[Music] greetings my name is Tina CAD I'm proud to be a part of League of Women Voters Dakota County welcome to the ISD special election candidate Forum it is my privilege to introduce our moderator Lynn Lewis Len is a trained moderator an active member of our league and now serving as a co-president and co- voter service committee chair thank you Lynn good evening and welcome to the ISD 196 School Board special election candidate Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters Dakota County we appreciate the candidates for joining us tonight a special thanks to the city of Rosemont for providing the venue and Apple Valley Community TV for recording and broadcasting this event to Residents across the district we also acknowledge the other community TV stations in Dakota County that will be rebroadcasting the Forum we will also share the recording on League of Women Voters social media platforms and we will provide it to the school district the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization with 114-year history and is committed to empowering voters through educ ation engagement and civic participation we do not support or oppose any political party or candidate lwv Dakota County aims to deliver unbiased information to Minnesota voters irrespective of of their political affiliations this forum is a public service designed to offer you a chance to hear directly from the candidates about important issues please note that the views expressed here are those of the candidates and not those of the league our sponsorship of this form does not constitute any endorsement of any candidate we provide complete unedited recordings of our forums editing is permitted only for official media purposes and any excerpts or edit Clips must not be used for partisan or political purposes tonight there are two candidates competing for one open seat on the ISD 196 School Board this is a special election prompted by the election of a former board member to the state legislature we will begin with opening statements given in alphabetical order each candidate will have two minutes for their opening statement closing statements will follow in Reverse alphabetical order with each candidate again having two minutes the order of answering questions will alternate between the candidates with each having 90 seconds to respond our timekeeper will signal with a yellow card when 15 seconds remain and a stop sign when it's time to wrap up so we can move on to the next candidate many of the questions for this forum were submitted electronically to the league and reviewed by our members for clarity additionally some questions were created based on topics of Interest identified in the community due to time constraints will not be able to address every question submitted the Forum will conclude in 45 minutes to an hour so let's begin with opening statements the order for opening statements will be Melissa field followed by Leah Gardner Melissa well good evening everyone my name is Melissa field and I'm running to be your next 196 School Board member first I'd like to thank the League of Women Voters for inviting me to have the opportunity to participate in this forum I'm a 20-year resident of Lakeville and of ISD 196 my husband Joel and I have raised two sons who have graduated from the district both attended Apple Valley High School I'm a retired police officer with 20 years of experience and I'm excited to continue my service to our community as the next School Board member I have a vast range of experience on local and state level nonprofit boards in leadership positions during my career in law enforcement and I've had the opportunity to teach young adults age 14 to 21 leadership skills responsibility and good stewardship in their communities throughout the state as an Explorer adviser with the Boy Scouts I currently work for the Minnesota Senate where I have the honor of being involved in and learning how legislation affects our everyday lives sometimes for better and worse I sincerely believe my life and job experiences have uniquely helped to prepare me for this next chapter in my life and to be a tremendous asset to the students staff and residents of the district I'm excited to get to work as your next board member so we can focus on rekindling the parent teacher Bond and taxpayer trust through full District transparency prioritizing on-grade education ensuring safety for all students and staff and exercising thoughtful fiscal responsibility thank you Leah hi uh I also want to thank the League of Women Voters for hosting us for this important discussion I'm a parent in the district and an in involved Community member in the past 6 months I have had the priv of serving on the school board and I have learned so much and have become even more passionate about what I hope to achieve in this role when we talk about our mission to educate develop and Inspire our students for lifelong success it's imperative that we mean all students we need to lean into to making sure that every student has what they need to be successful that's why I led the charge uh in the hunger-free schools Coalition and secured free breakfast and lunch for all students in Minnesota that's why we must ensure that our schools are safe and welcoming environment for bipac and lgbtq plus students that's why I'm committed to supporting better communication so our special ed families and differently abled students are getting the supports they need to be successful when we look at our test scores and graduation rates we can choose to be satisfied that we're consistently above State averages or we can hold ourselves to a higher standard we can dig into the data with an Ida where there are gaps and what are the tools and best practices that can help us move the needle thanks to our dedicated staff and administration I believe that we can do all of