| It had been six years since we had sat at Mother Fools on Williamson Street, talking about the Madison School Board. At that time, Shwaw Vang was announcing that he was running for an open seat on the Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education. His young children hung out obediently in chairs nearby and sipped hot chocolate, while we discussed politics and Vang's reasons for running. Now, six years later, we were alone as we discussed Vang's reasons for not seeking reelection to the school board in April 2007 and to reflect on his six years of service. After six years, there is no major school policy or building project that bears Vang's name as the primary proponent. At first glance-- and with little understanding -- one might say that Vang accomplished nothing monumental while on the school board. Vang has a different perspective. "Just being on the board has been one of my greatest accomplishments," Vang emphasized. "To walk away after six years of service, to be able to talk to people out in the community and to be able to say that I didn't make any enemies and was respected, those are personal accomplishments, I think." It looms larger as an accomplishment when one understands that Vang was the first and only Hmong elected official in Dane County and almost its only visible public leader. While Vang needed to represent the Madison community as a school board member, he was also under intense pressure as the visible representative of Madison's Hmong community. He felt the public glare and the glare from his own community. "I put in 10-15 hours per week," Vang said. "But school issues were constantly on my mind, every second of the day. Of course, my wife and kids were first on my mind. My wife might say something differently. This has been the most demanding and rewarding job I have had." That public glare became very intense when Vang was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol during his first term. Not only was it front page news in Madison, but it also hit the national wires because he was a Hmong elected official in a country where there was relatively few of them. "It was an extremely low point for me," Vang confided. "After that, it's how you deal with it and grow from it that is important. I could have caved in or gotten stronger. I think I have grown stronger from that. When I ran a second time, this was on my mind. "How is the community going to deal with that issue? Will they trust me? Will they trust me with the care of the school system here?" I believe I received more votes than anyone else that time. I was glad about that. I learned how to deal with personal crises like that and how it related to my position as a leader in the community." Vang reflected on many school issues during our conversation. When Vang first ran for election, he stated that he wanted to be a voice for poor families on the board. When asked if poor students are better off or worse off than when he was elected, Vang felt they are worse off, primarily because of factors outside of the district's control. "Research has indicated that we are gaining ground in elementary school student reading," Vang admitted. "But honestly, I think that in the community, poor students are worse off. A lot of the programs in the schools and the community geared towards minority students, particularly poor students, are no longer there. The district had 15-16 parent liaisons located in schools where there were high concentrations of ethnic minority and poor students. They are no longer there today. I think we lost a valuable connection to the community. Today, although we have people in individual schools, the focus is on the school and not the connection with the parents in those communities. This is one effort that the board voted to let go and was one mistake that the board and district made at that time." And as the school district has sought to remain under the school spending caps by increasing fees for some activities and eliminating some programs, Vang feels this had been detrimental to poor students. "Driver's education is no longer there," Vang gave as an example. "I believe that it is costing kids who don't have money to pay $400-500 to take driver's education. Now they have to wait until they are 18 years old before they take the permit test without taking a formal class and having people teach them. That is affecting them." In Vang's view, the state-imposed revenue caps are damaging the long-term ability of the district to provide a quality education. "The state gave the community the opportunity to go beyond the caps," Vang observed. "For whatever people believe in, some are saying 'You can do more with less.' However, that's just not the case. There's some point where if we continue to do more with less, we are just going to get burned out, become very disorganized, and lose our focus. And people who have the loudest voice are going to get the attention." Vang stated that he was never in agreement on the budget. "My votes on budgets are just to move things forward," Vang said. "I don't think there is anyone on the board who is satisfied with having to work on that budget and vote for it. Needless to say, we had to move things forward and we need 4-5 votes. I have high confidence in our superintendent that one of his priorities is on the academic achievement of poor and minority children. But a lot of the resources that used to be there for our kids are no longer there." One of the biggest issues facing the school board this past year, in Vang&'s estimation, was the immigration issue. Back in March, the Latino community and their supporters organized a massive march to the State Capitol to protest federal policy proposals that would have criminalized the status of undocumented workers and anyone who assisted them. Many of Madison's Latino students wanted to participate in the march, but there was some question on whether or not they could be excused from school if they attended the march. A special school board meeting was planned to take a vote on allowing the students to be excused to attend the march. Then after the administration researched the issue and found out parents could provide a written excuse for their children to attend the rally, the school board meeting was cancelled. But Vang felt they should have met anyways, not to pass a legal policy, but to show support for the students as they learned about civic participation. "I would have liked to see the board meet and affirm our belief that if there are policies or state laws that are going to affect our students that we speak on behalf of them," Vang emphasized. "That was one disappointment I had. I felt that we as a board should say we allowed the kids to go out and march against immigration issues that wouldn't affect anyone else except them. We have a very high profile population of Latinos in Madison. For them to be singled out and for them not to speak out against policies that will split their families and send their parents back, I think we need to teach kids in school that those are valuable lessons that our community and schools should be teaching. One thing Hmong people learn is that in America, you are taught to speak for yourself and to speak up against values that you do not believe in. When such an opportunity like that came up, we did not allow that. It was important for the board to reaffirm their rights. Ultimately, we did allow them to go. As a board member, I believe it is our responsibility to protect those children. Policies we come up with focus on safety, protection, and what we can do to bring the best teachers and learning models to the schools. I think attendance at the rally fell into all of these categories. I'm glad that we allowed the kids to go." Just because Vang is leaving public office next year, it doesn't mean that he will be out of the public eye forever. After his children are grown and his professional life is more settled, Vang will consider running for public office once again. "I'd love to run for political office where I may deal more with social issues," Vang emphasized. "I think it is a shame that people can't get health care when they need it. Poor people who live in Madison, one of the wealthiest communities in the United States, are suffering and can't see a dentist because most dentists won't take medical assistance. There are people who are homeless. There are families who are living with other families, 2-3 living together in one living unit. The issue of immigration and how the community must deal with poverty issues are issues that I would like to tackle more." Could an elected role in state government be in the distant future for Vang? |
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| Shwaw Vang decides against MMSD Board reelection bid Reflecting on service Part 2 of 2 by Jonathan Gramling |
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