[Music] all right welcome everybody Welcome to the Lakeville area Schoolboard of Education candidate Forum brought to you by the Lakeville Chamber of Commerce like to welcome those in the room and those watching via live stream or through the r broadcast uh the chamber is hosting three candidates forums this year for the city council the ISD 194 school board and a joint for for the House of Representatives districts 57a and 57b we'd like to thank the city of Lakeville for the use of the city hall for the three candidate forums as well as the live streaming and rebroadcasting of of the show throughout the election season my name is Phil Reigns I'm with prevailing wisdom I'm also the chair of the chamber access and issues group uh and I will serve as tonight's moderator want to also introduce Colleen La laau of a laau associates and she is also one of my access and issues members so glad to have you on uh she'll be doing the timekeeping uh and uh it's the mission of the Lakeville Chamber of Commerce to serve as the advocate resource and leader for our nearly 600 members in the entire Lakeville business Community uh in accordance with our mission we conduct these forums each election so that you may get to know the candidates who would like to represent and serve our businesses and our residents we invited all eight Lakeville uh Schoolboard candidates to join us at The Forum I believe we have one that was not able to make it here tonight um the uh we had seating today by random draw so uh I'll introduce them uh from left right Paul Carbone Daryl Hall Matt Swanson Amber Cameron Laura fangle Brett Nicholson and Don seers shot welcome uh my understanding is Zachary Bowman bolman was not able to make it here tonight uh had uh another uh commitment that he could not make so the format for the Forum will be as follow we will randomly draw the questions uh all the questions have been provided to uh all of the candidates ahead of time but we will randomly draw which questions there are uh I do reserve for myself the uh opportunity to do one additional question at my discretion if it is it'll be a fun question no nothing to put every anyone off uh we will not be taking audience questions uh we have ask everyone in the audience uh and our other uh the candidates who are not speaking at the time to just be respectful of other people uh as always this is a forum this is not uh this is not really a debate we're here to learn more about you and uh uh that's your opportunity to do so uh the way it will work is 90 seconds for introductions and opening statements 90 seconds to respond to each question and then 60 seconds for for a closing statement when we come to the end uh with 15 seconds remaining in your time allotted Colleen will hold up the yellow card uh and give you a fair warning and at when your time is out she'll hold up the red card please wrap up as quickly as possible uh I don't want to cut anybody off it's just no fun um so again just remember form not a debate and uh I think we're we're ready to go otherwise any questions all right excellent in that in that instance we're going to start off with the opening statements 90 seconds a piece we're going to start from the left and uh we'll start with Mr Carbone thank you sir thank you I am Paul Carbone my lovely wife and I are residents of Lakeville we have two daughters here and our grandkids go to Lakeville schools my my experience spans from the classroom to the boardroom I've spent 18 years in education teaching at the college level I've had the opportunity to observe in my college classroom students that have come out of the public school system the parochial Catholic school system and also the Christian School System I've mentored college students to prepare them for the workforce and I've also judged academic competitions as a business executive I've managed teams I've handled large budgets and I've also done strategic planning that experience along with talking to a number of parents over the course of uh recent time has allowed me to focus on four items academic Excellence budget responsibility career Readiness and school safety academic Excellence at the core of every decision needs to be how can we get the student to their full potential budget responsibility folks they're your tax dollars every time you reach into your pocket to spend them you need to know that there's a clear purpose and that there's transparency career Readiness diploma in hand they need to be prepared for the next step whether that's College trade school or going right into the workforce school safety period all right thank you very much appreciate that Mr Hall good evening my name is darl Hall I'm very proud to be running for the istd 194 School Board uh I'd like to begin by thanking the uh Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce I appreciate the opportunity that you have given us tonight to participate in this forum I'd also like to thank those who who will be watching um who will use these responses to make sure uh that they make informed decisions between now and in November 5th when my daughter and I moved to to Minnesota we like thousands of others chose Lakeville because of its schools and we have been overwhelmingly rewarded by this decision we love Lakeville and we love our schools as for me I'm a professional with more than 25 years of operational and proc process leadership experience I'm logical I'm hardworking and collaborative I've managed $50 million business units controlled budgets been responsible for hiring and firing personnel and negotiated contracts with key vendors this district will do all of these things in the next year so I feel well equipped for the task and I look forward to sharing more with you tonight thank you all right thank you Mr Swanson all right good evening Bill thanks for