Community and Leadership

By Bill Wiese

Bill Wiese reflects on his passion for education and schools, their importance to the Claremont community, his understanding of the need for constant striving, and the biography he brings to the task.

I have been a passionate citizen of Claremont from the day I moved here with my family in 1989. At every opportunity, I have volunteered my time, commitment, expertise, and resources, and always been a constructive team member--willing to roll up my sleeves and get the job done. In leadership roles, I have demonstrated a willingness to ask the tough questions and to pursue complete answers. But leadership is not only about willingness or determination; it is often about ingenuity, risk taking, and accountability. I have a track record of willingness to lead in new directions, and I take responsibility for the outcome. It is the responsibility of leadership to keep both eyes on the objective--and at the school board, that means improvement to the broad and successful education of the youth of the Claremont Unified School District.

We know very well how to reward and celebrate athletic achievement, but do we know how to recognize and celebrate the genuine academic achievement of Claremont students?

We are threatened with tighter budgets and difficult decisions, but will we recognize the critical importance of smaller class size, fight to retain it now, and extend it to higher grade levels in the future?

We are a diverse community, but on average are better educated than similar communities. Statistically, our children would be expected to perform better than the national average on tests. Will we recognize that the measure of our schools is not the extent to which we meet that expectation, but the extent to which we exceed that expectation?

To these and other questions, I bring a breadth of education and experience in business leadership tempered by a passion for youth and years of work in Claremont's volunteer community. I have served leadership roles in major national companies, and owned and operated my own business through both good times and bad. I will bring professional tools, ingenuity, and a questioning spirit to a board which desperately needs them.