FLT Voter's Guide

I am a volunteer hunter safety instructor for the state of MN. I have been a youth coach, contributed to various district policies and procedures, attended board meetings and provided feedback, worked with teaching and learning, (unknowingly) helped pilot hybrid learning and participated on a levy committee.

My primary goal for our schools is improving transparency and community involvement. The district is facing several challenges like transportation, security, curriculum, and academic performance. Board members cannot achieve anything unilaterally. They need to collaborate not only with other members and school administration but, most importantly, the community. Transparency and collaboration have been obvious shortcomings of the current board that have negatively impacted trust across the community. In addition to rebuilding this trust, increased collaboration will also result in outcomes that are more reflective of our community values. A board that works in unison with the community, parents, and students is much stronger than one that is simply comprised of seven individuals. The willingness to include input from outside the boardroom in all decisions leads to improved and stronger outcomes that will have a profound effect on the success of our students.

Several worthy topics come to mind when I ponder this question, each of them of equal importance. There is a common denominator, however: potential. One of the things that excites me the most about the opportunity to serve on the board is the amazing potential that our district is capable of. With the right leadership and a renewed focus on academic excellence, the district is poised to do great things for our students. We need to address declining academic performance across the district, this should be one of our top priorities. Our community has answered the call to fund a high-quality education for our students and test scores indicate that we’re falling short on delivery. By shifting our focus back to academics, and away from social issues that are better addressed at home, we will be more successful in fulfilling our district’s vision, "Excellence for Every Student Every Day."

As a business executive, I am very accustomed to taking the recommendations of various experts into account when making decisions. As a school board member, these experts include district employees, external consultants, parents, community members, students, and various other sources. As in business, decisions on the board need to be made by taking all of these perspectives into consideration and ultimately doing what is best for our students and our community. There will be situations where this decision may run contrary to my personal beliefs for one reason or another, that is inevitable. The important thing to remember is that the needs of our students and the community are of greater consequence than my singular opinion. Personally, I'm more interested in helping solve problems than in being right. I believe that this is the most effective way to make a positive impact as a leader.

The primary role of the school board is to represent our community and our students, mainly through oversight. As it pertains to curriculum, there are several moving parts that need to operate in unison. The district needs to remain in compliance with the directives that are handed down by the state. We have several controls in place to assure compliance. We rely on external advisors, the curriculum committee, the department of teaching learning, and so on. The board's role in this process is to be the voice of our community, parents, and students. This feedback is a critical piece to assure that our community values are represented in what is ultimately presented to our students. Furthermore, it is important that this feedback is ongoing to assure that the curriculum and lessons that our students are exposed to remain in compliance with the state directives and our community values.