having us tonight and thank you for the chamber uh for providing this opportunity for us uh my name is Matt Swanson my wife and I have lived in Lakeville for roughly 20 years now uh we have four kids that are currently in Elementary School and Middle School uh so we are high invested in the school system and we also use our fair share of the resources that the schools provide um I am an attorney by trade I've been practicing for 15 years with my primary area of practice is representing uh corporate boards so I work in provide strategic decision-making uh corporate governance and policy implementation for our clients um helping them to make decisions of all sorts and even representing them in conflicts that arise in litigation so I'm part of my job is handling uh dispute resolution on almost a daily basis that includes working with different views trying to find a way forward taking the emotion out of the out of the decision um so we can push forward and make an effective resolution that works for all parties I'm running for the school board uh to utilize these skills in service of the community my goals are to ensure that all of the students in our schools are provided with a high quality education that our district finan are not secret to the taxpaying public that funds are responsibly utilized for the purpose of improving the academic success of our students and that we engage our students parents as active participants in the education process to maximize our students potential thank you all right thank you uh miss Cameron great uh thank you to the Lakefield Chamber of Commerce for this opportunity and for those that are here tonight and those online that are listening I'm Amber Cameron and I'm the a parent of two children in our school district my husband and I moved to this community like others um over 14 years ago because of the strong public school system and we're proud to send our kids to Lakeville area schools through my work as the director for public engagement initiatives for the University of Minnesota 5 campus system and through my volunteer work on the ISD 194s Finance task force facilities task force the boundary input team and serving as a member and chair of various city and county boards I find purpose and energy in serving this community I'm running to support and build on Lakeville area school's great reputation to continue being a school district of choice for families we need to offer competitive salaries for teachers secure high quality curricula for our students and support facilities that meet student learning needs I am also running to ensure our district is transparent and accountable to all stakeholders a key part of this is financial stewardship I received my financial training at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and through my work on various boards I have experience with complex budgets that include funding from federal state local and private sources our School Board needs collaborative leaders who can effectively understand ISC 1994's current issues and develop solutions that will prepare our students for our Global World I believe I have the skills experience and motivation to be this kind of leader and I hope to have your support this fall thank you all right thank you Miss fangle good evening and thank you to the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce for hosting this important Forum my name is Laura fangle and I'm a proud parent of two daughters ages eight and four my husband and I moved to Lakeville in early 2021 after carefully considering several areas in the South Metro ultimately we chose Lakeville for its Vibrant Community and well-respected School District since moving here we quickly immersed ourselves in the community I joined the PTO to connect with other parents and contribute to our school I have since served as vice president and president the last two years and remained an active volunteer in the school more recently I collaborated with the 2023 unite for 194 referendum team and represented our school on the boundary adjustment advisory committee over the course of the last three years I have become deeply engaged in Schoolboard discussions particularly as we navigated a 7 million do budget deficit I was troubled to see vital services like 360 communities being removed from our schools impacting students and families who relied on their work I witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by our teachers and staff as they strive to support students with fewer resources and this last year I observed the struggles our teachers faced during prolonged contract negotiations and the effects on classroom moral I am driven by a belief that we can do better for our district I believe I can be a dedicated advocate for public education on the board and I appreciate the opportunity to share more about myself and my platform this evening thank you all right thank you Mr Nicholson hi my name is Brent Nicholson I'd like to thank the Lakeville Chamber of Commerce for putting this forum on I'm excited to announce that I'm running here for Lakeville School Board as a longtime resident entrepreneur and parent with two children who will be in the Lakeville school system for the next decade I'm heavily invested in the future of our district my wife Marsha is a current kindergarten teacher so I can understand and empathize with our teachers on a daily basis what they have to go through what they deal with with my experience as a managing partner of a Consulting firm and background human resources and project management I've managed multi-million dollar budgets driven innovated Solutions and ensured fiscal responsibility for a variety of companies our school district is at a critical juncture rapid growth Rising demands unchecked spending call for leadership that prior