Reminder: Racine Unified Candidate Forum is Tues., Feb. 7

Update, 8 pm Feb. 3: Racine Unified School Board candidate Scott Brownell confirmed that he will participate in the Patch-WGTD forum on Feb. 7 at Mount Pleasant Village Hall.

Update, 4 pm Feb. 2: Four of the six remaining school board candidates are confirmed for the Patch-WGTD Racine Unified School Board Candidate Forum on Tues., Feb. 7, 2012. The event will take place from 6 to 8 pm at Mount Pleasant Village Hall.

Brian Dey, Gretchen Warner, Don Nielsen and Roger Pfost have said they will attend the event. Kim Plache said she will not be available that day because of a scheduled work event, and Kevin Cronin has pulled out of the race because he recently got a new job that would have kept him from meetings. Scott Brownell has not said whether or not he is planning to participate, but Patch has left a message asking for an RSVP.

Our moderator for the evening will be Linda Flashinski, a host of Education Matters on WGTD, and our timekeeper will be Janine Anderson, associate regional editor for Patch.

There have some tweaks to the format, of which the candidates were informed via email. Pfost was called and agreed to the following:

• Two minutes for opening remarks with some comment about the individual's goals for the district;
• Five questions instead of four with two minutes to answer;
• The speed, or quick-thinking, round will include a one-minute answer instead of 30 seconds as originally proposed.

Residents who attend as audience members will have the opportunity to write down questions or concerns on index cards on their way into the auditorium. Flashinski will choose three or four questions from the cards for the quick-thinking round.

Mount Pleasant Village Hall is located at 8811 Campus Drive, just north of the intersection of 90th Street and Highway 20.

Original Story: residents will get a chance to learn more about the candidates running for the Racine Unified school board during an upcoming candidate forum.

Set for 6 to 8 pm on Tues., Feb. 7, 2012 at Village Hall, the event is being sponsored by the Caledonia and Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant Patch sites with WGTD 91.1 FM.

Invitations were emailed to six of the seven candidates, and Patch reached Roger Pfost by phone because he does not have an email address.

"Thank you for the invitation," he said. "I look forward to being part of it."

Linda Flashinski, one of the hosts of WGTD's "Education Matters" will host/moderate the event, and Janine Anderson, Associate Regional Editor with Patch, is tentatively confirmed to serve as the time keeper.

The format we'll follow includes:

• School district residents will jot down topics that concern them on an index card and put the cards in a box at the entrance to the auditorium;
• Candidates will have one minute each for opening and closing statements;
• Four questions that each candidate will have two minutes to answer; 
• A speed round of three or four randomly drawn topics of interest/concern from the audience that each candidate gets 30 seconds to answer.

WGTD will broadcast the forum during its regularly scheduled editions of "Education Matters."

Mount Pleasant Village Hall is located at 8811 Campus Drive, just north of the intersection of 90th Street and Washington Avenue.