School Board primary election: Candidate Q and A

Editor’s note: The 11 candidates who filed for Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board seats were mailed questionnaires and asked to respond. Below are their answers to the four questions asked.

The Tuesday, Sept. 11 primary election will pare down the number of candidates to eight who will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.

Prior Lake-Savage Area School Board

Dick Booth

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Dick Booth, 62, 15214 Edgewater Circle, Prior Lake. Self employed – consultant, lived in the Prior Lake-Savage School District since 1969, married to Claudia for 39 years with two grown children – Cory and Scott. University of Minnesota graduate with bachelor of arts in accounting. I have served on the Prior Lake-Savage School Board since 1996 and served on many educational and school-related committees before that. I have also been an active member of local scouting and social organizations.

2. The school district will ask voters in November to approve a new authorization for an increased property-tax levy and school building bond. If approved, these would result in an increase in taxes. Do you support the referendum requests? Why or why not?

As we have all seen, our communities have experienced tremendous growth. While we may not agree on whether we prefer this rapid growth, the fact remains that we have many new neighbors in our communities and many new students in our schools. While the growth has slowed, it has not stopped and will continue. Our future remains unclear; however, our present situation is very clear. We have enough students already in our schools to cause overcrowding. When Redtail Ridge opens next year, it will provide us with the necessary classrooms at the elementary level. Middle school classroom space is adequate; however, we are already over capacity at the high school.

The proposed bond will allow us to build an addition to the high school that was a part of the original design of the school. This addition will provide for an additional 600 students and will carry us for several years. The proposed referendum will provide us with the funding we need to open Redtail Ridge and the high school addition, hire staff to reduce class sizes, restore some of our previous cuts and institute new programs that will allow us to better meet the needs of our students.

3. Many people in the public school system have said the state does not provide adequate increases in funding each year to school districts. Others believe school districts need to learn to live within their means. What do you think about state funding of public schools? What, if anything, should be done to provide sufficient funding?

We have oftentimes received an increase in funding that was far below the level of inflation. In fact, for a number of years, we received no increase and actually had money withheld from what was promised. Nevertheless, our expenses continued, most if not all with an inflationary increase. Our great employees deserve increases. The costs of insurance, utilities and special education have gone up at staggering rates. All of these expenses contribute to cause our budget to be under constant stress. We have been forced to make significant cuts for the last couple of years – cuts that have a negative effect on the education of our students.

What can be done about this? I believe the state needs to look more closely at what they have asked us to do and the level of funding they have provided to us. Locally, we must constantly strive to keep our expenses under control and to maximize the value we receive for each dollar. The only alternative, other than an increase in state funding, is the levy referendum being put before the voters this fall. Please vote ‘yes’ so we can continue to improve the education provided to our students.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

Our school district does a great job of teaching our students and preparing them for the future. However, I know we can do better – much better. I am passionate about the value of public education and how important it is that we provide each student with the best possible learning experience during his/her years in our schools. The educational model that was in place during my years in school is no longer adequate or even acceptable; however, much of it remains. We must change the way we teach students. We must find ways to make our teaching more flexible to meet the needs of all students. We must ensure that each student is challenged each day in school and that he/she is given to opportunity to learn, grow and achieve personal goals according to their abilities.

In today’s complex and shrinking world, our country – through our students – cooperates and competes with nations and people that were not nearly our equal not so many years ago. The competition has gotten much better while we have not. We must help our students gain the education, knowledge and belief that they can not only meet, but beat any competition throughout the world.

Greg Bores

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

My name is Greg Bores. I’m 43 and happily married 14 years to my wife Kathy. Both of us are originally from Bloomington. We’ve lived in Prior Lake for 12 years, all of them at 16611 Lyons Ave. We have three children – Keara, 10, Connor, 7, and Erin, 4. I have a bachelor of fine arts degree in industrial design from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that I’ve put to good use working for Entegris Inc. in Chaska for 15 years, currently as the manager of industrial design, prototyping and simulation analysis.