this while continuing to challenge all students to meet their full potential through our gifted and talented programs advanced classes exposure to vocational settings and a wide range of enrichment opportunities including arts and Athletics long story short I am committed to finding new avenues for Consulting with with parents Youth and staff to grow my understanding of what's needed and to continue to do what I do best which is advocate for others thank you candidates now we'll proceed to questions the response order for the first question will be Leah Garder followed by Melissa field so our first question is what are two or three strengths of which this District can be proud Leah it's hard to narrow down to two or three we are a wonderful district and we have much to be proud of but I do think that especially relevant to the job of a Schoolboard member is our fiscal responsibility in transparency which we have um received recognition for we have a stable budget we have strong um understanding of where our resources are going and how that may need to evolve as the population and our student body evolves we also have as a larger District a privilege of having many different opportunities for students whether that's um you know Athletics Arts other enrichment activities there's always going to be something to engage and help a student be excited about their schools and lastly I have to say the dedication and commitment of our talented staff we have an amazing uh staff of almost 4,000 in this District working hard every day to make sure that we meet our mission to educate our students Melissa um I would like to highlight uh the academics that the District offers um as a parent of a student who uh was offered um challenging coursework when he couldn't sit still in class um we we learned that it's because he wasn't being challenged enough and that's where um having our schools be stem schools in the district I think really uh benefited my son and all of the students that um he had classes with um I know that when I went to school and there's many schools throughout the state uh districts throughout the state that don't offer those um opportunities for kids to um not not only have what they need to lift them up to where they need to be successful but to have all of those extras like we do um in our district um i' would also like to say the programming that um we have for enrichment um the band uh program especially is is fantastic I um I I know that there's many parents that have had a fantastic experience with the band program as well as um um debate um and other enrichment activities that I know that there are a lot of districts out there that are envious and would be very um they'd be very grateful for the opportunities that our students have and the response order for our next question will be Melissa followed by Leah and the second question is as a school board member how would you respond to parents concerns about what is being taught in classrooms so I think that being communication is key um I know that there are currently um a lot of there's a lot of parents out there that um think that some of the classes that are being taught aren't um I guess appropriate you could say for for their families um that's that's something that needs to be discussed with the with the school board or the School Board needs to discuss that with the families because that's that's who we represent um there's uh there's mandatory learning that needs to take place but there's also learning that is considered as enrichment um and some of those enrichment uh classes you know parents parents know their children uh where they are uh academically um emotionally how they're able to process that information and teachers need to be able to have that opportunity as well to weigh in on that so having an open line of communication between the teachers and the parents is is Paramount to decide where to meet our kids and lift them up from there Leah I too want to Echo that I think a key to ensuring that we are are meeting the mark in this comes down to communication I will say that I think there has been some misinformation and um and some need for us as school board members to clarify fact versus myth in terms of what is being taught in our classroom so I would say that you know we are an open door to those questions it's valid for parents to be asking questions and to to have um transparency in what is being taught to their students um so we want to make sure that that we're clearing up any misinformation about what's going on in our classrooms and what is being taught I also want to say that you know it's important and we we respect that parents can opt in or out of certain um certain curriculums so that that's something that's already a policy in place um but something that we can remind folks of as needed when it comes to though what is included uh I also think it's important to take into consideration feedback to make sure that our students are seeing themselves in the curriculum uh so that's something whether it's you know as a woman as a person of color we need to make sure that we're lifting up the full accurate representation of our history so that we can all see ourselves as Future Leaders uh when we're in school so but all all things said I would say communication thank you the response order for our next question will be Leah followed by Melissa and our next question is as a Schoolboard member you play a crucial role in shaping the educational environment for students one contentious issue that has recently come is Banning or restricting certain books from school libraries or curriculum how do you believe the school board should approach challenges related to the selection of books in schools Leah one important thing to acknowledge is that we now do have a state law so that we um aren't taking time debating Banning books