This Baraboo News Republic titled: Six candidates vie for three Baraboo School Board seats on April 7 ballot has a decent write-up of my ideas:
O’Neill, 47, is a Baraboo native and 1992 Baraboo High School graduate. He works as a website administrator for the Sauk County government and co-owns a yoga studio, It’s All About You, in downtown Baraboo with his wife of 15 years, Tatsiana.
He served in the U.S. Navy for six years as a nuclear reactor operator during the Iraq War.
“I’m very passionate about education,” he said. “Education is basically the most important thing that we spend money on as a society.”
He sees teacher turnover and inequality as the top issues facing the Baraboo School District.
Poverty greatly reduces a child’s ability to learn, he said.
“Poverty, inequality — these are the most powerful things we can work toward (solving), and it’s not just within the district. We have to deal with it outside of the district as well, and that’s really important,” he said.
As a parent in the Baraboo School District, one of his priorities is to “effectively unionize” parents. Some participate in support groups through the school district, but each group currently works independently, he said.
“As I’ve gone to the parent support groups over these last few months, I see how much more could be accomplished if they worked together,” O’Neill said. “If we get our parents working together, our parents will have a voice and they’ll be working together to support each other.”
He likened the idea to the Retired Educators of Baraboo Schools group that organized in recent months to address issues retired educators see in the district. He said he would take a grassroots approach by bringing the idea to parents and building from there.
O’Neill has a bachelor’s degree in computer programming and an associate degree in computer networking. More information can be found on his website.
Six candidates vie for three Baraboo School Board seats on April 7 ballot (Susan Edres, BNR, 30 Mar 2020)