DIRECTORS’ CORNER
Rising to the
challenge
John Stellmacher
Chief Financial Officer,
Kettle Moraine School District
WASBO President-Elect
Hello WASBO
public education and life.
Friends and Colleagues.
As you’re
reading this, we’ve
survived a unique
spring in both
While these past months have no
doubt been challenging, I have a great
deal of hope for the future having
witnessed the thousands of educators
across Wisconsin who have risen to
the challenge of ensuring every Wisconsin
child continues to have access
to a high-quality education.
Last month, I worked with the WAS-
BO staff to identify a theme for
2020-21. We’ve covered a little bit of
everything, including the light-hearted
“2020-21 - How Does WASBO Survive
Stelly?,” but have settled on “WASBO
2020-21 Building the Future.” For the
long-time veterans of our profession,
think how much has already changed
these past three months.
For our newcomers,
how will you
write part of
our story?
We’ve all had
moments
this
spring
when
our
frustrations,
fears, and
pessimism have taken hold. Hopefully
those moments have been followed by
a colleague, friend, or family member
helping to channel that passion and
energy into hope and enthusiasm.
Challenging moments put life in perspective
and hopefully create opportunities
for collaboration, kindness,
and gratitude.
2020-21 is going to be a unique and
challenging year, but twenty years
from now, we’re going to look back
and realize how much we accomplished
and that we did it together.
Under the capable leadership of Mike
and Jeanne, our WASBO Team is
leading the way.
Reopening our schools for Fall 2020
is going to be a complex and evolving
process, and WASBO is working hard
as a part of the State Superintendent’s
“Reopening Wisconsin” task force.
Mike also is establishing a WASBO
team of subject matter experts to
ensure that collaborative ideas and
solutions for transportation, food service,
staffing, and logistics are being
passed on to our members of districts
both large and small.
As you put together your goals and
priorities for 2020-21, remember
something important about being a
school business manager.
While we sometimes need to provide
leadership in holding the line on our
budget, we are also in a position to
be one of our district’s best problem
solvers. When an educator brings a
new challenge to you, look them in
the eye and say “let me figure how we
can accomplish that” and work with
your internal business office team and
your WASBO team to find a new way
to support student learning. A good
friend of mine often refers to education
as one of the most noble professions.
While we often aren’t in front
of young people or directly involved
in daily instruction, we are educators,
too.
We find efficient and effective ways
to improve our district’s practices
that allow our organizations to grow
and invest resources in innovation.
We remove obstacles from learning
and ensure that every member of our
district team is put in a position to be
successful. 2020-21 for WASBO is
about building a team, in every district,
in every business office, in order
to find a way to make things happen
for kids.
We need you and look forward to
engaging you at a WASBO conference,
on a WASBO committee, or in
a WASBO regional to help develop
the next generation of professional
development that will make a high
quality education available for every
Wisconsin student.
Have a wonderful summer, and I
look forward to seeing you at a future
WASBO Conference!
June 2020 • Taking Care of Business • WASBO.com 11