uh it that isn't something that is legal anymore so that's while that's not in place I still think it's important to acknowledge the role of our media specialists in picking a vast array of materials for our students to be able to to learn from and again to see themselves in uh so bottom line I I don't support book Banning it's sort of a non-issue at this point um in terms of our schools uh here in Minnesota but I think that um that really we do want to have open dialogue again and to make sure that there aren't myths about what is or isn't in any materials available to children and have that feedback and ongoing conversation um but I do think it's important that we expose students to a variety of materials and then let parents decide for their own individual child what they may or may not wish their their own child to be exposed to but not make that limitation for all Melissa uh in a democracy we do not take away freedom to read because we don't agree with the content of the message however we make uh an effort to filter content to our children through analyzing appropriateness for their age and ability to understand the content also sometimes the decision to share the content should simply be the parents discretion the responsibility of the school board is to work with administrators to to ensure the media specialist are choosing books that enrich The Core Curriculum encourages thoughtful thinking in a manner that's appropriate for all students within the age group of the children attending the school book choices should always be available for parent review and open for Meaningful discussion if needed I I think that as somebody who is oriented toward problem solving I think that there's a way that everybody can get on the same page to overcome the differences in viewpoints over how what books should be available um I do know that there's um a program that is either in development or has been developed um that allows schools to be able to uh parents to be able to put uh like a permission list of what books can and can't be checked out um I think maybe that could be a solution just to name one of how um we can work with parents having that decision of what books should be available in schools still offering that to kids with uh with parents that think that those school should or books should be available thanks candidates the response order for next question will be Melissa followed by Leah and our next question is each time a tragic shooting occurs in our country there are calls for increased safety measures in schools what actions would you support be taken by the school board to increase safety in our schools Melissa so there are two main aspects I'd like to focus on as a school board member to make ISD 196 the safest school in the state uh the safest School District the state and I would do that by addressing um through physical safety such as a security system and through emphasizing behavioral expectations currently istd 196 uses a push butt push button entry system as a security measure unfortunately so did the elementary school in yaldi Texas we cannot let the mentality of that will never happen here bear Mantra I say this not as a scare tactic but as a way to say we need need to learn from others mistakes because the consequences can be permanent one of our neighboring districts has taken the initiative to fortify every single one of their schools in their District there's no reason why this shouldn't be a priority for 196 we also need to address the expectation and culture of school while recent legislation was passed to have a process to consider before dismissing a student from class we've inadvertently stripped teachers of their Authority in front of the kids to make important leadership decisions that affect the learning pattern and atmosphere of school I believe we need to give the authority back to teachers to decide how their classroom will be ran and allow them to run it student discipline should be applied consistently and equally when warranted and support teachers who are respected by their students for being firm but fair structure accountability consistency and discipline will benefit everyone in the long run a safe school should be guaranteed for all Leah I want to thank you for this important question that I was hoping would come up um as a parent I want to say that I understand the heartache that comes with the news that we had today um you know after one day of feeling the joy and excitement of sending my fifth grader to school now like all parents I had to give him an extra hug when he came home um from the perspective of a district leader I appreciate that I had a chance to talk to to our superintendent today and I want to say to everyone on behalf of the district that safety is the utmost priority in district 196 today and every day I can assure you that we have been working hard to put the systems and plans in place to keep students safe thanks to the voters we had a bond in 20156 and were able to make sure that we had safe and secure entries in every school in uh 1819 we were able to bring on a safety and SEC security coordinator and that helped us to put plans in place drills in place and down to the finest detail make sure that everyone knows what to do in certain situations and last but certainly not least we have strong and positive and proactive relationships with law enforcement but as a parent and a Community member I also want to say that schools cannot do this alone we all need to push for more action on this and that includes Mental Health Resources and princible gun laws thank you the response order for the next question will be Leah excuse me followed by Melissa and our next question is how would you like to see mental health funding allocated locally Leah thank you I I do think the topic of mental health and the wellbeing of students is essential