Verona diversity and inclusion consultant Deborah Biddle handily defeated challenger Bob Ross to retain her seat on the Verona Area School District Board of Education.
Biddle, whose three children all went through the Verona school system, was first elected when she ran unopposed in January 2019 to take the seat vacated by the resignation of Russel King. She served the remaining year of his term and was elected to a full term last week. Results were just announced Monday night.
Last year she said the opening of a new high school and redistricting of primary and middle schools were the key issues facing the rapidly growing city.
“When I think about how Sun Prairie grew really fast after their new high school opened and there was an influx of people moving into the community, issues concerning all of the students, in terms of what the caliber of education was, how they were going to handle the numbers of students moving in, the challenges of the district becoming more diverse. I’ve seen the same things happening here, potentially, in Verona,” she said.
She also said accommodating and embracing an increasingly diverse student body are important priorities for the board.
“Verona has become more diverse in the 12 years that I’ve lived here, so I wanted to be involved and help the district become even stronger, and to make sure that we’re doing things as inclusively as possible, maintaining safety, making sure that we are creating an environment where students are challenged and encouraged and supported no matter what their background is,” she said.
