Our Organization

We Love Rural Schools!

We believe in strong schools and communities. Our priorities are to provide a unified voice for rural schools at the local, state, and federal levels, celebrate the incredible achievements of rural schools, and curate research, news, events, and resources for rural educators, including our annual WiRSA conference.

WiRSA began in 2008 as a group of CESA and district leaders who recognized that rural school districts were not well-represented or significantly discussed at the state level. We did not see these schools, staff, or students receiving the recognition they deserved. We began by hosting annual conferences from 2008 to 2011 to promote rural education and highlight success stories.

In 2012, we officially formed our organization and began accepting memberships. We continued the annual conference and steadily grew our membership to over 168 public schools out of 310 rural districts, 10 colleges and universities, and 10 CESAs, as well as dozens of individuals and businesses. We continue to evolve our resources, awards, and events to best serve our members and stakeholders.

Leadership
Executive Director, Jeff Eide

Jeff Eide has been in public education for 34 years. Prior to serving our rural schools and communities as WiRSA’s Executive Director, Jeff taught in the classroom, was a gifted and talented coordinator, and was a head football coach.  Administratively, Jeff served as a K-12 associate principal for three years, was a middle school and high school principal for ten years, and was a district administrator for eight years.

 “I firmly believe that our rural school districts are the backbone of education in Wisconsin, and I have a deep passion for doing what is best for our rural schools, students, and communities. We are in challenging times, and leadership from our state organizations and state legislation is more important than ever. As WiRSA’s Executive Director, I am driven to support rural education in Wisconsin because the success of rural schools directly reflects success in our state.”  Jeffrey S. Eide

Executive Board

President — Paul Fischer / CESA 4 Administrator

President-Elect — Brandon Robinson / CESA 11 Administrator

Past President — Heather Fish / CESA 5

Secretary — Valorie Kulesa - Board of Education / Gilman

Treasurer — Sarah Ploeckelman, Elementary Principal / Riverdale

Board of Directors

  • Heather Fish

    President - Region 1
    Administrator, CESA 5

  • Jesse Brinkmann

    Director - Region 1
    School Administrator, Algoma

  • Sue Todey

    Director - Region 1
    School Board Member, Sevastopol

  • Ryan Frye

    Director - Region 1
    Social Studies Teacher, Mauston

  • Paul Fischer

    President - Region 2
    Agency Administrator, CESA 4

  • Al Brokopp

    Director - Region 2
    District Administrator, Monticello

  • Gerald Roethel

    Director - Region 2
    School Board Member, Westby

  • Sarah Ploeckelman

    Director Region 2
    Riverdale - Elementary Principal
    Former Spanish Teacher
    Treadurer

  • Brandon Robinson

    Director - Region 3
    Agency Administrator, CESA 11
    President-Elect - 2025

  • Patrick Galligan

    Director - Region 4
    District Administrator, Colby

  • Valorie Kulesa

    Director - Region 3
    School Board Member, Gilman
    Secretary

  • Greg Sonnentag

    Director Region 3
    Cadott School District

  • Al Betry

    Director - Region 4
    Agency Administrator, CESA 9

  • Nate Burklund

    Director - Region 4
    District Administrator, Niagara

  • Stacy Tlusty

    Director - Region 4
    School Board Member, Rib Lake

  • Vince Czahor

    Director - Region 4
    Beecher-Dunbar-Pembine
    Principal

  • Dr. Tim Buttles

    Statewide Director
    UW System Rep, UW-Platteville
    School of Eduction Director

  • Mandy Lang

    Statewide Director
    Technical College Rep, Mid-State

  • Diana Bohman

    Statewide Director
    Regional Library Rep

  • Sally Ladsten

    Statewide Liaison - DPI
    Agriculture Consultant, DPI Liaison

  • Patricia Vickman

    Director - Statewide / Ad-Hoc
    District Administrator, Southern Door (Retired)

  • Mike Haynes

    Past President

WiRSA Founders

From Left to Right: Ben Niehaus 2019 WiRSA President, Founders - Fred Yeo, Don Stevens, Bob Beaver, Chuck Pursell, Nancy Hendrickson, Senator Luther Olson accepting for Joan Wade, Jerry Fiene and Executive Director Kim KauklFounders not pictured: Ken Kasinski, Art Keenan, Bob Kellogg, Guy Leavitt, Fred Schlichting and Dave Polashek

From Left to Right: Ben Niehaus 2019 WiRSA President, Founders - Fred Yeo, Don Stevens, Bob Beaver, Chuck Pursell, Nancy Hendrickson, Senator Luther Olson accepting for Joan Wade, Jerry Fiene and Executive Director Kim Kaukl

Founders not pictured: Ken Kasinski, Art Keenan, Bob Kellogg, Guy Leavitt, Fred Schlichting and Dave Polashek

We are grateful to the vision and foresight of our founding members: Bob Beaver, Jerry Fiene, Nancy Hendrickson, Ken Kasinski, Art Keenan, Bob Kellogg, Guy Leavitt, Chuck Pursell, Dave Polashek, Fred Schlichting, Don Stevens, Joan Wade, and Fred Yeo.