um it's something that I have been talking with teachers and staff about and you know I think what I hear consistently is that we don't have enough supports this is more than a school issue this is uh you know a community and a societal issue where we don't have enough mental health professionals period That's impacting our school district that's impacting many in terms of even if you have the resources to bring on um you know a a a social worker or somebody in each building there there there aren't enough out there to be hired uh so it's something that is bigger than 196 but is something that we are invested in and want to continue to invest in because we have seen the need increase tremendously and while we do have a good number of uh mental health supports in our schools the demand I believe does exceed what we have available and I'm afraid if we ask students directly which I want to do as much as possible that many more of them would self- select into having more mental health supports if given the opportunity and if we weren't having to triage those uh scenarios Melissa well I'm not going to to stray very far off from what Leah had mentioned um I think mental health is a real problem and it has been for quite some time um as a former police officer working uh and answering calls uh from parents and responding to districts uh um the school district to um to take reports of student behavior and what have you it was obvious to me that about the time that cell phones and um um you know internet use uh un unsupervised internet use in classrooms um and then using it at home as a filler time for parents um I I personally and so did a lot of my colleagues saw um an increase in behavioral issues um with with students I'm not saying that's the only reason I'm saying it is a contributing factor though I think there there's a lot of people out there who would agree to that and a recent legislation um was also passed to address cell phone use in schools so it it has been um it has been uh you know brought to light and it is being acted on I do agree that we need to have more mental health professionals available I do know that Dakota County has uh great resources it's a matter of teachers uh having the ability to take that hat off of teaching time and putting on the the social worker hat and it's a lot to ask of our of our teachers that's where a lot of involes so um having that support there for our school staff um will be Paramount thank you the order for the next question is Melissa followed by Leah and our next question is what are a school board members roles and responsibilities how does the differ from the roles or responsibilities of the superintendent or the ad Administration Melissa so it it's laid out in State Statute what the Schoolboard responsibility is and everybody anybody can go um to our uh reviser website State reviser website and look up that information um how how I would see my role as your school board member would be that liaison from the voters to uh our and student the voters and students to our legislators um School Board whether anybody wants to wants to um admit it or not is is a political position um I would like to hope that it stays as nonpartisan as possible but um we need as a school board we need to have people who advocate for what the District needs itself it shouldn't be anybody else's agenda other than what the the students require to be successful and how we can help uh staff successfully um make sure that the students are achieving that that's our goal um the superintendent manages it um and then we make sure that the superintendent understands what the goal is either by uh what we've asked of legislators and legislators have passed into law um or um what they're being told um the teachers are being told is needed by the teacher or the superintendent is being told by the teachers Leah so I think of the role of Schoolboard as having a few key components one is the the supervision hiring and firing of our superintendent which is an exciting area for us right now we just hired a new superintendent and so we're in the process of onboarding and together setting um setting the direction under new leadership we have a an important responsibility to manage uh the the fiscal um budget and that's something that again budgets reflect priorities so at the end of the day both of those two I think come down to what is the Strategic Direction that we're taking as a district and that is something that um is critical that we are a representation of parents of you know the community at large of Youth um and a variety of stakeholders being able to get their input in to help set that strategic Direction um and then make sure that it's actually you know not just on a piece of paper but that we're seeing that strategic Direction in day-to-day decisions and implementation uh so that's all something that I think is our role and I will say would benefit from more parent and also youth uh engagement so that we can make sure we're we're doing what we aspire to do thank you the response order for the next question will be Leah followed by Melissa and our next question is what differentiates you from the other candidate or from other board members Leah so one thing that that I want to say is that I am not coming into this did not get involved in this uh based on any political agenda um I am doing this work because I'm deeply committed to serving the community which uh is evidenced by also my day job uh working in hunger relief and in the nonprofit sector for my entire career but it's also more than that I have been involved in the 196 uh foundation and that is again making sure that students have access to things like books and enrichment activities like uh band instruments um so I've been involved for a long time in wanting to make sure that everyone has a chance to thrive in our community