The Pierce County Journal composed and sent out election questionnaires to all candidates running in local races, including Pierce County Board, village boards, school boards, city councils, one municipal judge race and three town board races. We tried to craft the questions in order to allow for citizens to get to know candidates and how they feel about local issues, which affect residents in their everyday lives.

The questionnaires were sent by email to candidates almost three weeks ago. For those who did not respond, they were sent two reminder emails. If they did not respond, that is noted below.

Incumbents are marked with an asterisk *. These are the people you will see on your April 7, 2026 ballot.

To find your local polling place, which will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, visit https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/Whats-On-My-Ballot or contact the municipality directly.

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Three seats are open on the Spring Valley School Board. Incumbents Emily Collins* and Monica Vorlicek* are running for re-election and Beth Ingli has declared herself as a write-in candidate.

Emily Collins*

Residence: Spring Lake Township

Occupation/profession: Corporate attorney

Prior elected offices: N/A

Do you have children who attend or have attended the school district? I have four children and the oldest is currently in kindergarten at Spring Valley Elementary.

In what school district or community activities/organizations have you been involved? The school board as of fall 2025.

Why are you running for school board? What are your priorities? I am running for school board to serve my community and my main priority is to ensure that the operations of the district are aligned with the best interests of our students.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the school district? What solutions do you propose? The three biggest challenges of the district are similar to issues at every school district - declining enrollment/birth rates, fiscal responsibility and community engagement. Enrollment can be steadied by continuing to offer high quality education and small class sizes. Fiscal responsibility is one of the responsibilities of the board and can be improved by choosing board members who ask questions and commit to representing the community and its dollars well. Community engagement can be improved by ensuring that all feel welcome at school and are adequately informed about programming and events, as well as having opportunities to have community members’ voices heard.

What skills/experiences have prepared you for this role? I think critically, act decisively and tend to pressure test every option before deciding on a solution.

School districts across the state are facing budget challenges and declining enrollment, resulting in going to taxpayers for referendums. Why is this happening? What's your solution? Funding has not kept up with inflation or the needs of school districts. The main, most realistic solution to this is to remain fiscally responsible and to continue asking the right questions about how each dollar is spent.

What do you think a parent's role should be in their child's education and how should that be balanced with respecting teachers' expertise and training? Parents and teachers must have a relationship based on respect and open communication. Each has the child’s best interest in mind, and each has a different level of knowledge of the particular child’s challenges and growth areas. If parents and teachers are open communicators, it can only improve outcomes.

Elected officials often faces strong public opinions on social media and at meetings. How would you approach decisions when the community is divided on an issue? I follow the facts - remaining calm in high stakes scenarios with multiple stakeholders is a strength of mine.

What makes your school district special? The staff - I truly believe they have a heart for serving the kids and that they are constantly seeking to improve the quality of our kids’ education.

How can people contact you? collinse@springvalley.k12.wi.us

Beth Ingli

Residence: rural Elmwood

Occupation/profession: Administrative Assistant at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Prior elected offices: Spring Valley School Board 1997-2006

Do you have children who attend or have attended the school district? Our four adult children, Kay, Celia, Rick and Erin all graduated from Spring Valley High school along with my husband, Craig and myself.

In what school district or community activities/organizations have you been involved? Along with my previous terms on the Spring Valley School Board, I served on the Spring Valley Future Needs committee from 1992-1996 and most currently on the Spring Valley Community Task Force from 2024-2025. I was involved with the Pierce County 4-H program from 1974 until 2022 as a 4-H member and leader. As a dairy farmer, I was involved with the Pierce County Dairy Promotion committee for a number of years also.

Why are you running for school board? What are your priorities? I decided to run as a write-in candidate since there was still a seat open. I did run last year as a candidate and applied to fill in for Joan Ford's seat this past winter but did not get appointed. Many people have asked me to seek a seat on the Spring Valley School Board. My four priorities as a school board member are: First, to make sure that ALL of the Spring Valley taxpayers are informed of ALL things happening in our schools by the administration and school board in a timely matter. Second, to make sure all students and staff are listened to and that they have a safe environment to learn and teach in. Third, to keep our school district financially sound so we are not joining our neighboring districts with operating referendums to pay the bills. And finally, to see that all the 2025 referendum projects get completed as the taxpayers voted them deemed.

What are the three biggest challenges facing the school district? What solutions do you propose? Communication with the taxpayers, to me, is one of the biggest challenges facing the district. Facebook is not the appropriate way to communicate with our taxpayers, as not all people use social media. A monthly newsletter or weekly information in the newspaper would certainly help with communication.

Financial funding from the state continues to be an obstacle. As the school budget needs to be set in the summer, a district does not know what financial funding they will be receiving until later in the fall. It's almost like looking in a crystal ball.

The third challenge is to keep the district's facilities and buildings maintained without having to have referendums. With proper planning by the school board and administration, maintenance projects should be accomplished each year and to plan ahead for bigger repairs.

What skills/experiences have prepared you for this role? Having run a successful dairy farm with my husband for over 30 years, I know how to plan, budget and be financially sound. My past eight years’ experience served on the Spring Valley School Board is also beneficial.

School districts across the state are facing budget challenges and declining enrollment, resulting in going to taxpayers for referendums. Why is this happening? What's your solution? As I stated previously, districts need to keep within their means. So, we all need a regulation size track?? The education of the children and obtaining caring, qualified staff should be our priority. Extracurricular activities are important to the social and physical being of our children, but I have yet to see any student from our district play on a professional sports team.

What do you think a parent's role should be in their child's education and how should that be balanced with respecting teachers' expertise and training? A parent's role is first and foremost the most important part to a child's education. Without parent involvement and communication with the teacher, a student is at a disadvantage. Sometimes we question why our children are being taught a certain curriculum or technique, because that is not how we "did it" back 50 years ago. Parents need to understand that our staff is consistently attending classes on the current curriculum and what is mandated by the state and federal government.

Elected officials often faces strong public opinions on social media and at meetings. How would you approach decisions when the community is divided on an issue? It is very easy for people to use social media to express their opinions instead of taking the time to attend the meetings or call the elected officials. With consistent, transparent and good communication with the community you are representing, the negative feedback could lessen. Everyone will always have an opinion, but please do your research and find out the facts of the matter first.

What makes your school district special? I love our Spring Valley school district! Having lived here for almost 60 years in our quaint, rural, small-town setting, everyone cares for each other and is passionate about the education of the children in our district.

How can people contact you? I may be contacted by email at cavecow13@gmail.com or by calling my home phone at 715-639-2630.

Monica Vorlicek*

Vorlicek did not respond to the Journal’s emailed questionnaire.