15 Oct 2024

School board races: ISD 624 White Bear Lake Area Schools

by | posted in: Society | 0

Six candidates are running for three seats on the White Bear Lakes Area Schools board in November’s election.

General information about the Nov. 5, 2024, election is online at twincities.com/news/politics/elections including information on candidates for races in Ramsey, Dakota and Washington counties.

To find out what’s on your ballot, where to vote and other election information, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State’s elections page at sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting.

Scott Arcand (incumbent)

Scott Arcand. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Age: 60

What would your top priorities be if elected? My top three priorities are to foster safe, supportive school environments where every student can excel academically, to broaden career pathways that allow students to explore diverse career opportunities, and to build and nurture strong, vibrant connections with our community.

What qualifies you to hold this position? I bring 36 years of experience in education, having served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, and curriculum specialist. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Business Education, a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning, and a Doctorate of Education in Leadership. With a deep understanding of learning and a genuine compassion for students, I have also contributed to the school board, serving as both Vice Chair and Clerk.

What do you think is the primary role of government? The role of government is to provide essential services like education, infrastructure, and healthcare, while protecting individual rights and freedoms.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you? To understand and learn from differing opinions, I prioritize listening for understanding and approach conversations with curiosity instead of formulating a rebuttal. I aim to genuinely grasp the reasoning and experiences behind the other person’s perspective by asking insightful questions and reflecting on their responses. Instead of viewing disagreement as a conflict, I see it as an opportunity for growth, often gaining new insights that broaden my own perspective.

Website or contact information: scottarcandforschoolboard.com/

Brian Cern

Age: 50

What would your top priorities be if elected? A major issue facing the school district is access. Let’s use food insecurity as an example. The number of families that would have otherwise qualified for free and reduced lunches but for breakfast and lunch are now provided at no cost to students and families is staggering. Providing equal access to meals eliminates one of the many areas of uncertainty that permeates our student’s lives. But access is bigger than that, the school district needs to provide a safe and supportive environment in which all students are respected regardless of demographics and background.

What qualifies you to hold this position? I’ve spent the past five years helping in elementary schools and have seen how a thoughtful, well-balanced approach can help our kids. When I started this process, I was disappointed to learn that not everyone shared my feelings about ensuring all children have access to a world-class education. I wish to continue the work of raising the bar, free of outside influence, so that all students may flourish and grow, finding themselves ready to face the challenge of an ever-changing world.

What do you think is the primary role of government? To facilitate the betterment of it’s population

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you? Through discussion and collaboration. If you accept that we are after the same goals, then the only clear and reasonable path forward is through collaboration. The back and forth, give and take, will most often lead to the correct answer.

Website or contact information: cern4isd624.com

Tim Klecker

Tim Klecker. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Age: 40

What would your top priorities be if elected? Setting clearer student-outcome focused goals, increasing student compacities and proficiencies, responsible decisions making around the budget, and providing transparency with the public to establish trust and confidence.

What qualifies you to hold this position? I’m a certified financial coach with expertise in goal setting and achievement. I know what it takes to work as a governing body and set clear goals with defined objectives.

What do you think is the primary role of government? To safeguard the rights of its citizens, protect their freedoms, and take on the responsibility of looking after its citizens within the guidelines of the constitution.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you? In both my personal and professional life, I listen to understand rather than respond. I believe we all have more in common than we think, and often it is agendas that get in the way of commonality. I welcome insight and perspective from others.

Website or contact information: timklecker.com

Dan Skaar

Dan Skaar. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Age: 64

What would your top priorities be if elected? First, we need to focus on education in our strategic plan to improve academic proficiency and reverse the six-year trend of low academic proficiency and declining enrollment. Second, bring back transparency, truth and trust between the community and the school district. Policies around public comments need to change to be more welcoming for parents and the community. Today, the policies are designed to squelch public comments and obscure the board’s decision-making. Third, safe and peaceful schools. One of the biggest concerns of parents and teachers is disruptive behaviors in schools. It’s impacting teacher job satisfaction and student satisfaction. We need to balance effective discipline with the rights of all to have an education in a safe, peaceful environment.

What qualifies you to hold this position? I am the best candidate for the school board because of my commitment to maintaining strong links between our community and our schools. I want to ensure that my two grandchildren in our district enjoy the benefits of a strong education with abundant extracurricular activities as I did in my youth. I am grounded in my academics with a BA in Accounting and an MBA for St. Thomas. I am a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Minnesota. I have extensive experience in leadership positions with over 30 years serving K-12 schools, communities, and coworkers, I have led both for profit and nonprofit organizations. I have board experience. I have testified at state and federal agencies – I understand government and regulation. I support teachers, parents, and bringing accountability for our taxpayers to establish White Bear Lake Schools as a beacon for the metro area. We can have academic excellence and fiscal responsibility. I am the candidate to bring us together with fresh thinking and strength.

