The Elmbrook School Board Elections are fast approaching, starting with the long-awaited vote on April 1, 2025. As the election date looms closer, each candidate tries to prove to members of the Elmbrook School District that they should be on the board. The candidates have made an effort to participate in numerous school board forums and Q&As within the district, in order to show the public who they are.
Who are the Candidates?
Four candidates are running for two open seats on the School Board: an “at-large” seat and an “Area 2” seat. Amit Singh and Wes Sylla are running for the Area 2 seat, while Cheryl Milnes and Liz Beaudoin are running for the “at-large” seat.
Amit Singh, New York native and Elmbrook parent, believes that “all students deserve a school environment that allows them to strive for educational excellence and success, and that a strong public education supports the future of our youth, as well as the future of our community.” His key areas of focus if elected would be merit, specialized learning needs, usage of technology, and communication between faculty, students, and parents. Through his deep community connections, and as a practicing physician in Milwaukee, he would bring to the board the voice of the people.
Wes Sylla, who is a lawyer, BEHS alumnus and new Elmbrook parent, seeks “to ensure that [his] kids, and all students in our district, receive the same world-class public education that [he] obtained as a student in the Elmbrook Schools.” Using his background in law, he hopes to use critical thinking to understand all the problems the district brings forward. He would focus on the students, faculty empowerment, and fostering a strong sense of community.
27-Year Elmbrook resident Cheryl Milnes is a strong advocate of the public school system. In her words, she is “more committed than ever to ensuring that every child today receives a world-class education that equips them to become critical thinkers and problem solvers in the future.” Cheryl hopes to channel her proven leadership skills from owning her own business to being PTO president of BCHS. If she were to be elected, she would hope to focus on academic planning, fiscal transparency, school safety, and focused learning.
Liz Beaudion strives to culminate her role as a mother of children in the district into speaking for the voices of the parents in the district. She serves as Marketing Director for a non-profit organization and hopes to be an active board member sticking up for current issues. She believes her role of “building functional teams and consensus along the way”, will aid her in her efforts to represent all of the Elmbrook residents. Her three big pillars for integration into education are “Service, Integrity, and Transparency”; and all words and actions that she strives to integrate into her own life and leadership in the community.
What are the candidates doing to prepare?
On February 11, 2025, the 4 nominees for the Elmbrook School Board agreed to meet in Burleigh Elementary at a PTO meeting for the school. When questions were raised on the current issue of school start times for the 2025-2026 school year, the candidates stressed the importance of gathering data from the families to make sure that the change would be beneficial to all, in addition to making sure that the change would truly impact student’s performance. Other raised topics included individualized student education, particularly IEPs and food-allergy safety in schools, in which the candidates’ answers sought to understand more on the subject before talking about their opinions with the families of Elmbrook. On the other hand, for topics raised such as partisanship within the board, there were mixed messages from each candidate on where they stood on the issue.
Following the event, another school board forum took place on February 18, 2025, when all candidates attended a casual Brookfield East PTO meeting inside the Spartan Cafe. After the meeting concluded, parents approached each candidate to talk to them personally. This arrangement resulted in district residents getting to know the candidates on a more personal level and understanding what each of them bring to the table.
