Signatures : Day 1

     I think this should be the easiest day of signature collecting as it was my nearest and most direct neighbors.  I went to Linden Ct and knocked on 7 houses doors.  

    Most of these people are recognizable to me as neighbors, friends of my children's, fellow dog walkers or just known from seeing each other outside.  My results were as follows:

    Door #1:    Neighbor and friend who signed.

    Door #2:    Neighbor and friend who signed, as well her daughter who signed.  

    Door #3:    Fellow dog walker whose daughter and wife both worked (or currently works) as teachers in the district.  He relayed how challenging it is for teachers to handle disciplinary and troubled children.  He described how the passing of the school referendum to fund the newly built highschool just felt like the district kept asking the voters for a modest repackaging of the same features until the voters tired of saying no, and just agreed to it.  He made it sound like the voters submitted to repeated pressure from the district to approve the project.  He also shared that the former superintendent (Mary Pfeiffer who retired in 2024) was not well liked by teachers.  He said that his daughter (whom he provided her address to me) felt like the superintendent who had replaced her (Dr. Steve Harrison) tends to stay above the teachers and not really getting into the 'mud' to familiarize himself with their experience.  Generally, he said that the school was being run like a business with little negotiating room or flexibility for teachers, and that it carried a kind of cold 'take-it-or-leave-it' mentality towards what was offered to teachers.  We surmised together that maybe there was an attitude of Neenah being a desirable places for teachers to work, so that the district had the upper hand in negotiations with teachers.  He also echoed sentiments I've heard and generally share that teachers are not respected sufficiently, and that they are hamstrung in being able to teach well by a lack of resources.  

    Note:    It dawned on me that I couldn't name all the schools in the district off hand.  That seems like a basic fact I should be able to rattle off.  I'll create a post as an exercise to familiarize myself with the schools.

    Door #4:    No answer.

    Door #5:    A gentleman I would guess in his thirties or forties who said he wasn't a registered voter, whose kids were no longer of age to attend public schools and who moved in about a year ago after having been stationed abroad in Austria.  He politely entertained my questions, and my telling him about our interest in having bid for the home that he eventually purchased, but seemed to not have interest in providing his signature.

    Question/note:    I think I am only supposed to get signatures from registered voters.

    Door #6:    A gentleman who was smiling but-- if I had to make a judgement-- clearly had no interest in hearing, helping or involving himself in my effort to get my name on the ballot.  This interaction was very quick:

    "Hi, my name is Samuel and I live right there (as I point at my home).  I'm interested in getting my name on the Spring ballot to run for School Board Member and I need to collect 20 signatures to do so.  Would you be amenable to providing your signature so that I may get my name on the ballot?"  

    "Nope, thank you."

    "Thank you for your time, you have a good day."

    I'm wondering, especially given my pointing to my home (emphasizing my proximity to his home) why I feel like I was treated like a salesman pushing a product he had no use for.  Like, I didn't ask for money, and if you ever wanted an 'in' to a seat of power (not that School Board Member is so powerful), how much more convenient could it be than to know that someone lives within a stones throw of your home?  I'm modestly hurt by the dismissiveness of this interaction, and I don't really know why it should be this way.

    Door #7:    A wise old lady who was happy to sign for me.