What do you think is the primary role of government? To serve its citizens and assure an orderly, safe society where its citizens can enjoy their individual freedoms.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you? Disagreements and differing opinions are the heart of learning, new ideas and innovation. We all share the same mission – educating our children and preparing them for the future. So, we must assume positive intentions from all parties. Being constructive in the discussions promotes more open, useful resolutions. My moto – first seek to understand and then to be understood.

Website or contact information: danskaar.com

R. Scott Smith

R. Scott Smith.(Courtesy of the candidate)

Age: 60

What would your top priorities be if elected? First, academic excellence. Grade-level proficiencies have declined for years beginning well before 2020. I am running to ensure the district is focused on improving student academic outcomes in alignment with the values of the community. Second, safety in the classroom. I will prioritize funding to support front-line educators. I will advocate for the consistent application of consequences with fair implementation to help restore order and respect for staff and school facilities. I will support policies that will provide resources for our teachers that will allow them to focus on what they do best. Third, transparency – every program should have clear and measurable student-based outcomes reported consistently and reviewed frequently to allow for corrections over the measured time period. I will be a liaison between residents and the administration to ensure that the communities concerns are heard and addressed.

What qualifies you to hold this position? I am a 24 year resident of White Bear Lake. I am an experienced business leader who has work cross-culturally with teams around the world to arrive at solutions to meet objectives. I have a servant leader style that seeks to understand and strives toward progress over perfection.

What do you think is the primary role of government? The primary role of government is to establish and maintain order through the creation and administration of laws and regulations while protecting and defending the rights and freedoms of citizens.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you? Difficult conversations are inevitable and can be quite healthy for an organization. My approach is to recognize that your opponent’s strongly held convictions are as important to them as your convictions are to you. That mindset helps me to have a level of respect for the other person. I do my best to understand a person’s position to a point where I can repeat it back to them so that they know they have been heard. I like to participate in a respectful back and forth where each person’s idea and supporting reasons can be presented for consideration. Resolution may take several conversations and one outcome may be that the parties agree to disagree but to do so without vilifying the other if one does not change their position.

Website or contact information: vote4rscottsmith.com

Angela Thompson (incumbent)

Angela Thompson. (Courtesy of the candidate)

Age: 50

What would your top priorities be if elected? Foster a welcoming environment where students, families, staff, and community members from all backgrounds can come together to create the future of our district. Advancing academic performance district-wide by empowering educators as experts in their field and equipping them with the necessary resources to implement research-based educational practices that meet state standards. Ensuring that all educators and students have the tools they need to succeed. Expanding educational opportunities and resources to meet the evolving needs of 21st-century students and the educators who support them. Enhancing our Career Pathways Programs to ensure every student graduates with a career they can be proud of, offering both livable wages and long-term satisfaction.

What qualifies you to hold this position? As a lifelong resident and proud parent of two children in the district—one a recent graduate and the other set to graduate in 2027—I am deeply familiar with the strengths and challenges of our schools. My journey began with vocational training through a high school work experience program, setting me on a path to a successful career and inspiring my passion for providing students with diverse career pathways. I have a Bachelor of Science in Social Work and am currently working as an ICWA Guardian ad Litem for the State of Minnesota, which advocates for children and families. Since joining the school board in 2020, I have navigated our district through unprecedented challenges, prioritizing the well-being of students, staff, and families. I am dedicated to supporting educators in their vital work while expanding career pathways, ensuring equitable access to resources, and fostering a safe and inclusive environment. My commitment is to empower every student to succeed, whether they choose college, a trade, or another career path.

What do you think is the primary role of government? The primary role of government concerning the function of a school board is effective governance. School boards work to ensure that our public school districts can meet the needs of our students. They establish policies that support academic success, promote safety, and ensure equitable access to resources. Maintain fiscal responsibility. It is important to note that school board members do not oversee the day-to-day operations of the districts they serve; their authority is limited to hiring and terminating only one employee—the Superintendent. School boards advocate for the interests of students and families, facilitating community engagement, and fostering collaboration among educators, all aimed at creating an environment where every student can thrive.

How do you work to understand, and then learn from, opinions that differ from your own and people who disagree with you? Understanding and learning from differing opinions is essential for growth and effective decision-making. To achieve this, I actively engage in open and respectful dialogue, listening carefully to the perspectives of others and seeking to understand the experiences that shape their beliefs. By reflecting on my biases and remaining open-minded, I can gain valuable insights that enhance my understanding and help me make informed decisions that represent the needs of our entire community.