In addition to work and family, I’ve also volunteered my time in our community as a soccer coach for three years and participated in Cub Scout-initiated park cleanups. My commitment towards enabling children to reach their potential has been shown during the past 13 years as I’ve raised over $10,000 in scholarship money for at-risk youth in the Pillsbury neighborhood of Minneapolis through my participation in a yearly 24-hour ultra marathon.

I find myself divided regarding support for the referendum. Ultimately my answer is “yes,” I support the current referendum requests. The tipping point simply becomes growth. Who can be surprised that one of the outcomes of Prior Lake’s relentless and aggressive growth during the past 10 years is a population explosion at the schools? To be honest, the entire concept of the referendum is absurd. If the residents are concerned, and rightly so, about paying for the end result of City Council population growth decisions, shouldn’t the vote really be one in which the citizens are voting to allow growth or not? Shouldn’t that be the referendum process? Whether we want to support growth or not? Until that happens, the school district is simply in reaction mode. The district grows. It’s not their fault, it’s not their choice, but they have to support the growth, and it’s going to cost. At the same time, looking over the school district strategic plan, I’m struck by the amount of “world peace” verbage. Trying to do too much, and be too Utopian, also has a cost, and that is where I am uncertain about the quality of spending choices being made.

The question “What, if anything, should be done to provide sufficient funding?” assumes that there is not already sufficient funding. Without knowing whether that is truly the case or not, my answer is this; separate your needs from your wants and go from there. I’m a “live-within-your-means” type person. I would propose that the district define what the core elements are that are needed to provide a strong basic education to the students and assign the associated costs. (The term basic is meant represent the items that may be considered the fundamentals of education: reading, writing, arithmetic, science, etc.) Those are your needs, and I’m really hoping those needs are met via state funding. Everything else you want to do (i.e. underwater basket weaving) are wants. If there is extra money after the needs, great, have fun, but don’t ever sacrifice the needs to pay for the wants. If funds are not sufficient to do everything the district wants to do, my first step would be to research best practices from around the state and nation to try and learn what useful strategies and smart decisions other districts employ when faced with a similar situation.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

If elected, my two priorities are very simple and straightforward, but ones that I don’t see emphasized by our current School Board. One, help District 719 and all our district schools become recognized for high performance when compared to the other schools within our state and nation. There isn’t a lot to elaborate on there except to underscore my passion to that cause. I want us to be an academic powerhouse. Two, do that in a fiscally responsible manner. Spend money wisely, and spend only what you have.

Justin Dekker

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

My name is Justin Dekker. I’m 36 years old and live at 14467 Nightingale Circle in Prior Lake, where I’ve lived for the past seven years with my wife and two children. I have a bachelor of arts degree in English and a master’s degree in industrial relations from the University of Minnesota. Until four years ago, I worked as a human resources manager when I decided to put my career on hold and be a full-time dad.

I believe that one of the best things we can do to ensure a bright future for our community is to invest in our schools, and I would therefore support the referendum requests. Without adequate facilities to ensure smaller class sizes and the appropriate environment for our children, we put their education at risk. While none of us enjoy paying higher taxes, it is an admittedly small price to pay when compared to the enhanced potential of our students and the value of their increased contributions back to the community, all of which result from a high-quality education in facilities that help enable learning. As our area continues to grow, the only way that we can continue to meet the needs of our students is to build a sufficient number of well-equipped schools in which to teach them.

The state should be convinced to increase funding to school districts for a variety of reasons. First, in order to attract and retain the best teachers available for our children, we must be able to offer appropriate salaries. Second, as our community and therefore school populations continue to grow, more money is needed to simply provide the same level of service in our schools. It is not acceptable that teachers need to use their own money to purchase supplies for the classroom because the school no longer has enough money in their budget to buy things like markers or paper for the printer. These types of worries detract from the only thing teachers should have to focus on – teaching our children. Third, as the state is exerting great pressure on schools to show improvements in their Minnesota annual assessment scores, they must be willing to help foot the bill. Any desired increase in the quality of education will require an additional level of funding beyond current commitments in order to provide for new teaching materials, additional educational opportunities for students, continuing education for teachers, and the like, all of which will be needed to drive better scores.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

