Germantown school board candidates emphasize reading, teacher input and school safety at Chamber forum

At a Germantown Chamber of Commerce candidate forum, two candidates for the Germantown School Board, Sharon Kiernan and Jeff Voyer, answered residents' questions about curriculum, school safety, teacher retention and district transparency.

The forum gave residents a chance to compare how each candidate would measure district success and handle district-school-village coordination on safety and growth. Both candidates framed student achievement as the top measure of success but emphasized different levers to get there.

Sharon Kiernan, a retired elementary teacher of 33 years, said success for the district includes both measurable outcomes and students' sense of belonging: "Students should love coming to school. They should feel safe and supported and like they belong." She said the district should use state data—attendance, postsecondary preparation metrics and growth and achievement measures—alongside surveys of students, families and staff to track performance. Kiernan argued teachers must have a voice in classroom resource decisions, saying, "We tie one hand behind the back of a teacher when we don't allow them to choose and use resources to more effectively deliver a lesson to their students."

Jeff Voyer, running for School Board Seat 4 and a father of two, said foundational literacy is the top priority: "Number 1 will always be reading with an emphasis on comprehension." Voyer recommended measuring success using student outcomes, staff and parent surveys and school report cards. He said teachers should be afforded structured opportunities to give input through the district's curriculum review process and that the board's role is to set policy aligned with community expectations.

On school safety, Kiernan said she would use Wisconsin's second edition comprehensive school safety framework as a guide and work with local police, first responders and the village board to review and strengthen local safety plans. Voyer highlighted the district's existing relationship with the Germantown Police Department and noted two schools fall outside village jurisdiction and are served by the Washington County Sheriff's Office; he also raised intergovernmental-agreement (IGA) and budget options if the district seeks more school resource officers (SROs).

The candidates diverged sharply on questions about diversity, equity and inclusion. Voyer stated, "None as far as the ideological political framework is concerned," and emphasized equal access to instruction without what he called ideological content. Kiernan said she asks constituents "what do you mean" when they ask about DEI; she described the district's role as teaching local, state and national history accurately and helping students learn respect for people who "might look, walk, talk, or learn differently than they do."

Both candidates named teacher recruitment and retention as priorities. Kiernan emphasized competitive wages and professional respect and suggested reaching directly to teachers for retained-staff perspectives. Voyer pointed to the district's roughly 93% teacher retention rate as a strength and said continuing compensation studies and engagement with the teachers' union were important steps.

The candidates also addressed planning for Germantown's housing growth and coordination with the Village of Germantown. Kiernan said she would attend village planning meetings to understand growth projections and timelines and urged proactive planning so schools can prepare for enrollment changes. Voyer said the district's seat on some village committees helps, but he advocated strengthening that relationship because village decisions affect schools.

The forum was moderated by Dan (moderator name shown in transcript) and hosted by the Germantown Chamber of Commerce. Both candidates gave two-minute opening and closing statements and answered a series of community-submitted questions.

Votes or formal board actions were not part of the forum; this was a candidate event to share positions ahead of an election.

Kiernan closed by highlighting her education experience and saying she would bring a teacher's perspective to the board. Voyer reiterated his intent to focus on core skills, transparency and fiscal restraint, and told listeners he was self-funded and would donate any board stipend to the district if elected.