Website or contact information: angelafor624.org/

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15 Oct 2024

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter: Even if child care subsidies are approved, I won’t implement them

by | posted in: Politics | 0

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said Monday that a city ballot question calling for municipal child care subsides would be impossible to administer and cannot be adequately funded with the proposed $2 million to $20 million, 10-year property tax levy before voters.

In other words, even if St. Paul residents vote “Yes” to authorize the new tax levy, the mayor said he would not implement it, given that the creation of a new citywide entitlement program likely would cost six times as much to offer free care to kids in need, let alone others on a sliding scale.

“Can $120 million in basic programming be fit into $20 million of funding? I think the answer is no,” said Carter, meeting with a handful of reporters Monday at St. Paul City Hall.

“We’re asking voters if they want to buy a brand new Corvette for $30. Yes, I want to … but I can’t buy a brand new Corvette for $30,” said the mayor. “No matter what, we won’t deliver all the promises that are carried in this ballot question, whether we try or not. Nobody can and nobody will.”

The ballot language says a “Yes” vote would “authorize” the city to impose the new levy, but Carter noted that the wording does not mandate it and the city would be within its legal rights not to.

Council Member Rebecca Noecker, a leading proponent of the city subsidies, said voters in her doorway conversations with constituents understood what they are voting on.

Rebecca Noecker

“No public program covers every single possible participant, and people know that when they approve public programing, and the ballot question doesn’t say that it will,” said Noecker, during a break in door-knocking Monday evening. “It’s remarkable to hear that an elected leader in a democratic society would openly say he’s not going to accept the result of a democratic election. That’s alarming to me.”

Mayor’s letter to the city council

The mayor spelled out his concerns in a three-page letter to the city council last Thursday that casts doubt on consultant predictions that some 2,500 kids out of 10,500 eligible would be served by the initiative annually. Carter said a more accurate number would be closer to 400 children per year, and then only after a major funding boost.

The ballot question, which originated with the “St. Paul All Ready for Kindergarten” (SPARK) coalition, calls for the city to provide “subsidies to families and providers so that early care and education is no cost to low-income families and available on a sliding scale to other families.”

The mayor said the wording implies that the early childhood initiative would serve all kids in need, an impossible ask with the given funding source, which is a $2 million property tax levy increase in the first year, $4 million in the second year, $6 million in the third year and so on through $20 million in year 10.

“What does the ‘A’ in ‘SPARK’ stand for?” said the mayor. “The ballot question implies ‘all children.’ The (city council) resolution that authorized it says all children. The campaign website definitely says all children.”

Other aspects of the ballot question have also drawn close scrutiny from the mayor, who was the founding board chair of the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood school-based initiative and served as director of the state Office of Early Learning at the Minnesota Department of Education before first running for his seat.

“If there’s an elected official in City Hall who has expertise in early childhood learning, it’s me,” he said.

‘Not a serious attempt’

The mayor noted that consultants for the child care subsidy effort delivered their implementation plan to the city on Sept. 11, just nine days before early voting began, giving his office limited time to decipher how to launch a new city function with a budget slated to grow as large as that of the city library system.

“That’s not a serious attempt,” Carter said. “I think most people would say that’s laughable.”

In addition to funding child care subsidies that would follow children to facilities, the ballot question makes note of using the tax levy to “increase the number of child care slots and support the child care workforce.”

Asked by the city council how the initiative would fund new slots, a consultant acknowledged during her presentation to the council last month that those questions were beyond the scope of her report.

“She said it was not within the scope of this plan, and it’s not,” said Carter, calling those asks unfunded, pie-in-the-sky demands. “It’s contained within the ballot question.”

Carter has been a consistent opponent of funding citywide child care subsidies through property tax increases, but his efforts to veto the question before voters on the Nov. 5 ballot were overruled by the then-city council in August 2023.

“These are critiques we’ve been hearing and responding to for months now,” Noecker said. “We drafted the ballot question with his own city attorney’s office over a year ago. I think that the mayor is willfully misreading the ballot question and inserting words that are not there.”

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14 Oct 2024

St. Paul, Wakan Tipi organization to manage Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary together

by | posted in: Adventure | 0

A new agreement to steward the land at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary was announced Monday between Wakán Típi Awányankapi and the city of St. Paul.

“St. Paul is built on Dakota land,” said St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. “We are proud to finally restore access and stewardship to this sacred site.”

The announcement was made on Indigenous Peoples’ Day by the mayor and members of the American Indian community, tribal leaders, students and partners at American Indian Magnet School.

“Through the agreement, Wakán Típi Awányankapi (meaning those who care for Wakán Típi) will implement traditional Indigenous land management methods to care for the 27-acre Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, also known as Wakán Típi, which has long been a Dakota sacred site. Their approach to this work not only restores land and ecosystems, but also the relationship between Indigenous people and these culturally important landscapes in the Twin Cities,” the city’s press release said.