prioritizes Financial transparency academic excellence and supporting our Educators my platform focuses on three key pillars basically the ABC's of me academic achievement budget transparency ensuring our our tax dollars are spent wisely and championing our teachers and staff we need to reduce the administrative burdens they face and let them focus on what they do best teaching our children Lakeville families deserve a school board that works proactively with city planners and the business Community to Foster long-term growth without imposing unnecessary tax burdens I believe we can creatively fund our priority priorities without continuously asking taxpayers for more I'm running to make sure we plan responsibly for our District's future and deliver the best possible education to our students all right thank you Miss cot my priorities are quality and Equitable education with student centered decision making supporting our students and Educators with resources and tools necessary for academic success communication and financial transparency my family and I have lived in the Lakeville School District since 2005 our kids have attended Lakeville schools since then our youngest is a high school sophomore we now have grandkids in the Lakeville schools at an elementary age our family is heavily engaged in the school district and co-curricular activities I am experienced as a former elonu Market city council member I was on the hiring panel involved in conduct conducting interviews for the chief of police reviewed and helped allocate the city budget directly engaged with the community seeking their input full-time I am a contract negotiator for corporate at a Fortune 500 company reviewing multi-million dollar contracts while working side by side with the legal department I hold my real estate broker license and constantly networking with the local business as well in the community I am committed to providing highquality Equitable programs to meet the needs of our students we all benefit from high- performing schools resulting in a strong local economy improved home values safer communities and most importantly students who become productive contributing members of society thank you all right fantastic appreciate everything uh let's dive right into it we got uh a lot to get through tonight so going to start with the first question this is in regard to relationships all right uh the strength of our schools is a key factor when businesses are considering building expanding or relocating to Lakeville we believe it is important that the ISD 194 board and Leadership provide maintains open and regular communication with the city the chamber and the local business Community what do you view as the school board's role in the relationship with the Lakeville business community and we're we're going to move the rotation over one with each question so I'm going to start with Mr Hall well I absolutely agree um obviously time is a constraint for all of us but uh I would welcome being a regular fixture uh in the chamber and and rotary and and lion club meetings I I know that all of these organizations already uh regularly highlight student and student achievements as as part of their uh member Gatherings I'd love to to help broaden this Spotlight and uh show off even more of the terrific things that are that are happening in our schools uh as for the school board's role in our in that relationship um I think it's very clear that that we along with our communities residents uh share a symbiotic triangle uh we serve one another we depend upon one another uh we benefit one another uh so understanding that this it would be my position that the school board members should be present at an important business and community events uh just as we expect businesses and residents to be present at ours uh so yes to summarize I fully support these Partnerships uh I believe that they're critical to our cause uh and as a school board member I would would person engage in activities activities which strengthen these ties all right thank you Mr Swanson yeah I would agree with a lot of what what Daryl says um the Lakeville business Community is obviously a very important resource for our schools especially when we have a limited budget and the restraints that go along with that any assistance and resources that we can receive from our local businesses will serve to enrich the education of our students um as far as our role I mean individually as board members we would be part of the Chamber of Commerce and could attend any meetings or engage with the business members um from the board itself though you know our school board's role is one of policy governance and so we're limited as far as what we do individually um as a board though we set the policy of the school and then through implementation of the administration that policy goes out so for the board engagement in business if we make it a priority on the board side policy priority that we pass and then follow up and make sure that the administration is implementing it and following through with that uh then we can more actively utilize business resources and those relationships that are available to us in our community um as it is vital to the the school Success thank you all right thank you miss Cameron great thanks I'm gonna Echo a lot of what um darl and Matt have already said that the importance of this relationship between ISC 184 and and Lakeville business Community is very important um I think as part of that something um I I took in during the boundary adjustment process that ISD 194 went through last year was making sure that our school district was understanding the priorities that the city of Lakeville had for growth and for growth um areas and for needs of the community um the consultant that we work with had continual input from