Working in human resources, I was accountable for making sure that adults had the resources, tools, and training necessary to perform up to their fullest potential. It is this knowledge, drive and focus that I would bring to the School Board. Aside from priorities such as adequate facilities in which our children can learn, the best teachers to educate and inspire them, and sufficient funding to drive the desired increases in educational quality, there are two other issues to address in guaranteeing that the entire student experience is everything it should be. First, beyond teaching the “three R’s,” our schools should provide an education in nutrition, both in the classroom and in the cafeteria. By offering healthy options for lunch, students can make better choices about the foods they eat, ensuring they have the nutrition and energy needed to learn. Secondly, we must make certain that physical education remains a vital component of each school day. Recent studies have shown that students who participate in daily physical activity are not only healthier, they perform better in the classroom. By addressing each of these priorities, we can ensure that our students are ready to face the world’s challenges and win.

Dee Dee Francis

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Dee Dee Francis

Age 42

15402 Wood Duck Trail, Prior Lake

Occupation: Registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator

I’ve lived in Prior Lake for over 14 years with my husband, Scott and three children, Taylor, Carter and Ella. Currently, we have a child in high school, middle school and elementary.

I have a master’s degree and a bachelor of arts in biology from the University of Minnesota. My mother taught for over 30 years at the elementary level in a public school system in Iowa and my father was a biochemistry professor. Education has always been very important to our family and I am a firm believer in public education.

I’ve served on numerous school committees including ECFE advisory council, PTC vice president and then president at WestWood Elementary. At Five Hawks, I served as co-president of PTC and two years as volunteer coordinator. I’ve had the privilege of serving on the district’s strategic planning committee for the past four years. My real love has been helping out at the schools, where I’ve taught Bravo (music appreciation), led reading groups, worked at book fairs and coordinated classroom parties. We are members of St. Michael, where I serve on the Newcomers committee.

I believe that our children’s education is one of the best investments we can make. I support the levy to strengthen school programs and open Redtail Ridge Elementary and the bond to add onto the high school, as it is already nearing capacity.

Levies are voter-approved local sources of funding, which provide fast-growing communities, like ours, opportunities to reduce class sizes and strengthen our schools’ offerings. We can debate whether to pass these levies through election-year dialogues and discuss how we want to spend these funds.

The way state funding occurs, operating levies are nearly universal across all Minnesota school districts. Whether we think past levies were used wisely or not, we need to put our efforts into appropriately sizing those levies and wisely spending them so that Prior Lake-Savage academics remain strong.

Additionally, the school building bond is contingent upon the passing of the levy. When the high school was built, it was believed that an expansion would be needed several years later. The district did the prudent thing and sized the school appropriately with an eye toward expansion. We need to support that wise planning by passing this bond.

In 1971, the “Minnesota Miracle” pushed the idea that when funding comes from the state, each district would receive a similar amount of money. This was supposed to keep all Minnesota schools academically strong and provides the economy with a consistently intelligent work force. Since then there has been a movement back to local funding, which allows for greater control of costs and wise utilization of those funds. In 2007, 302 out of 342 districts in the state of Minnesota have voter-passed referendums; only 24 don’t have them at all.

Whether right or wrong, it’s clear that we are in a time when state funding is insufficient to run a quality school district. It has not kept pace with the rising costs of staff, insurance, electricity, heating, technology and transportation, just to name a few.

If elected, when I meet with legislators, I will encourage them to spend state funds (income tax) on those areas where the state has an interest in all districts educating children the same way. A few examples would be separately funding special education, gifted and talented, English as a second language, insuring low-cost loans for capital improvements and adequately funding statewide testing.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

When I initially considered running for School Board, my husband and I tried to step back a bit to see the big picture. We’ve put time into community activities such as coaching our kids in athletic events and running our children from event to event, but the most valuable rewards have come from the school district. It’s a place where our three children are safe, are excited about learning, and they are being challenged to their ability level. As a School Board member, I will remember I am representing all of the kids and parents in the district. One of my main priorities is to continue to plan for growth and work to keep class size appropriate. In addition, we need to plan for when growth will end. Great community participation, like that done by the Growth Task Force, can help us insure that we don’t build a school that needs to be closed in the future due to declining enrollment.

