April 13, 2015 at 4:34 p.m.
New member excited to take her place on school board
New member excited to take her place on school board
According to the unofficial results of last week's election, Ann Munninghoff Eshelman - a lifelong Rhinelander resident and 1970 graduate of Rhinelander High School - received the second-most votes of the five candidates vying for the three open seats on the board.
Munninghoff Eshelman received 1,708 votes. Incumbent David Holperin was the top vote-getter with 1,768 and current board president Ron Counter took the final spot with 1,476 votes. Incumbent Jim Winkler received 1,370 votes and challenger Gerald Anderson tallied 1,230 votes.
Munninghoff Eshelman said she was surprised when she saw her vote total and is excited to take her spot on the board.
"I have to say it was a pleasant surprise when I found out over 1,700 people in the district actually cast their ballot for me," she said. "I've never run for office before and didn't know what to expect, so it was a very pleasant surprise and I'm excited to get started."
She won't have to wait long as she is set to be sworn in April 20 at the regular monthly board meeting.
Last week's election was the second in a row in which a new member was elected to the board. After the last election, Duane Frey joined the group. After his election, Frey said he'd be doing a lot of listening and research during his first few weeks on the board to get a feel for how things work and how he could best contribute.
Munninghoff Eshelman said she is planning a similar approach.
"I need to educate myself," she said. "I have only attended a few meetings, and it's all very well and good to form opinions when you're not actually there, but I need to get myself up to date and understand the issues that are facing the board and our district. For several meetings I plan to be in hyper-listening mode in order to figure out what's facing the board and to start to formulate what positions I'll need to take as time goes on."
One issue she said she'll be paying particular attention to is the district's funding predicament.
"I do understand that funding is just an enormous issue and there's always decreasing revenues and increasing demands on what we expect our schools to do," Munninghoff Eshelman said. "To try to balance those two things is going to require a lot of tough decision-making. That's what I really need to get ready to help do."
Munninghoff Eshelman retired from the state public defender's office after 30 years and is currently an adjunct philosophy instructor at Nicolet College. She is most proud of being the first woman attorney to have a practice in Rhinelander.
She volunteers her time at the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry, has served on the RIPCO Board, the Howard Young Medical Ethics Committee and at different wildlife sanctuaries throughout the world. She also co-chairs the annual Northwoods Sustainability Fair.
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