The one-page handout

A full letter-size explainer — the whole proposal on a single page. Print on cream or white stock and hand it out at doors, tables, PTO meetings, and coffee shops. Pairs with the petition sheet.

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MCPASD School Board · 2026 Citizen Petition

Open the Seats.

Four school board seats. Any resident can run.

MCPASD's school board has nine seats — and every one is locked to a geographic Area. To run, you have to live inside that Area's lines. The result: good neighbors are shut out by a few blocks, and in the last two elections not one race gave voters a choice. We're petitioning to keep all nine seats and keep five tied to Areas, but open the other four to any district resident.

What the petition does
TODAY — ALL 9 LOCKED TO AN AREA run only where you live ↓ PROPOSED — 5 AREA ANCHORS + 4 OPEN TO ALL 5 anchors · one per Area 4 open · any resident
No board member is displaced. The board stays at nine. The whole district still elects every seat — this only widens who's allowed on the ballot.
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openseatsmcpasd.org
Why it matters
4 of 9

One Area holds nearly half

Middleton & Westport hold four of the nine seats. Areas I, III and V hold one each — and in both 2025 and 2026, no race gave voters a choice.

1963

Unchanged in 60+ years

The all-geographic structure dates to the Middleton–Cross Plains merger. Most large WI districts moved to hybrid or at-large long ago.

9 of 9

Still elected by voters

Every seat — anchors included — is voted on by the whole district. This changes eligibility to run, not who decides.

What stays the same
  • Nine seats. The board doesn't grow or shrink.
  • Every Area keeps an anchor. Five seats stay reserved, one per Area — a guaranteed local voice.
  • No one is displaced. Conversion is gradual at each seat's natural re-election, 2027–2030.
What it is not
  • Not adding seats and not a partisan effort — no party, no PAC.
  • Not against the current board. Members can run for an anchor or an open seat.
  • Not a legal stretch. Authorized by Wis. Stat. § 120.02(2)(a); counsel-reviewed.
Sign by
Thu · Aug 20, 2026
500 elector signatures needed
Vote at the Annual Meeting
Tue · Sept 22 · 7 PM
District Services Center · 7106 South Ave
#OpenSeatsMCPASD
Questions: chase.chasephillips@gmail.com · Mail signed sheets: 3795 Swoboda Rd, Verona, WI. Authorized under Wis. Stat. § 120.02(2)(a).