Navigation

Voters Have Choices in Three of Five School Districts This April

No Door County school district will see a bigger change in board membership than Gibraltar this winter and spring. Two seats are up for reelection April 5, and then, less than a year into their terms, two board members resigned.

There will also be races in Sevastopol and Sturgeon Bay, but only two candidates are running for two seats at Southern Door, and Washington Island has a shortage of candidates. 

Here’s the rundown. 

ON THE BALLOT

• Gibraltar: Six residents have filed to run for two available seats, each with three-year terms of office, putting the district in position for a Feb. 15 primary election. The candidates are, in ballot order: incumbent Don Helm, James Smasal, Patrick Voight, Jessica Sauter, Christina Voight and Jeremy Schwab. 

This is the second year in a row when a primary election was needed to shorten the list of names on the spring ballot. In April 2021, eight people ran for three seats, and the number of candidates may not more than double the number of open seats. 

• Sturgeon Bay: Four candidates have filed for three open seats. Chad Hougaard, who was promoted this past fall to a captain on the Sturgeon Bay police force, is not seeking reelection, citing commitments at work and outside the workplace. Candidates include incumbents Beth Chisholm and Mike Stephani (current board president), Jake Schulz and Jamee Haslam.

• Sevastopol: Three candidates are competing for two seats. Incumbent Christina Zellner-Ehlers is not seeking reelection. The three candidates competing for two seats are incumbent David Kacmarynski, who is seeking a third term, Tracy Wantlet and Jeff Isaacson.

• Southern Door: Two candidates have filed for two seats, leaving voters with no choice this year. Incumbent Matthew Tassoul is not seeking reelection, but Penny Price is. The other candidate is Macaine Bouche. 

• Washington Island: Longtime board member Amy Jorgenson, who has a son graduating this year, is not seeking reelection. The school board has three open seats but just two candidates: Kirsten Purinton and Brett Goldstein. 

Applicants Sought for Empty Gibraltar School Board Seats

Angela Sherman resigned her Gibraltar School Board seat in December, and Amie Carriere resigned hers around the beginning of the new year. Sherman earned reelection last year, and Carriere ran for the first time and won last spring. Both had two years remaining in their terms.

The Gibraltar School Board agreed Monday evening on how to replace Carriere and Sherman, in keeping with Wisconsin statutes. The board may vote, in public, to appoint replacements. If the board does not agree on appointments within 60 days of the resignation date, the board president can appoint new board members to fill a seat.

The Gibraltar board is asking for candidates to submit a letter of interest for the positions by 4 pm on Jan. 24, the date of the next board meeting. The board will then evaluate the submissions and interview candidates. 

Board president Stephen Seyfer said he expects the board can appoint two new board members by its first meeting in February.

Related Organizations