We have excellent facilities, administration and staff. I want to ensure Prior Lake-Savage schools are known as the best schools in the state where all children are challenged at their ability level and excited about learning.

Jeff Goldy

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Name: Jeffery G. Goldy (Jeff)

Age: 46

Address: 16856 Peregrine Circle, Prior Lake

Occupation: Crisis management and environmental professional/attorney (TN)

Lived in community: Three years

Family status: Married with two school-age children

Education: Bachelor of arts, University of Tennessee, including one year of student exchange at Flinders University of South Australia. Juris doctor, University of Tennessee

Community service: I have been involved in the budget and school issues throughout most of 2007, which led to my decision to run for School Board. If elected, this would be the first public office I’ve ever held.

Where I lived previously in Forest, Va., I have additional community experience organizing and executing the petition drive necessary to obtain county water for our subdivision where wells were failing or had other issues. I accomplished this in a subdivision with 51 homes and in a scheme requiring two-thirds majorities for each step.

Prior to our time in Virginia, I served as an officer in United States Air Force from 1990 through 1999. Before attending law school, I worked as an urban planner for the city of Memphis and Shelby County Office of Planning and Development for a year.

I support the referendum requests. For the last several years, the state has increased funding for public schools, but the increases have always been below the rate of inflation. I support the referendum primarily because the state government has failed to account for inflation in its funding for our schools. As a result of that failure, the state’s portion of funding for this district has shrunk for the last several years. Consequently, the school district must find more revenue, because its share of the funding pie has steadily increased in the last several years. Until the state makes up for the shortfalls in funding, a referendum will be necessary.

Dozens of school districts in Minnesota are in the same boat. They’re proposing, and hopefully passing, similar referenda. They’re doing this for the same reasons. The state share of their funding pie is shrinking while the local share is growing. Our situation is compounded by the rapid growth of school-age children living in our district. This growth in enrollment will continue. We need to do a better job of coping with growth in our district and the impact growth has on the operations and capital budgets.

We need more School Board members that will lobby the state Legislature to make up for the inflationary shortfalls of the last several years. All state budgets should be passed to at least meet the rate of inflation. Why? The continued failure to do this keeps decreasing the state share of funding while the local share continues to grow. I would work with our local legislators to ensure that they understand this issue better. I would encourage them and their colleagues in St. Paul to fix this funding pie problem.

State funding is a key component to the financial health of the school district. However, it isn’t the sole component. The district has to do a better job of living within its means. Passage of the referendum won’t cure all of our financial problems either. More needs to be done to make extracurricular programs more cost-effective. More should be done to ensure that money is spent on educating all the children within the district as opposed to providing optional extras to special-interest groups.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

Nothing else is more important than class size. Our class sizes are way too big. We have class sizes of more than 30 students in our grade schools. At that point, teaching loses much of its effectiveness. Students get left behind. We must budget for appropriate class sizes for all grades and all students before we spend money on anything else. This includes ensuring that we have adequate staffing for all classes.

We need more transparency in School Board proceedings. Not everyone has cable TV. In addition to putting the School Board meetings on cable TV, broadcast them on the district Web site. Let’s allow people watching on TV or PCs to call into meetings. Going forward, we should also require a five-vote majority before any previous decision can be reconsidered and voted on again.

Additionally, we need to re-examine the current School Board rules governing ethics and integrity. We need to ensure that all board members, including me if elected, avoid any conflicts of interest or apparent conflicts of interest. If there is a conflict of interest, then members should disclose that and abstain from voting on the related issue.

Chris Lind

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Chris Lind, 44 years of age, 9192 152nd St., Prior Lake, in the city of Savage. Self-employed. I have lived in the Prior Lake-Savage area for 16 years. Shar has been my wife of 17 years, and we have four children in the Prior Lake-Savage Schools. Grace, 10th, Hannah, eighth, Jonah, fifth and Judah, second grade. I graduated with an open studies degree from the University of Minnesota-Mankato in 1990. I also attended Luther and Augsburg College to get my elementary education license, coaching certificate and an emphasis in enrichment.