from this body that sits at this table normally um to help make sure that the school district and the input um Team were making good decisions for the health of the broader community at large um I think it's also important um for the school board and kind of this goes without saying perhaps but that we need to make sure we have strong schools so we continue to attract employees to our area and to Lakeville in particular um we we have seen I think in some communities when the strong schools aren't um aren't as prevalent um that um as Don mentioned um uh values of homes can go down and also the attractiveness of um getting high quality employees can go down so we need to make sure that we um maintain High standards for our for our students in order for um those families to want to move here I think continually um having listening sessions with the business Community is important um and I would advocate for increased partnership in this area and then finally as is 194 is the largest employer in Lakeville I think it's important that um we have a healthy school system so that people will live and Shop here who also work in I 184 all right thank you Miss fangle yeah I mean I think it goes without saying I think we're all going to come on this uh forum tonight and and promote the importance of this partnership right that's why I think the chamber hosts forums like this for Schoolboard candidates is that this relationship between our schools and the local businesses is essential to what makes Lakeville what it is um we have a robust level of programs that I think we'll talk about more later tonight um where our students have the opportunity to meet with local business owners and learn about uh potential careers and um opportunities that where they can be engaged uh outside of the classroom and so I think it's really important for the school board to continue that connection and continue that conversation um as a individual School Board member it would um be important for me to attend events throughout the year that are essential to our businesses um that bring uh our community together and connect us um I think that as we um come together and we join and we we um celebrate all of that is Lakeville I think that that partnership and that communication is essential and ongoing um forums uh and and ways to connect with each other um there there's lots of opportunity there all right thank you uh Mr Nicholson I see the board's role as a bridge um connecting education with economic development uh making Lakeville an attractive place for businesses to grow and Thrive um Echo much of what's already been said here um the board has a responsibility to maintain a strong and open relationship with local businesses and the business Community um keeping those lines of communication open and working collaborative collaboratively with them uh we'll ensure that our schools are aligned with the needs of local businesses I think that's critical in terms of what they're looking for knowing what they're looking for and being able to uh adapt curriculum for the future to meet those needs uh the business World changes pretty rapidly uh it's a little bit different than government it moves at a very quick Pace um that experience and exposure I think is critical to tie back to uh our students learning uh in my experience it's incredibly important to maintain open lines of communication uh I take meetings regularly even if it's just a recurring touch Point uh you never know when somebody's going to have a need or or a reason to reach out and a and a reason to and say hey can you help me with something um I think that's important uh in this specific situation um kind of addressing this question all right thank you very much Miss CAD yes um so I feel that the school board's role with the business Community is to improve communication so that relationships can develop and maintain strong resulting and support for the district um Business Leaders and chamber Partners can offer expertise in areas like budget human Capital Management policy development and implementation when we're involving the Business Leaders and the Chamber partners with the school district it also can help improve outcomes as being more prepared Workforce by playing a larger role in the school district all right thank you Mr Carbone thank you um after graduation we hopefully are passing prepared people into the business community and as a board we need to understand what the business Market is that we're passing those folks into and how those folks need to be prepared for those markets so relationships and communication with the business Community absolutely I think I think you've probably heard that down the line uh we need to know our market and and certainly the School Board needs to integrate itself into the business community and also be involved in the business Community it will Aid in the decisions that need to be made to make sure again career preparedness that was one of the things that's extremely important and and and that's a great way to start understanding when someone is career prepared uh the the school board itself uh is technically supposed to be governance but that doesn't mean that we as school board members can't be involved in the community thank you right thank you and I'm going off script here a little bit but I'll throw three things out there for you uh we have a bowling for Education uh event we do every year with the uh the Chamber of Commerce uh the chamber access and issues Group which I chair I'm uh is an awesome forum for both people in the community and for the board uh because we bring people across all levels of the community uh we have people people from the city we have County we have Congressional we have school board Etc that come to the meeting uh it's a great way to find out and