Abbie Fishman, Jilly Gokalgandhi, Kahri Phelps Okoro and Alex Brower. Next week voters head to the polls again – as four of the nine seats on the Milwaukee Board of School Directors are up for re-election. In District 5, which includes parts of Harambee, Riverwest, downtown and the East Side, four candidates will be on the ballot for the Feb. 16 primary. After the primary, two candidates will move on to the general election on April 6. Early voting is open at City Hall until 5 p.m. Friday. You can find your Election Day polling place here. Below is biographic information for candidates and answers to five questions about why they feel they are qualified and what they think about some of the school board’s current issues. Do you have feedback on Milwaukee NNS's reporting? Take our survey to let us know how we're doing! Answers have been summarized for brevity, but you can find each candidate’s full answer here: Abbie Fishman, Jilly Gokalgandhi, Kahri Phelps Okoro and Alex Brower (Photo provided by Abbie Fishman) 60 3335 N. Weil St. Master’s in literary studies from UW-Milwaukee; bachelor’s in English and secondary education Retired MPS teacher at Riverside University High School None : Milwaukee Teacher’s Education Association (Photo provided by Jilly Gokalgandhi) 29 1601 N. Jackson St., #501 Bachelor’s, international affairs and economics from Marquette University Equity in education strategist at American Family Insurance None : Director Larry Miller, Director Bob Peterson, State Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, Citizen Action Wisconsin, United Auto Workers (Photo provided by Kahri Phelps Okoro) Did not provide 2839 N. 2nd St. MBA in international business and risk management from Concordia University; master’s in reading specialist, Concordia University; and a graduate of Milwaukee Trade and Technical H.S. Operations manager at Equity Supply Group/JCP Construction and a business development consultant at the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin Milwaukee Area Technical College District Board : “Students, parents, and my community.” (Photo provided by Alex Brower) 33 2536 N. Palmer St. Bachelor’s in political science from Beloit College Executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans and a substitute teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools None : Milwaukee Teacher’s Education Association, Milwaukee Democratic Socialists of America, Milwaukee Solidarity, Green Party of Milwaukee County, Director Marva Herndon, Director Sequanna Taylor, Director Megan O’Halloran, Director Erika Siemsen, Milwaukee County Supervisor Ryan Clancy I am running for a seat on the MPS school board because I cannot sit idly by while the children in our community do not receive the education they deserve.” I am a progressive, multilingual, millennial immigrant who is deeply committed to social justice. I have spent my career advocating, lobbying and fighting for public school students, educators, families and schools. I have a personal history, deeply held belief in social justice and experience in Milwaukee Public Schools.” Do you realize that one out of five students can read the newspaper for comprehension? Only one out of seven students can pass the math portion of a college entrance exam or trades test. What I want is for our students to come out of MPS with a chance at earning a life-sustainable wage. We currently have over 17,300 opportunity youth- youth between the ages of 16 and 24 that are not in school and/or not working. This is unacceptable.” I am running for school board to bring the transformative change we need to Milwaukee’s public schools. Our public schools here in Milwaukee are under attack from privatization, systemic racism, and underfunding. As an experienced MPS educator, former union president and active community leader, I have defied the skeptics to win real gains for our community. I have the experience, vision and drive to fight for the schools that our students and community deserve.” My child attended and graduated from Milwaukee Public Schools as did my husband and my father. I taught in MPS for 30 years in a variety of positions. Most of that time was spent as an Advanced Placement literature & composition teacher at Riverside University High School. I served as literacy coach there and at another school also. I finished my career as an advanced academic coach traveling throughout the district supporting Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and gifted and talented programs, teachers and students. My office was located at Central Office, which allowed me to observe how district business is conducted and decisions are made.” I have proven experience working with our educators, students, families and community partners.