GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – On Tuesday morning, Green Bay school board president, Eric Vanden Heuvel, announced that he will not seek a second term.
“It’s just a lot of personal and professional challenges, and where I am at this time,” Vanden Heuvel told WTAQ News. “During my term, obviously we are the global pandemic. I also started a new job, my kids got older and involved in more things. So just thinking about the time commitment that is required of the position and where I am, again, personally and professionally…It was a difficult decision, but I feel like the right one at this time.”
His time on the school board saw unexpected challenges like the pandemic and decisions related to it, which launched many school boards into the spotlight.
“My time on the school board was definitely not what I anticipated it to be and what I thought it was going to look like,” Vanden Heuvel said.
The decision not to run for re-election comes less than a month after Vanden Heuvel deactivated his social media accounts due to safety concerns. It stemmed from a Facebook post that called out Vanden Heuvel and other officials responsible for mask mandates. The post included pictures of Vanden Heuvel, unmasked at outdoor sporting events with his family and his contact information.
“It comes with the territory, the difficult decision making. To say it was a primary driver, certainly wasn’t the case. I think it was more about the bigger picture in terms of where I am personally and the outlook of where the school district is going,” Vanden Heuvel said. “To say it was a major factor wouldn’t be accurate, but it played into the decision.”
As for his future, Vanden Heuvel hopes to put the time commitment to other things.
“There are other hobbies and things that I gave up during my time on the school board, so I’ll look to get reinvested there and continue to be a husband, a father, and continue my job,” he said.
But until April 2022, he is still a part of the Green Bay Board of Education. And he has a few goals to achieve before stepping away.
“I’d really like to see us get through the rest of the pandemic and the COVID-related measures. I’d love to see us get away from that so that the next people who come on to the board can focus really on the important board work, the stuff that school boards were doing before all of this,” Vanden Heuvel said. “My hope is that we can continue to make progress there and get back to some sense of normalcy and get the board positioned for the future work for the growth and development they need.”
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