coordinate all those things and then coming up next month we do have uh the state of schools uh which we do every year uh and it's a great opportunity for the business Community to give their feedback uh and for the schools to hear from the business community on on what our interests are so thank you all so s sorry for the little infomercial there get about the get about the business so next one is in regards to connection given that the Lakeville chamber is a business advocacy organization tell us specifically about your connection to the local business community and how you plan to engage throughout the year and for this one we're going to move one over Mr Swanson I believe it is me uh so yeah I've lived in Lakeville for 20 years um I've built two homes here in Lakeville a most recent home was with Country Joe so a local Builder I send my kids to Lakeville schools and uh we spend way too much money at the Lakeville Target so uh yeah that's how I engage in the on a personal side with the local business Community um from a professional side I am an attorney I do represent several clients that are in the Lakeville area um and we definitely appreciate the Lakeville that Lakeville as established a thriving local economy with many businesses that are coming here in large part due to the success of our schools um as I noted before as a board member uh we automatically become members of the chamber which I do intend to utilize that opportunity to Foster relationships with local businesses in order to take advantage of any support that may be available to our talented students um that will be graduating from our schools and looking for employment I mean ideally we're going to be able to create a system where the student students want to come back and live in Lakeville and make this their home for years to come by having a healthy school that is academically competitive with all other schools in the state and achieving what it has in the past we can bring that back there um we will have that community and for years to come thank you all right thank you miss Cameron great thanks uh like Matt we too spend too much money at Target and probably Northern Tap House um uh so that's one way I'm engaged but um I um I live in the Burnsville area of the school district um and in that role I've served on a number of different um committees and commissions for the broader Regional economy so I served as the chair of the as Commission in Burnsville which is a public private partnership between the city of Burnsville and the uh and venue Works to run the Performing Art Center in in Burnsville um I also was appointed by my commissioner to serve on the Dakota County Extension committee and um through that work we support all the 4 um uh programming that's happening throughout our County including Youth Development programs um related to to Business and Entrepreneurship um we also get to recognize the farm Family of the Year every year in Dakota County um so it's really great to see how the agricultural um communities within our within our regional economy are supporting both both Lakeville but the broader the broader area um I think like Matt I'm excited if elected to be further engaged in the Lakefield chamber um I think there's a lot of great things that are happening in our school district related to Business Development and career exploration for students but I think there are um really exciting things that um are on the horizon or things that we could steal from peer districts my husband is a Dina students at Shaka high school and I'm really impressed by their Academy model um that's working with local businesses in a very robust way so thank you all right thank you Miss fangle yes um so throughout my time on the PTO I have worked to engage with local businesses to support our annual events and uh fundraising efforts this includes reaching out to connect with business leaders who share our goals and inquire how they may be willing to partner with us um we are often seeking out t-shirt sponsors or sign sponsors for our various wathon and family fund night events and um it's important for me to help build that relationship and build that Community um when you patronize local businesses and engage with them you're helping to build and create that Community um and and create a space that is um um very much about connecting with each other um personally we enjoy patronizing lots of local businesses I think I spend more money at boutiques probably than Target these days um and then restaurants our kids love so many of our local restaurants um LBC is a favorite for their mac and cheese um and my husband and I know um enjoy knowing uh going to these places knowing that we are supporting our neighbors and that our money is staying local and um building this space um and continuing to support the growth of Lakeville um any business that is willing to put money time or effort into our community and our school district um is a priority for me and my family all right thank you Mr Nicholson thank you I also uh support all of our lovely local restaurants here quite often having kids Target yeah all the time uh Target build tends to exceed more of more of the other bills more often than not um I understand the importance of building the strong bu business relationship uh I know of a number of Industry professionals and a number of the business owners here in Lakeville uh I love to shop local when we can uh I enjoy coaching and youth sports and how sport can bring communities and businesses together uh the fundraising piece of that tends to link a lot of uh families and individuals um as a member of the board I'd like to ensure that I have a pulse on the community uh on a more personal level I'd like to participate in future chamber events share my experience uh and learn what challenges