St. Paul Public Schools board member Jim Vue will resign effective Feb. 17, he announced during the board’s annual meeting Tuesday.
Vue, whose term was to expire in December, has served on the board since 2020. He will continue in his current role, including attending any district board meetings, until Feb. 17.
He said he also will continue his work on the H.M.O.N.G. Project, a district needs assessment project for the Hmong community which the board is expected to conclude by vote at its regular meeting Feb. 17. Vue did not share the reasoning behind his resignation during the Tuesday meeting.
“I am proud of my service on the board and the bonds that I’ve built with St. Paul Public Schools’ community. Please reach out to me if there’s any questions that you may have for me on this matter,” Vue said.
The announcement comes following the board’s December vote to keep a district school focused on Hmong culture and language at its current East Side campuses. Some parents supported a temporary move of some students at Txuj Ci HMong Language and Culture to another location in order to ease overcrowding. The board instead approved a resolution to reexamine current campus spaces, angering some parents.
Vue, who was the sole vote approving the temporary move as recommended by a district workgroup, expressed frustration with the handling of the vote at the time.
“I want my board colleagues to know that the outcome of the Txuj Ci facilities vote is not a measure of the Txuj Ci facilities work group’s worth. It is not a measure of St. Paul Public Schools Hmong community’s work. It will be a measure of our work as a school board to this community, and our ability to represent what they need,” said Vue, who is currently the only Hmong board member, at the Dec. 18 meeting.
Vue won a special election in 2020 to fill the seat of board chairwoman Marny Xiong, who died of COVID-19 in 2020. The board had appointed Vue to occupy the seat until the special election, which saw Vue come out ahead among the six candidates.
He was then reelected in 2021 and previously served as board chair. District committees he has served on include the district’s Financial Advisory Committee, Txuj Ci Lower Work Group, African American Program Work Group and as an alternate on the Council of the Great City Schools.
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As part of their annual meeting, the board also voted Tuesday to appoint board member Uriah Ward as board chair, replacing previous chair Halla Henderson, who will continue to serve as a board member.
Ward thanked Vue for his time on the board.
“You were the first chair that I knew (when) I came on and we got to see how how you ran things and learned a lot from you and I think that you’ve made your mark on this district and that’s something to be really proud of,” Ward said.
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