but again I think it's beyond that that what I bring to the table in all of my work I'm very committed to Partnerships and I think I've evidenced that in in any role that I've played I'm I'm willing to listen I know how to listen actively and engage community and I want to build Partnerships across difference um I could not do my work if I looked at everything through a political lens I don't I want to hear and support everyone in our community and lastly I am trained um as a voice for racial Justice um Apprentice in equity not just in verbage but also in action I would say that uh my my experience in law enforcement 20 years uh working for um the henen County Sheriff's Office and for the city of Lakeville has really given me the opportunity to learn and experience um Humanity um in ways that um many people like teachers nurses people who are in public service um really get to experience it's not something other than my my two-year degree that I have in law enforcement uh it's not something that you can learn in a school or in a textbook it's something that you learn simply through your day-to-day interactions with people um you learn where people are from and how they behave when they're at their lowest and at their highest points in their life um and that's that's something that uh that I I think really does differentiate me from a lot of from our current school board members I don't believe anybody has that experience that they've brought to light um that I've that I've heard or witnessed um I would also like to say with the the various other volunteer um you know boards that I've been on my volunteer experience um working with youth programs uh it really puts me um in a position to understand where a lot of residents and students and teachers are coming from and what their expectations are thank you the response order for next question will be Melissa followed by Leah and our next question is what are your top three Financial priorities for the district and why would you like me to answer that one or would you like me to answer talk about budgets and uh priorities sure um well I think I think the the biggest aspect of of what we're staring at right now is the the historical Bond referendum that was passed and while I I understand that everything is allotted a line item for uh what has been outlined um to be done I think that when you have a living breathing um budget and project you have to be on top of it constantly I I know it's uh comparing um something small but you know re just doing a kitchen renovation um you constantly have to uh re-evaluate uh your budget so I think that's going to be our number one priority um I would also like to take a look at what we're like really get down to what the um budget is for wages across the board um we cannot have a successful School District unless we have teachers who feel that they are being recognized for the work that they're doing and that starts with making sure that they feel comfortable um with the wages that they're making to support their families so I would like to say that those are two of my priorities right now if I were to become uh your next School Board member Leah so as I mentioned we have long prided ourselves in being transparent and fiscally responsible with our budget that's something that we do take seriously and and need to continue to have a high priority around uh and you know as stated we have a a very large um a very large bond that that is going into US build building some new facilities that were much needed uh across the district uh as we've been growing and evolving in our population it is a big um priority to make sure that those dollars are well spent that we're with this unique and not frequent opportunity that we're looking at what are the what are the buildings that are going to meet the need today but as we continue to grow so right now we're very limited in our space for uh for Early Childhood interventions so we're baking that in if you will to how we're building um current facilities uh so that that's going to be important that we think about you know we're not just thinking about the population today we're thinking about the population 10 years uh from now and I also want to say that it's important to have uh if we want to be able to attract most talented staff and not have shortages we do need to be compensating people well and that's everything from our teachers to um you know Food Service workers peras all of that so make sure making sure we have funding for our staff is is also essential and the response order for our next question will be Leah followed by Melissa what role does equity and diversity Unity planned Public Schools describe how you'd provide a quality education for a diverse student population Leah so we are lucky to be in not only a large District but in increasingly diverse District um this is why uh people come to 196 and choose to have their kids in our schools is because not just of the great opportunities that we offer but the diversity in in the student body which is growing and I think it's important to recognize with that comes a change in the overall culture and how we need to respond to student needs uh so it is important that we have in our strategic planning and act on making sure that we're achieving our goals around Equity um diversity is happening at the student level at least it should be reflected in our staff and our teachers as well uh and then that value needs to translate into everything that we do and that is not just racial Equity but you know making sure that our facilities are accessible to people with disabilities um making sure that we have the special education uh supports for students and I have to say lastly we have a lot of people struggling in this community um when it comes to food insecurity and just in general in struggling to make ends meet we need to make