the local community is facing um my experience has taken me all over the country Canada and abroad so I feel I have a bit of global business exposure uh that different different differentiates me from some of the other candidates here um if elected I'd like to have frequent open honest dialogue with the superintend uh I'm very interested in sharing my knowledge learning more from the community and working to apply those synergies to programs that will help our students be real world ready all right thank you C pad so I've been a licensed real estate professional in the area since 2016 I assist my clients in the biggest investment that they're going to make in their life that builds trust and that builds a relationship that also um in turn um as I'm calling for other reasons whether it's a uh plumber that they need or whether it's HVAC or whether it's an inspector for whatever reason but my business has always been referral based and those referrals were based on my networking in the community often times I do need to partner with other business owners to get work done mainly choosing local business owners um whether it's a construction company to build a new home for a client or whether it's connecting with like I said a local plumber or HVAC to help with client inspection findings finding a local house cleaning business even to refer a client to or even the local Boutique to make a client gift um I've always used the opportunity to engage with the local business owners and that's what I've been doing for more than 10 years now all right thank you very good thank you um I spend my money on Main Street I go to Ace Hardware I go to b52s State Farm LBC it's a matter of fact I may go to Derry delight and buy myself an ice cream cone after this while building a house here also we used a local Builder versus a national Builder and in the course of doing that many of the subcontractors that came in for Plumbing Heating electrical etc etc I developed a relationship with got their information and and refer them to other people in the community or in the neighborhood so that hopefully that will expand their business and and make them a strong and and help increase the business Community here locally in Lakeville all right thank you Mr Hall I believe in honest self assessment and and the honest answer is is that I could probably be more engaged AED um I'm a father who who takes a very active role in his daughter's life so aside from my career uh the large balance of my time is dedicated to her and of course that includes all of the volunteering and Civic Pursuits that uh I have related to the school district uh but that said we are consumers uh we purchase from local and small businesses when this is an option and as much uh and much of our dollars for entertainment and exercise and and dining are spent right here in Lakeville uh we also enjoy the many community events that our local businesses make possible uh like Youth Sports pan prag uh the consumer Expo uh holiday on Maine we mentioned Bowling For Education DL Buu Taste of Lakeville and and there are many many more um so all this is to say that uh I truly appreciate our our business Community U I thank you for all that you do and offer and uh I pledge especially if elected to to have a regular presence in in chamber meetings and events all right excellent I think we go to the next question which is tax burdens uh uh and we'll start off with Miss Cameron when we get there uh as Lakeville continues to lead the state in residential growth how will you balance the need for more classrooms programming and staff while minimizing and increased tax burden on residents and business Cameron thanks um this is a complicated question obviously with the growth that we're seeing in um Lakeville and also in 194 um we have an expensive model for our school district and that was decided decades ago to create smaller School communities there's lots of benefit to that um uh kids have more opportunities to participate in high school sports or in or in arts and things like that but there's also drawbacks the higher cost to do that um means that we need more bonds and we need more uh staff to run these facilities that's a decision our community has made and I think um uh we will stick with that but I think as we go forward we need to be planful in how we build so do we do additions onto buildings or do we um do new buildings um I think those are up for debate as we move forward with the growing student population and I think something that I would like to consider is how can we build um uh perhaps facilities using one site like a mult campus um opportunity to reduce costs on building and efficiencies um many school districts 196 for as an example has many sites where elementary and middle are un shared sites and this allows them to save um save money and save tax tax dollars I think at the end of all this it's important to um recognize that if we want to keep up with our peers like the minitonas the wi zettas the 196s of the world um we need to support the schools like they do they've over the last 20 years those school districts have passed 100% of their referendums we've passed 60% there's a difference there all right thank you Miss fangle yes um our exponential growth is and will continue to be a challenge for our school district new housing developments often attract young families meaning more students in our schools with the opening of High View this fall we created more space for our elementary students however we need to imminently address capacity at the middle school level some adjustments were made to balance the schools this last fall but a short-term it's a short-term solution for a long-term problem we need to either build another mid middle school or as um Amber alluded to uh expand the three that we have we