2025 School Board Candidate Adam Hoffer
A February primary will be required to narrow the number of candidates down to six. The term of office for a school board member is three years beginning on Monday, April 28, 2025. Six candidates will appear on the April 1, 2025, spring election ballot for three school board spots.
La Crosse Talk Interview with Adam Hoffer:
SCHOOL BOARD QUESTIONNAIRE
ADAM HOFFER
Campaign website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571669513610
About You:
Can you tell us about yourself — your professional background, family, education, and history in La Crosse?
My wife and I moved to La Crosse 12 years ago for our jobs right out of graduate school. I graduated from West Virginia University in 2012 with my PhD in economics and worked for the next 10 years as a professor in the economics department at UW-L. I enjoyed teaching and continued my research on taxes, spending, and public finance. In 2022, I started a new job working for a non-profit, The Tax Foundation, as the director of their excise tax program.
My family and I have also invested in La Crosse residential real estate for the past decade. I founded the La Crosse Real Estate Investors Association to provide education and community for locals interested in real estate investment. We’ve put a lot of our own resources back into the properties we own to try and make our neighborhoods safer and more inviting.
While we came to La Crosse for our jobs, we stayed in La Crosse for the ideal community in which to raise our family. Before all else, I am a parent to a kindergartener and 3rd grader in the district. I volunteer with our PTO to lead our Walking School Bus program. As a family, we keep busy attending YMCA or Park and Rec youth sports each season, bike riding, and hiking.
Reason for Candidacy:
Why are you running for school board, and what motivates you to serve in this role?
I love our schools and want to see them continue to be a great place to send our children. With two children in elementary school, I have been paying much closer attention over the past few years to the school board’s referendums and decisions.
Some of the greatest challenges facing the school district are fiscally related. Even after passing the recent referendum, the school district faces a long-term budget deficit. With my experience in public finance, I hope to return our school district to a budget that is fiscally sustainable.
Top Priorities:
What do you believe are the top priorities the school board should address and why? How would you advocate for them?
1) Fiscal sustainability. I have seen how the referendums and continued planning have created worries for families and children. With community input, the school board and superintendent must prioritize a long-term plan for the district that is financially sustainable.
2) Teacher retention. We have many excellent teachers in our district who go above and beyond for our children. The school board should prioritize their recognition and retention.
Public Schools: Why is public education important to you, and how do you see it shaping the future of our community?
I attended public schools and I want the same quality education and sense of stable community for my children and all of our children. We know that high quality K-12 public school is one of the single biggest opportunities to improve the well-being of youth, our workforce, and our community.
Declining Enrollment and Facilities:
The district faces financial challenges due to declining enrollment and older buildings. What specific strategies would you propose to attract and retain students and address facility needs?
We have excellent schools that draw families to La Crosse. While we may not have as much open land as many of our bordering school districts, real estate developments within the La Crosse School District, including River Point District, the 5th Ward Residences, and Copper Rocks, for example, offer opportunities to flatten the trend of declining enrollment over the next decade.
I would like to see the school district should focus on improving the existing buildings it has instead of continuing to develop new properties. As part of the school board, I would look at options to monetize soon-to-be vacant buildings, such as offering additional educational opportunities or partnering with local organizations and the City of La Crosse.
Community Engagement:
How will you foster greater community involvement in decision-making to ensure transparency and shared ownership of the district’s challenges and successes?
Communication is the key. On the school board I would work hard to be more vocal about the options we would be exploring and to provide the community with opportunities to give feedback. Recent years have demonstrated that our community is passionate about our schools and would like to provide the school board input on school board decisions.
Childcare:
Do you see a role for the district in addressing the childcare shortage? If so, what solutions would you propose?
As a parent of two young children, I fully recognize the shortage is real and I have been glad to see it being more openly addressed. The expansion of the public 4K and the possibility of the 3K programs are certainly worth exploring, but only if it fits within a stable financial plan for our current programs.
Student Support:
What programs or resources would you advocate for to enhance students’ academic achievement, mental health, and overall well-being?
I will support all efforts to advance student learning, mental health, and overall well-being. The best ideas usually come from the teachers and families who work directly with students day in and day out. I would love to see programs developed organically within the school district and would work to create an environment that encourages this.
At the same time, we are fortunate to have so many individuals and groups who focused on providing additional support and opportunities for our youth. The school district should continue to strengthen our neighborhood schools and to build on existing partnerships with Mayo Clinic, Emplify Health, UW-L, Western Tech, Boys & Girls Club, and the YMCA.
Teacher Development and Retention:
How would you support teachers in their professional development and address challenges related to workload, compensation, and job satisfaction?
Our teachers are the greatest strength of our schools. I have been amazed to see first-hand the dedication and passion our teachers give to our kids.
While I have some insight into the challenges and needs our teachers face from serving on our PTO, I also realize that we can’t possibly know how best to support our teachers without hearing directly from them. I would like to build on existing resources to enable teachers to meet classroom needs and spur innovation.
