Shaw seeks position on Marinette School Board

MARINETTE — Martin Shaw is a candidate for the Marinette School Board in the spring election.

Shaw, 46, 2406 Boren Drive, will be one of five candidates vying for four positions on the April 2 ballot. The top three will be elected to three-year terms and the fourth-place finisher will be elected to a two-year term.

Shaw moved his family to Marinette in 2012 to work as a controls engineer for a local company. He ran his own company and now works for Lockheed Martin.

All three of his children have attended and graduated from Marinette schools. He has been active in the children’s sporting activities, including some coaching.

Shaw said he seeks this board position to help give a voice to the public and parents of this district who feel like they haven’t been listened to, especially over the past four years. He said he has engaged the district administration on multiple issues over the years as well as the school board during the public comment section of the board meetings.

The major issues of his campaign are transparency, parental rights and the proficiency decline within the district.

His statement on the issues:

“We’ve unfortunately seen a downward trend in proficiency scores and testing with very little engagement by the board on this issue. Our math and English proficiencies are near the bottom of the state. The board must help reverse this trend by engaging the public and administration as well as return to the basics of education.

“Transparency is another big topic not only here locally but nationally. This is a non-partisan position and election which directly shapes the path of this district. My calls for more transparency and more details on items have gone mostly unanswered. The public has a right to know and see what is going on in the district. The latest issue is the Garfield School closed-door decision-making about placing a deed restriction so the property can’t be used as a K-12 school, It is simply unacceptable that this board will not face the public on this issue or hold an open vote and discussion on it.

“A few other easy things to change would be to live stream the district board meetings, provide discussion details/materials to the public (instead of just the agenda), as well as having board members actually respond to public questions when raised. These simple things would go a long way to aid the district in regaining the trust of the public.

“As for parental rights, we’ve seen all over that these issues arise in other districts but what about our own? Does the Marinette district allow parents to view curriculums? Do you know what items are discussed and how they are presented? The right for a parent to know about what the district is teaching and telling kids is paramount when it comes to placing trust in the district.

“If you’d like to see a fresh voice advocating for the children of this district, I ask for your vote April 2.”

The other candidates are current board members Judy Grace, Cindy Verschay, Rose O’Hara and Jamie Richardson. Richardson was appointed to fill the position of John LaCourt, who is now the Marinette municipal judge.

Note: Candidates for the spring election can submit a candidate announcement.