A Falling North Star
In the heart of our school board’s meeting room, a sign entitled the “Board North Star” stands as a reminder of guidance and purpose. The board and administration often reference it as a symbol of their mission, yet their actions have not lived up to this ideal. Instead of fostering strong leadership and oversight, they have struggled to maintain accountability, leaving the district facing serious challenges in academics and finances. Rather than navigating with clarity, they have allowed the district to drift off course – a supposed beacon of guidance and steadfast purpose.
The reality is this: our school board is failing at its most fundamental duty – governance. Instead of protecting the interests of students, teachers, and taxpayers, it has become a rubber stamp for a superintendent who operates with little oversight and no real accountability. This unchecked authority has driven the district into academic and financial disarray, leaving our schools underperforming and our taxpayers footing an ever-growing bill.
Why I Chose to Study Governance – and Why It Matters Here and Now
I am the only candidate who has attended virtually every board meeting in-person since deciding to run. I have directly studied the group behavior of this board, observing firsthand how governance failures unfold in real-time. As one example, during a recent board meeting I listened to Dr. Means go on at length about the broken state funding model, and not a single person raised any of the issues we uncovered in our last report, “Is the State Funding Model Really the Problem for the Tosa School District?”. Why does this matter? Because it promotes a misleading narrative that distracts from the real issues at hand, allowing poor decision-making to persist unchecked.
I’ve spent my career advising institutions on governance, finance, and investment oversight, and I’ve seen firsthand what happens when boards fail. I pursued my Ph.D. in governance because I wanted to answer a fundamental question:
Why do some organizations thrive while others, even those with strong legacies, falter?
My research set out to break new ground – connecting governance effectiveness to measurable financial and operational outcomes, and after five painstaking years of data collection and analysis we were successful. In my study of public pension boards (Does Board Engagement of Public Pension Plans Matter?), we discovered that higher board engagement correlated with a 3.9% increase in benchmark-adjusted investment returns. In contrast, disengaged boards oversaw financial instability, underperformance, and even system failure.
The same governance failures that led to multi-billion-dollar pension shortfalls—forcing massive taxpayer bailouts—are now playing out in real-time in the Wauwatosa School District, driving us toward financial insolvency. And just as failing pension boards led to multi-billion-dollar funding crises and major municipal bankruptcies, failing school boards can lead to academic decline and financial ruin.
This isn’t just a financial crisis – it’s a classroom crisis. While administrative positions multiply, teachers face punitive evaluation policies, endless paperwork, and mandatory "optional" meetings that leave them exhausted and demoralized. Teacher satisfaction and morale scores have hit rock bottom, reflecting a district culture that has left educators feeling unsupported and undervalued. Meanwhile, the consequences of poor governance and declining teacher retention are showing up where it matters most—in student outcomes.
Two-thirds of students district-wide are non-proficient in math and reading. This is a crisis. We are not preparing our kids for the future, and if we don’t act now, we will see an entire generation fall behind. The board’s refusal to provide oversight has created a toxic system that prioritizes bureaucracy over education—and both our educators and students are paying the price. The administration’s misplaced priorities and lack of accountability are failing our schools. It’s time for change.
See the chart for a summary of key performance indicators for the Tosa School District. Bottom line: We are failing our students, we are failing our teachers and we are on an unsustainable fiscal path.
So, What Do Effective Boards Do Differently?
Extensive research on corporate and public sector governance – including school boards – identifies structural and behavioral breakdowns that lead to ineffective oversight.
Governance expert, D.K. Mar, outlines four key characteristics of ineffective school boards:[1]
Groupthink & Suppression of Dissent – Board members conform to expectations, avoiding conflict and suppressing viable alternatives.
Lack of True Diversity – Boards composed of similar viewpoints fail to engage in meaningful debate.
Defensive Avoidance – Boards that cannot handle conflict suppress differences rather than addressing them.
Miscommunication & Status-Seeking – Power imbalances create dysfunctional dynamics where dominant voices override rational decision-making.
These traits mirror the behaviors observed in the Wauwatosa school board. Instead of fostering cognitive diversity, respectful discourse, and critical analysis, this board has embraced consensus decision-making, which is a polite term for unchallenged bureaucratic control.
My research also highlights what effective boards do differently. In school district governance, effective boards adhere to four key principles:
Respect for Differing Opinions – Open and effective communication ensures better decision-making.
Conflict Management Strategies – Constructive disagreement leads to stronger outcomes.
Strong Superintendent-Board Partnerships – The board must oversee, not serve, the superintendent.
Governance Training – Continuous education ensures board members understand their fiduciary duties.
Restoring Our True North
I am committed to bringing my knowledge and expertise to the aid of the district at a time of governance emergency. This is not just an academic exercise for me – it is a moral obligation. Wauwatosa is a great city with a proud tradition of educational excellence, and I will work tirelessly to restore that excellence by implementing governance best practices that ensure transparency, accountability and real progress.
It’s time to reclaim the North Star – not as a symbol of empty rhetoric, but as a beacon guiding us toward real progress and lasting improvement. Here’s how:
Diversify Board Composition: Bring in members with varied expertise, including finance, education, and community leadership, to prevent groupthink.
Conduct a Forensic Audit: The community deserves to know where their tax dollars are going - and quickly.
Demand Leadership Accountability: No more automatic raises or glowing reviews for failing administrators.
Implement Data-Driven Decision-Making: Set clear, measurable benchmarks for student achievement and financial health.
Restore Excellence as the Primary Goal: Programs that work – like STEM, interventions for struggling students and accelerated programs – should be expanded, not dismantled.
For too long, this board has clung to a false North Star – using it as a symbol to justify its inaction rather than as a guide for meaningful leadership. But we cannot afford to let this continue. It is time for the people of Wauwatosa to demand better – to demand transparency, accountability and leadership that truly puts students, teachers, and taxpayers first. The district is crying out for leaders who hear them and each other – and can come together to create real solutions.
The time has come to chart a new course, one that puts students, teachers, and taxpayers first.
The time for passive acceptance is over. The time for real leadership is now.
Vote for change. Vote for accountability. Vote to restore excellence.
Starting March 18 – and on election day, April 1 – vote for Chris Merker to reclaim our schools, foster greater collaborative transparency, and end the budget crisis before it’s too late.
Sincerely,
Christopher K. Merker, CFA, Ph.D.
Candidate for Wauwatosa School Board, Seat #7
[1] Group Development of Effective Governance Teams, 2011