The partnership reflects years of communications between city officials and Dakota leaders to “build better knowledge and understanding of the Dakota culturally significant landscapes and sacred sites” in the city.

The Cultural Landscape Study at nearby Indian Mounds Regional Park helped develop the concepts for the Wakán Típi Center, a 7,500-square-foot cultural and environmental interpretive center at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary scheduled to open in 2025. The center will offer exhibits, cultural interpretation and programs aimed to increase the understanding of the history and culture of the Dakota, as well as provide a home base for Dakota communities to reconnect and revive long-held practices, the release said.

The work will be funded by a $2.4 million Bush Community Innovation grant. Wakán Típi Awányankapi also was recommended for $669,000 in funding from the state Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund for restoration and environmental learning projects at the site.

“The work we are doing today is only possible because of the work and sacrifices of many before us,” said Maggie Lorenz, a Dakota and Anishinaabe resident of St. Paul and executive director of Wakán Típi Awányankapi. “I see our work now as both a responsibility to those elders and ancestors as well as a responsibility to our children and grandchildren who will continue this healing work in the generations to come.”

Wakán Típi

A rendering of the future Wakan Tipi Center, a .3 million, city-owned nature center slated to open its doors in late 2025 beneath the Kellogg Boulevard/Third Street bridge in St. Paul. (Courtesy of Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi)

Wakán Típi, the cave that sits on the eastern end of the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, is a sacred site connected to the Maka Paha (burial mounds) atop the bluff at Indian Mounds Regional Park. The two sites are part of the larger Bdote landscape, which is the area around the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers holding one of the creation stories of the Dakota people. Various bands of the Dakota Oyate and other Indigenous Nations have met at Wakán Típi over generations.

Wakán Típi Awányankapi is developing a new model of Indigenous urban land stewardship that others in the field are eager to learn from, Mattie DeCarlo, grantmaking officer at the Bush Foundation, said in the city’s announcement.

The nonprofit Wakán Típi Awányankapi spawned from resident efforts to turn the “heavily polluted, neglected, and forgotten” area of the sanctuary into a city park in 1997, according to wakantipi.org.

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East Side and Lowertown activists joined together to restore the former railroad and industrial site by creating what was then known as the Lower Phalen Creek Project.

In 2005, the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary was opened to the public. As part of the efforts to educate the public about the importance of the area, a cultural landscape study was conducted by the city. As a result, last fall, signs were installed in Indian Mounds Park letting visitors know that “they are in a sacred place of burial and there are relatives of those buried who are still here.”

In addition, posted QR codes in Indian Mounds Park now link visitors to videos of Native American individuals talking about the site and additional “physical cues that remind visitors they are in a special, sacred space,” according to the city’s messaging plan.

14 Oct 2024

Wild hoping Jared Spurgeon can play Tuesday in St. Louis

by | posted in: News | 0

Despite a couple of early injuries to key players, the Wild are hanging in there, earning at least a point in every game and taking a 1-0-2 record into their game against the Blues on Tuesday in St. Louis.

Playing without top center Joel Eriksson Ek and captain Jared Spurgeon, the Wild lost a 2-1 game Sunday in Winnipeg against a Jets team that improved to 3-0, and coach John Hynes was pleased.

“When you’re talking about a mindset and culture, of physical toughness and mental toughness, I thought we had that tonight — at a high level,” he told reporters at Canada Life Centre.

Minnesota expects Eriksson Ek to be available against the Blues after having his nose broken by Seattle’s Adam Larsson in Saturday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Kraken. Spurgeon is considered day to day with a lower body injury, but Hynes didn’t know Sunday night whether the defenseman would meet them in St. Louis.

Hynes told reporters Spurgeon would be assessed by doctor’s on Monday.

“Right now, we’re looking at him as day to day, and then we’ll see what, you know, what comes out of his results,” the coach said.

There is a little bit of apprehension here because the Wild were devastated by injuries last season, and while they were over .500 after Hynes became coach on Nov. 28, they missed the playoffs for the second time in 12 years.

Spurgeon played in only 16 games last season because of back and hip injuries.

“Obviously having him healthy is huge for us,” defenseman Brock Faber told reporters in Winnipeg. “We’re as anxious about the news as you guys are, but it’s, you know, it’s, it’s always going to be the next-man-up mentality. That’s how it is. Everyone will play a little different role and you know, we can win hockey games with this team.”

According to nhl.com, veteran forward Brandon Saad will make his season debut for the Blues (2-1) Tuesday. He missed the first three games while on paternity leave.

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