sure that those students are not facing additional barriers to education Melissa well I do I do agree that we have a uh very diverse district and um I I think that's a great thing to have because it gives uh our kids the opportunity to understand where other people are coming from it gives them the opportunity to understand that um families come from different life experiences and we learn from each other um through communication uh we can do that through uh providing you know books that offer different uh life experience based on culture uh religion um ethnicity all of that um and I think our our teachers do a great job of of doing that and I I think the state of Minnesota does that um I I continuously go back to when I went to school and I can I can tell you that um after having a lot of discussions with some of my old classmates I I don't think there was any doubt in our mind at any point in time that any one of us was any different than the student sitting next sitting next to us and while it's important to recognize where people come from and the different um life experiences that they have I think that's what makes us best at being human is understanding that it doesn't matter um other than what you're experienc Es are that makes you human thank you thank you the response order for a next question will be Melissa followed by Leia what is the what skills or experiences do you possess that qualify you to serve as a board member Leah sorry Melissa I'm sorry I I thought this was the same question that we had already but it's different all right um well like I said before I have um the experience with being a police officer for um 20 years um that has given me uh those unique experiences of of dealing with people from every socioeconomic background um mental health issues um uh you know being able to confront uh and be confronted when there's an issue um in leadership positions where it's been um my responsibility of making hard decisions and um you know making sure that there's disciplines but that there's also rewards for fantastic Behavior Uh or um or productivity um I've been in you know all the way from starting at the very bottom um to being in charge of a 120 person volunteer unit which is not easy to get 120 volunteers to do something all at the same time and be on the same page um just just those experiences in general have really given me um you know exceptional um and and unique opportunity to be able to um be an asset for our school board Leia so I think that it's um really important to be able to think about navigating um strategic plans and systems change that's a a key role of ours on the school board and something that I you know have been very involved in as um a part of those leadership team for my organization other nonprofit organizations you know really the hunger relief system as a whole is rather complex and has evolved uh quite a bit in in the last several years and so I I do think that I have the ability and experience to navigate um making sure that we're meeting our objectives uh as a school district when we set out our strategic plan um I I also think that we're in a a pivotal moment where our district is becoming more diverse and you know we're coming out of some really tough years and we need to see our graduation rate our um our achievement stats go up for all but most importantly we need to take a hard look at some serious gaps that we have there and that's also something that I work on and have training on um every day and have had have invested in significant training on um so I I will try to bring my own unique lens from my day work into uh making sure that all students are meeting their full potential in the district thank you in the response order for our next question will be Leah followed by Melissa how can a school board with differing opinion on major topics work together to achieve common goals for the district Leah one thing that I will say about our school board um and our district leadership is that we we start from a place of respect and communication even if we disagree we can voice our differing opinions and fact I think that that's important and something that we're working on you know as we're adapting to to new leadership and transitions of um some of us being newer board members some of us being uh there for decades we're working to make sure that we're comfortable speaking up and sharing our unique Vantage points um not just in the board meetings which you know have tight and strict agendas but that we're workshopping when we need to that we're talking with you know different staff and different leadership roles across the district so that we're constantly learning and um bouncing things off of each other that's something that we need to continue to do and I think the most important thing is I've tried to take every opportunity when I'm hearing from constituents which I welcome anyone to reach out to me anytime um you know when questions come up often times one of my colleagues may have the an but sometimes you know it's a degree to which we're we're placing emphasis on One Thing versus another those are important conversations for us to be having um again from a place of respect even if we don't have the same opinion Melissa I think that's important to to understand again that um everybody comes from different life experiences different job experiences um and we all have our our own opinions about how we think things should be run but we have to have respect for each for each other um and for those experiences that each other has um I think also it's important to remember that even if somebody does have a varying uh opinion from yours I think the people that are on our school board are there because they have one goal and mind and that's to make sure that our kids succeed um and while we might have a different route of getting there um that