will need to um accommodate our growth which of course comes with cost the bond to build Lakeville South will phase out in the next year which frees up significant dollars to use for other capital expenses our community growth is currently outpacing the capacity of our schools and we need to allocate a higher we need I'm sorry we need to allocate higher Monies to ensure that our district can catch up many of the districts in our Tac in our area tax at a higher rate as they believe in the importance of funding public schools and see the benefit high quality education has on their overall Community one thing that I continue to hear from our community members is that you really need to have a clear explanation of budget spending that everyone can understand you shouldn't need an Advanced Financial degree to understand where your tax dollars are being spent and it is one of my priorities if elected to make our financial reports digestible for staff parents and community members at large thank you Mr next thank you this is one that kind of hits home for me um over the next four years the school board's going to oversee uh nearly a billion dollar a billion dollars budgeting uh it's going to be required to strategically forecast and have a long-term Vision uh the balance uh to balance a need for classrooms staff and programs while Min minimizing tax B tax burdens we must focus on responsible financial planning partnering with the city planners exploring alternative funding like public private Partnerships and grants will reduce Reliance on uh tax increases transparency is key tax payers deserve to know where their money is going and trust it spent wisely um my experience as a Management Consultant has taught me the importance of asking the right questions validating answers and involving a broad cross-section of voices we need to avoid siloed thinking seek input from the community and engage Lakeville talented professionals uh the school board as a governing body must provide oversight and ensure every dollar supports the success of students and staff with Smart Financial Management strong Partners Partnerships and transparency we can meet the needs of our growing District without adding unnecessary pressure on the residents all right thank you Miss CAD thank you so I believe that with the large numbers with the large number of companies that we have in our district Amazon FedEx BTD Treehouse Foods there's Schneider men's a couple other that I probably will think of tomorrow or tonight but it would be doable actually to create a partner in education program that other districts have around the country and they very much succeed with these Partnerships are a mutually supportive Arrangement between a business or Community organization and a school district some of the activities from the partnered company that could benefit the district would be to assist with fundraising activity and this could help fund classroom Staffing cost or projects release time for employees to mentor to or Raid to students this could help with the shortage of Staff or volunteers sponsor a school upgrade project with materials or volunteers this could help cut from the budget the those are very realistic and current in place activities that districts are using Across the Nation to help relief tax burdens on the community all right thank you Mr Carbone yes I think Community expansion the way it's happening here in Lakeville is is more than a school School Board issue I think it's in in we need to Foster collaboration with all the community leaders and that includes city council small business Chamber of Commerce School Board business Community etc etc we need to look at efficiencies we look at where the values are we need to look at policies you know I I in my business career one of the things that I learned is is you don't always fix problems with money you can look at utilizing human resources Talent looking at the way things are structured looking at policy and the way policy creates Behavior or direction or structure so those kinds of things are the things I think need to be discussed and thought about on the board all right thank you Mr Hall um in a k 11 interview earlier this year our mayor was asked the question about why Lakeville continues to grow and his response was schools parks and Public Safety and I agree with them when I moved here six years ago those were my reasons in that order when we buy a home we have not only bought some building and some land we've also bought the support systems and when we choose to invest in these systems and I very purposely use the word invest we enjoy the possibility of capital appreciation to our own property and for anyone who has lived in another Community like I have where the choice has been not to invest in schools and parks and and police officers and firefighters well you also know the possibility of principal loss listen I I believe our school has a responsibility to spend money more wisely and to be financially transparent so that decisions can be openly scrutinized but above all else they need to provide the resources to fully educate every student and it would be negligent not to request additional monies when needed the yes or no the agreement on whether or not to assume that burden that's a tax payer decision but the School Board needs to make those requests with respect to the community having the authority to accept them or not all right thank you Mr Swanson yeah so there are several realities we have to deal with when analyzing this issue of the tax burden on the residents um first we have approximately 60% of our population that have no students in school no students in public school and yet they are still paying their taxes and supporting our schools so we have that that group of taxpayers and voters that we have to