I have 17 years of experience in the education field, three years working in the Minneapolis public schools as a paraprofessional. I calmed down students that were out of control. I taught sixth- and fifth- grade for four years. I substituted in the Prior Lake school district. I was chosen to be a long-term sub for a first-grade classroom; those students graduated this year. I Taught second grade two years and middle school social studies and language arts for one year. I helped organize an international school, took over all book ordering, textbooks and library books. Set up a computer lab and funded the educational software by selling Scholastic books.

Considering this School Board’s recent history of deficit spending – $700,000, then $1.6 million this last school year – the consistent pattern is troubling. This board and superintendent need to show a year of fiscal responsibility. The district Web page say budget cuts will increase the course failure rate, less staff to secure building security and emergency procedures and larger class sizes. Read the detailed budget reductions of $1.6 million. One year of a balanced budget could restore all of those cuts.

They approved sending the voters a new levy with a 70-percent increase that would take effect the following school year continuing for 10 years. The School Board added an automatic yearly inflation increase around 2 to 3 percent, but it is not capped. Therefore, a vote for a levy that is a 70-percent increase over the current levy seems to be adding fuel to their spending fire. How can we trust the current board to spend this huge increase wisely? When I am elected, I will fight to end this deficit spending, massive budget cuts, and for a modest levy. The board should balance the budget monthly, not penalize students and staff the next school year.

Forty percent of the state’s general fund goes to education of K-12 students. I believe that should be higher. The problem is not the amount of state funding, but how it is distributed. I would work to change the disproportionate school-funding practices. There are two main ways to fund public schools. The first is community support through bonds and levies (raising property taxes) and secondly, through the per-pupil-funding formula set by the state. It is the per-pupil-funding that must be changed. Prior Lake-Savage will receive per-pupil $8,236, almost the same as Aitkin. Yet, Prior Lake-Savage has a levy and Aitkin does not. Aitkin receives additional funds because they do not have a levy. Many factors determine the district’s per-pupil fund; in the end it is not fair.

Minneapolis Public Schools will receive $12,968 per-pupil. Is this fair? I know board members from surrounding communities. I will organize with other school boards and community members to effectively lobby for a fair-funding formula. A bill that would have given all new education funding equally per-pupil across the state was introduced, but not voted on. This would be a fair solution. That may allow for some prosperity-tax relief.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

I have spent many hours talking to the Minnesota Department of Education discussing funding. I read the Growth Task Force’s 176-page document and talked to members. I will ask why and how much and check facts. I would do research and check into things, not just vote with the majority. How could the board vote unanimously to give the superintendent a performance bonus? Our students and staff will continue to make the most of what they get, but they deserve better.

I believe:

Growth should pay for growth other than bonding for buildings. Prior Lake-Savage Schools should have a levy, but not this one. The school district has more funding to work with than they ever had.

We must give teachers more professional education opportunities and incentives. A majority of the staff thinks there should have been more cuts at the district office.

High-school students deserve a well-funded and organized intramural program.

We need to add a world language, maybe an Asian language.

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The board is accountable for their spending and massive budget cuts.

In being open, honest and specific so you know what I believe.

In voting for the needed change in the School Board.

John Myser

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

John Myser

16015 Northwood Road, Prior Lake

Age: 48

Lived in Prior Lake: 4½ years

Family Status: Married to Camille, son Tyler, 9½ months

Education: Bachelor of arts, University of Western Ontario, 1985

Military Service: Army medic, three years, honorable discharge 1980

Occupation: Self-employed

I am concerned when I hear pleas that we need more money or else our children won’t be educated, so we best pass the current bond and levy as is. Emotional appeals to increase property taxes scare me, as I fear I don’t have a choice to vote “no” if I want my child to receive a quality education. I’ve decided to get off my couch and get involved. I long for great teachers to teach our kids, and I want a fair tax to support our children’s learning.

I’ve lived through budgeting processes making tough choices to allocate precious resources to deliver results. My consumer has a choice – to buy or not to buy from me. This market-driven approach instills a certain discipline to create value at a reasonable cost to get the consumer’s willingness “to vote for” or “purchase your offering.” This mindset is what I will bring when determining how to spend our tax dollars on our children’s education.