is the goal and I respect anybody who has um taken the time and is volunteering their time sacrificing um their family time to um serve others families um and I think if if you keep that in mind and have that goal that goal in sight um that's what compromise is all about and um we need to make sure that we're doing it for the sake of our kids thank you and now we've arrived at our final question and the order will be Melissa followed by Leia and our final question is if you're elected what would you hope would be key accomplishments of the board during your years of service Melissa um I would like to see um the the the school board known to be uh fiscally responsible uh across the board um that taxpayers and um teachers uh really see that the school board is um taking the the finances seriously I know that there are a lot of districts out there that are struggling to make sure that they uh their day-to-day um uh bills get paid appropriately either if that's um making sure that there's extra or uh essential funding for programming or just simply that their teachers are getting paid appropriate wages um we also need to uh make sure that our students continue to excel um while this year's um state test scores did improve in the district and we we are above State average I I would like to see that continue there's no reason why we should stay stagnant or decline um and then also I would really like to see an improvement in the safety of our schools bringing back that that school culture and really um helping teachers and staff to to um make sure that they're in control of the school what's being taught and and um responsible for the outcome of our students well I have a long list so I'll get in as many as I can but I want to make sure that we find new avenues for student and family engagement um that could look like students being on the school board that could look like different ways that we engage with families if L listening sessions get canceled because people don't show up we've got to figure out a different way to make there be accessible spaces for parents to come and talk with us we need a nurturing School environment for everyone that includes mental health supports that includes support staff um that includes making sure that everyone feels safe and welcome in our schools I feel I'm uniquely um positioned to make sure that we remove any and all economic barriers uh from our students and I want to say that you know when it comes to taking a close look at our data points such as our graduation rate yes we have um intolerable gaps when it comes to bipo students um English Learners and even a higher driver of whether or not you graduate is your family's income level so these things are important um and we need to make sure that we're not leaving any students out and that when we say we want to continue to make progress and have opportunities for everyone to succeed that we're actually following that data into practices that get us results thank you thank you and that brings us to closing statements candidates will each have two minutes and the response order will be Leia followed by Melissa so in closing I do want to say again thank you to our hosts and to everyone for tuning in I think this is a really important discussion um and I hope you've learned a little bit more about me I hope you feel comfortable reaching out to me anytime as your current and committed School Board member as I already just rattled off I have a lot of priorities for um the district and more than I was able to achieve in six months so I would love to continue leveraging what I have learned um and my passion for making sure that we achieve um continued growth and success in the district uh and continue to to serve uh the community so I hope to earn your vote and continue my work uh to learn more about me or my campaign you can visit Leah Gardner for 1996. um and feel free to get in touch that way as well Alissa uh I'd like to thank the League of Women Voters one last time for this opportunity it's a great way for candidates um to get their ideas and values out there to the public um and door knocking is hard so I really appreciate the time in closing I'd like to make one thing very clear I'm running for Schoolboard because there is no doubt in my mind that our children are the key to the success of our nation while I'm not a teacher I've had the opportunity to get a taste of what it's like to teach kids I've worked with kids who are first generation English speakers kids whose parents have fled to the US from war torn countries kids that have come from broken families and kids who have come from families where everything is given to them that they've ever wanted but when you put them all together in the same room and work toward a common goal they do amazing things I think we have a great District but we're but we're having a hard time getting out of a slump our MCAS and graduation record in the district support that when we continue to do the same things over the expectation uh with the expectation uh of a different outcome it usually doesn't produce positively with that I'm asking everyone watching who will be voting on November 5th to consider maybe it's time 196 uh consider a different approach to getting that desired outcome and vote for me Melissa field as your next School Board member and I encourage everybody to take a look at my website Melissa field for1 to serve our community the League of Women Voters is dedicated to researching issues critical to our members and the well-being of our communities if you're interested in learning more about our work and discovering how you can make a difference please visit us at lwv Dakota county.org for additional information about voting and candidates please check out mnvotes.org or vote411.org thank you again for tuning in and don't forget to vote by November 5th [Music]