Sarah Ruiz-Harrison is the second Latina woman to serve on Sheboygan’s school board. Here’s a look at representation on the board.
Correction: This article previously misstated the number of Latina members elected to Sheboygan's school board. Sarah Ruiz-Harrison is the second Latina woman to serve on the board.
SHEBOYGAN - Last month, Sheboygan school board members appointed Sarah Ruiz-Harrison to an empty seat on the nine-member board.
Four people applied for the seat after Kyle Whelton announced his resignation in anticipation of moving out of Sheboygan.
Ruiz-Harrison, born and raised in Sheboygan, will be the second Latina woman on the Sheboygan Area School District board. She hopes to give light to the increasing number of Latinx students in the district, which now make up about 20% of the student population, according to state data.
Serving on the school board a way to give back
Ruiz-Harrison’s parents — her father an immigrant from Mexico and her mother a migrant farm worker in Texas — came to Sheboygan in the late 1970s and decided to make Sheboygan their home, she said.
She and her siblings all attended and graduated from SASD schools, and Ruiz-Harrison went on to get a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
Now back in Sheboygan after moving away for a few years, Ruiz-Harrison said the opening on the district school board caught her eye as a way to give back to the community.
“My parents always said education is the key component to being successful in the future, and I definitely had that foundation from the Sheboygan Area School District,” she said. “I’m proud that Sheboygan gave me the tools that I needed to succeed, and I’m even more proud that I can come and give back to my community as a direct product of SASD. It’s full circle.”
Ruiz-Harrison aims to serve the broader community and Latinx community in Sheboygan. When she was growing up, there weren’t many Latino students going to school with her, she said.
SASD’s increasingly diverse student population is something to celebrate, as well as well as a challenge and opportunity for the district, she said.
“You always have to be thinking, ‘Are we doing the best for our students?’” she said. “I always think — whether it’s race or ethnicity or gender or whatever it is — are we truly representing our students and giving them the best education we can? How are we making sure that all students are heard and that all students are able to be successful in SASD?
“A different perspective can always help, and I hope to bring that to the board,” she said.
The SASD board is majority white, though the student population is not
Ruiz-Harrison, a “wonderful” candidate, is also a valuable addition to the board to help reflect the district’s diversifying student population, Board President Mary Lynne Donohue told the Sheboygan Press.
“From my perspective, if you are in an organization governed by a board of directors, that board should really reflect the nature of the organization,” Donohue said. “To have board members like Sarah and Santino (Laster) adds a richness to the discussion and an orientation that white people don’t always necessarily have, so we welcome that diversity. It just moves us forward.”
Since the 2020-2021 school year, SASD has had more students of color than white students enrolled, according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
This year, the district has had approximately 48% white, 21% Hispanic, 18% Asian, 8% multiracial, 5% Black and less than 1% Indigenous and Pacific Islander students.
The fastest-growing racial demographics are Hispanic and multiracial students, which have increased by about 5% and 7%, respectively, since 10 years ago, when white students made up about 62% of the student population, according to state data.
The SASD board now has one Latina member, one Black member and at least five white members. Susan Hein declined to comment on her race and the Sheboygan Press did not receive a response from Mark Mancl.
OTHER NEWS: Sheboygan city council members elect Angela Ramey to fill empty District 5 seat
Most board members graduated from SASD schools: A glimpse at other aspects of representation on the board
Age: With the resignation of Whelton — who, at 24 years old when elected, was likely the youngest board member in the district’s history, he said — the age range present on the board skews older, with all members older than 40.
Gender: Five women and four men compose the SASD board.
Experience on the SASD board: About half the SASD board members have been newly elected in the past two years, and half have served 10 years or more.
Experience in SASD: Most members of the board (five of the nine) are graduates of Sheboygan area schools themselves, and most (seven of the nine) are parents of children who are attending or have graduated from SASD schools. Three members are former teachers, two of whom have taught in the district.
Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or MHilty@sheboygan.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @maya_hilty.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan school board has second Latina member in Sarah Ruiz-Harrison