The school district’s campaign to educate the voters for a tax increase has begun. I am analyzing their request to see if it meets my standards, “to create value at a reasonable cost.” Then I will cast my vote.

The financing of elementary and secondary education in Minnesota is through a combination of state-collected taxes (income and sales) and locally collected property taxes. Revenue to the school districts is received in three major categories: state education finance appropriation, state-paid property-tax credits and property-tax levies.

The intention is to create a balance between districts with more money and those with less so all children, regardless of where they live, have equal access to a quality education. The challenge is how to create quality programs with precious limited resources so children have an opportunity to learn, teachers can teach and thrive in their profession, and taxpayers get quality programs at reasonable costs. Within our current funding mechanism, there is a certain amount of complexity and difficulty determining who is accountable to whom and for what. My pledge to you is that I will put in the time and effort to learn how we can fund our education system to produce the results we hope for at a reasonable cost to the taxpayer.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

The three reasons I am getting involved in this campaign are: 1. My belief that I can add a level of fiscal discipline and stewardship in the use of our public funds; 2. Insure we get the most use out our precious tax dollars to support our children’s learning; and 3. Improve our children’s results as reflected in state test scores.

When I walk through our high school and I see large open spaces and ceilings that go on forever, I get concerned that our building dollars are not creating the classrooms we need to teach our kids. Instead of having more usable space to teach our kids, we have large spaces that consume capital dollars and operating dollars (maintenance, heating, cooling and lighting) at no benefit that I can perceive.

We are asked to fund more capital and operating cost again. I want to safeguard that we don’t fund waste. My dream is to foster an environment where learning occurs while meeting demands of future student populations at a reasonable cost to the property taxpayer. If my responses have resonated with you and this is the type of representation that you value, it is your turn to do something. Please vote and consider a vote for John Myser. Thank you.

Eric Pratt

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Name: Eric Pratt

Age: 43

Occupation: Senior group manager of strategic projects at Target Financial Services

Tina and I have two children. Cameron is 12 and starting seventh grade at Twin Oaks. Samantha is 10 and will be a fifth-grader at Jeffers Pond.

I graduated from Prior Lake High School in 1982. I received a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Colorado and an MBA in finance from the University of St. Thomas.

I’m finishing my second term on the Board of Education. In addition, I served on the 1999 High School Task Force, school district’s Strategic Planning Committee, 2003 and 2006 Growth Task Forces and the first Prior Lake Vision 2020 committee. I‘ve also coached youth football, track, basketball, soccer and tee-ball.

I do support both referendum requests. The budget-cutting effort this spring highlighted how tight, and how little waste, is in the current budget. As a growing district, we continue to add schools and teachers to alleviate cramped classrooms. The referendums will primarily be used to operate our new school (Redtail Ridge) and to restore staffing and programs cut this spring, including teacher hiring, that were needed to maintain class sizes. Additionally, our high school is at capacity. The Growth Task Force, a citizens group asked to evaluate growth mitigation strategies, recommended an additional 600-student wing to alleviate our needs for the foreseeable future.

State funding has increased at an average rate of 1.9 percent, significantly below the 3.2 percent average inflation rate over the same period of time. Mandated special education, staff development, testing and changing standards have not come with sufficient money to fund these initiatives or have come with too many strings attached.

For the reasons stated above, I think it’s clear that the state and federal funding have been insufficient. The funding process needs to be based on true cost to educate a child. While I don’t have all of the answers, I have a couple of thoughts:

Get politicians out of education. During my time on the board, I have seen the implementation and removal of the Profiles of Education, and then directive of standards. Both of these programs were politically driven, not what is proven to be best for our children. I believe we should commission the University of Minnesota to set graduation standards.

Get politicians out of funding education. Our Legislature controls the funding formulas that impact tax rates. School boards actually have little impact on property taxes, unless those increases are approved by voters. I believe funding decisions should be pushed to the lowest level where accountability to the community is greatest.

