy Tischendorf (inc.)
Swallow
Two seats, three-year terms
Carl Schmidt (inc.)
Nipun Yamdagni (inc.)
Waukesha
Three seats, three-year terms
Angelique Byrne
Samuel N. D’Amico
Stephanie Fidlin
Natalie Grehn
Thomas Harland (inc.)
Karrie Kozlowski (inc.)
Harland was appointed in September to fill the seat formerly held by Marquell Moorer, who resigned in July.
Incumbent Mark Borowski is not seeking reelection.
Wauwatosa
Four seats, three three-year terms, one one-year term
Seat 1
Sarah Burzynski
Shannon Malnory-Silbernagel
Incumbent Jenny Hoag is not seeking reelection.
Seat 2
Christopher Bauer
Troy Woodard
Incumbent Micheal Meier is not seeking reelection.
Seat 3
Heidi Bach
Kaitlin Lemke
Incumbent Eric Jessup-Anger is not seeking reelection.
Seat 7
Christopher K. Merker
Jason Wautier (inc.)
Wautier was appointed to fill the seat left by former board member Jessica Willis’ resignation. The winner of Seat 7 will receive a one-year term.
West Allis-West Milwaukee
Three seats, three-year terms
Joe Becker (inc.)
Rebecca Lee (inc.)
John Verbos
Incumbent Jeffrey Sikich is not seeking reelection.
West Bend
Two seats, three-year terms
John Donaldson (inc.)
Melanie Ehrgott (inc.)
Joe Pichler
Whitefish Bay
Two seats, three-year terms
Kristin Bencik-Boudreau (inc.)
Dan Tyk (inc.)
Whitnall
Two seats, three-year terms
Jason Craig (inc.)
Joseph Hurkman
Karen Mikolainis (inc.)
Alicia Shaw
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on X (Twitter) at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: See who’s filed to run for Milwaukee area school boards in 2025