Fund mandates. If the government decides to direct prescriptive solutions, they should fund their mandates. For example, our shortfalls in special-education funding over the last three years roughly equals the amount cut from our budget.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

I view my role as a School Board member as an advocate for our students, parents and taxpayers. Therefore, my priority is to effectively represent the values of our community. As a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, I have supported innovative ideas like IB and AP in the middle school and all-day kindergarten. As a member of the Finance Committee, I will continue to work to improve our financial position. A strong fund balance is necessary to manage our growth, reduce class sizes and support our drive for excellence through well-rounded offerings. As a member of the Growth Task Forces, I’ve taken an active role in looking forward to identify the issues that come with a growing district and draft a plan to address many of them.

I am particularly proud of our partnerships throughout the community, and I will continue to encourage and participate in these cooperative efforts. Our strategic plan, Growth Task Force and ABC Committee would have not been successful without the cooperation of our cities as well as the efforts of many dedicated residents of our community.

Ernie Sprecher

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

My name is Ernest Sprecher. I am 46 years old. I live at 16900 West Side Drive, Prior Lake. I run a small welding and machine shop. I have put three kids through the Prior Lake School District. For the last two years, I have volunteered as a state delegate for this district.

I would support bond referendums as a last resort. First and foremost, we must assess that each and every dollar is going to educate our kids. My motto is “kids first.”

The Department of Education has a $13.8 billion budget for K-12 education over two years to educate our children. An audit of school funding, including line-by-line budget items, could clearly show where our tax dollars could be better allocated. Spending priorities need to be addressed to eliminate wasteful and redundant programs.

Frequently, a government solution to solve perceived problems is to spend more money. More money is not always the answer. Where we can spend the money more effectively is the solution. The taxpayer is not an endless supply of money as some may think. Spending more money does not always equal a better education.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

[The candidate did not respond to this question.]

Michael Von Arx

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Michael S. Von Arx, 48

14346 Rutgers St., Prior Lake

Resident of Prior Lake: 18 years

Occupation: electrician – Weber Electric, foreman, 16 years

Family: wife, Carol, son, Mike, 14 years old

Education: West Wisconsin Technical Institute (1978) welding, high honors; Dunwoody Industrial Institute (1980) Construction Electric Program, honors.

Community service: Volunteer coach for soccer and football through PLAY; volunteer yard care at Alpha Women’s Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Redtail Ridge needs to be staffed and opened, and the high school addition will need teachers and texts, all of which totals about $3 million. I have reservations about the other $1.5 million. After reviewing the district strategic plan, only about 10 percent of it has anything at all to do with the “3R’s”. The 90 percent explains why administration costs are up 85 percent in the budget. Stop this! Our kids will need to compete in a global economy, I see our middle class slipping away, and smart education is the only solution I see. I will vote ‘no’ on this proposed levy.

I will vote ‘no’ on this proposed bond for building. After 30 years of building experience, my input could save taxpayers’ money. We don’t need a fancy addition; we need a functional building without high-cost construction and three-story wasted space, to heat and cool. A bond of about $10 million, rather than $30 million, should be approved. This addition is about classrooms to house 600 students. If a “fix” to the inefficient high school cafeteria uses the addition, this has not been communicated to the general public. Money should go toward education, not buildings.

District 719’s general fund budget shows about 80 percent of revenue comes from the state and 15 percent from property taxes. How much of the 80 percent are state mandates, with costly strings, and is there a basic level of state funding that would help us regain more local control? The federal No Child Left Behind test results are poor statewide. Kids slip in middle school and fall in high school. How did this district go from 20 percent reading poorly in elementary school to almost 40 percent reading poorly in high school? Who can learn if they can’t read and comprehend? How did this district go from 25 percent below grade level in math in elementary school to 59 percent below grade level in 11th-grade math? On Aug. 13, administrators told the board that they “pass these kids on.” The current board sat without expressing any outrage, without any suggestions. Our kids need basic reading, writing and math skills just to live in this world, and they need intervention in the earlier grades to achieve basic levels, whether they intend college or not. These are our kids! If there are state mandates about teaching, they aren’t working.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

A weekly math tutoring night at one of the middle schools is desperately needed. Kids could stay after school for tutoring, and volunteers could be encouraged. Funding could be by donations. When kids move beyond the parents’ abilities to help with problems, our “village” could care enough to meet that need weekly. We could make this happen!

I would love to see significant cash incentives in place for teachers and staff to make (secure) suggestions on saving the district money in any area. Savings could help fund the tutoring, etc. I’d like to see the “challenge question” part of elementary school enhanced to provide extra learning and credit for any student willing to do extra work (especially directed toward the “gifted”). If it were possible, I’d like to see a referendum on “should students be held accountable for learning in this district, and teachers have authority?”

If you want me on the School Board, you must show up and vote for me both on Sept. 11 and Nov 6. I will tell you the truth, and I have no agenda but the good of all the kids and cutting the waste to focus on the education.

Diane Ziemann

1. Please list your name, age, address, occupation, how long you’ve lived in the community and family status, plus education and community service details.

Diane Ziemann

Age: 65

Address: 2770 Cougar Path, Prior Lake

Length of residency in District 719: 42 years

Family information: After graduating from Augsburg College with a bachelor of arts degree, I married my best friend, Ken Ziemann, and we’ve been married for 43 years. We have two children, Karri and Mark, who attended schools in District 719 from kindergarten through high school. Their time here successfully prepared them for college; both graduated Magna Cum Laude from Concordia College, Moorhead. I want to make sure the same top-quality education continues to be available for all the students of District 719, including my grandchildren.

Community involvement: While active in numerous church activities and supportive of many community projects, School Board meetings and associated committee assignments (ABC/boundaries, policy, transportation) account for most of my community involvement.

Occupation: Homemaker/home economist

Yes, I support the referendum requests now, as I did when I voted with a unanimous School Board to ask the residents of District 719 for this additional educational funding. And, I should say that before the unanimous board vote, there was a good deal of research presented and discussed, including the recommendation of a Growth Task Force that looked into several options to solve the space issue at the high school. After careful review, I fully supported (and continue to support) the levy request for $4.55 million and bond request for $29.8 million. And while those figures are huge, I would ask each voter to look beyond the dollars. Look at the kids of our district and their one-time opportunity for a quality education. I was fortunate enough to have adequate facilities and an excellent faculty when I was going to school. Now I think it’s my turn, my responsibility, and actually, my privilege to help provide the same for the kids of today.

When a problem involves two parties, it helps to find a third one to blame. If state Legislatures would provide more money to local school districts, it certainly would take the pressure off the local boards and their constituents.

What do I think about state funding of public schools? In today’s world, our kids are not only in competition with all kids of Minnesota, but also with kids in New York and New Delhi. So, it’s probably a bit archaic to have the folks in just a few square miles supporting a large share of the educational cost. I think a real case could be made for a broader way of supporting public education.

But, we need to deal with the reality of the situation in which we find ourselves. And there are many, many strengths in this thing called “local control” and “independent” school districts. Our system provides for a very detailed accountability among all the parties: voters, parents, students, teachers, administrators, board members. The people paying a good portion of the bill have ready access to the process, as witnessed by the recent $1.6 million in budget cuts, the proposed referendum and this board election itself.

4. What other issues do you feel are important to discuss? What would you like voters to know about your priorities as a candidate for the School Board?

The answers to these questions relate directly to the ability of the various stakeholders of our district having ready access to the process. I’ve always viewed school board members as important conduits, connectors, if you will, between the grass roots of the district (the neighborhood hopes, dreams and ideas) and that gigantic entity called the school. To keep that conduit connected, I’ve adopted the following priorities:

I work to be a good listener. I want to hear those neighborhood ideas. And I always take time for personal concerns.

Even though funding a large school district is expensive, I work to keep the spending as efficient as possible. I try to be as careful with your money as I am with my own.

I’ve always found that a common-sense approach is essential. It produces honest, straight-forward results.

I pledge to continue to work for lower class sizes and a quality education for all the students of our district.

If you would like to help make these priorities a reality, I would appreciate your vote on Sept. 11.

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