answer to as well uh and then there's the other fact that 75% or roughly 75% of the school's funding comes from the state uh and the state unfortunately the legislature only provided this last year a 2.1% increase on the per pupil funding which if anybody knows does not keep up with inflation so that creates additional budget issues for the school district uh I mean ultimately when we're talking about passing levies uh it really needs to be something something where we're building trust with the people in the community I mean everyone who's who's up here has talked about you know accountability for the budget or transparency I mean it's it's shocking to me that no one seems comfortable with the way we're spending money there doesn't seem to be a lot of transparency and if we can open up the books because it is all taxpayer money money we let the public know what the money is being spent on ensure that it's being spent wisely that we're being good stewards of the taxpayers money then we're building trust and then when we have a levy or we need to pass a levy in order to fund something the taxpayers aren't questioning whether we're wasting their money and we'd have their confidence on their vote thank you thank you all right I think we'll be starting with Miss fangle on this one uh this is regard to cell phones um all right uh state law requires school districts to adopt cell phone use in school policy uh what do you think such a policy should look like such a Hot Topic um well as you know uh the state legislature passed a law that will now require all school districts to have a policy in place by March of 2025 um currently the Minnesota School Board Association has developed a policy on this topic that many of our area school districts have already successfully adopted I would propose that Lakeville area schools also follows that model and utilizes the expertise of msba to adopt as our policy as well it's my understanding that the MSB policy will include guidance and best practices from the uh Minnesota elementary schools principal Association and the Minnesota secondary school principal Association it will be important that any policy we develop uh and Implement will have the support of our Administration as they will be the people that are doing the work on ensuring that that cell phones are that that our students are following the cell phone policy um they will need to implement the change and manage the outcomes as we develop a policy we must include our administrators in the process all right thank you Mr Nicholson so as we talk about cell phone policy I want to link it back to the business Community um cell phone use has been linked to numerous safety concerns among companies in many heavy processes Industries they ban cell phone use if you're operating a forklift if you're in a chemical processing area if you're in any sort of uh area with mechanical equipment where you can potentially lose a finger a hand an arm uh anything like that uh recent statistics also show that car accidents show one in nine are due to distracted driving using a cell phone the same Concepts can relate to the classroom it's essential to set clear expectations while giving teachers a flexibility to manage your classrooms in a way that maximizes focus in learning cell phone use policy should strike a balance between allowing access to technology and minimizing distractions policies need to be fit for purpose um I support policies that limit cell phone use during the day and eliminate use during instructional time I understand communication has changed dramatically in the last 25 years so the parent child connection is much different than it was decades ago I'd like to see the child present and not distracted it's often something I see in the workplace um people get so into Facebook Instagram Tik Tok and gaming that they don't focus on the task in front of them in an educational situation that could mean missing valuable information in a work-related situation again that could be loss of an appendage or loss of life cell phones have a place in society but not for use in the classroom schools provide other means to access technology already all right thank you Mr Nicholson uh Miss CAD yes so it's obviously no secret that cell phones are a distraction in the classroom and like it's been mentioned um I think from Laura that Minnesota legislation mandated that districts adopt a cell phone policy by March of 2025 I believe in Lakeville currently each School building is working with teachers to put practices in place based on what is working for that school I know at the elementary level current currently they are practicing no phones at school the middle and high school level they're practicing no phones in the classroom I do believe currently that the subject is being discussed with the principes and teachers to come up with a policy by March however this policy might need to look different at each age level and it might need to take into consideration certain circumstances some students might have I do feel that this type of policy doesn't need to be black and white and can have variations on each situation I'll also feel that this type of policy shouldn't be set in place without feedback and consideration from parents of what this policy should look like so as of right now I wouldn't be able to give a concrete example of what I think a cell phone policy should look like without discussing it with the parents families students and teachers principles and staff all right thank you Mr Carbone very good thank you you know as good as cell phones are and we all have one in our pocket probably as I speak they disrupt the learning environment cheating bullying uh if a teacher up in front of the classroom and somebody's on their phone the courtesy of a teacher's uh not paying attention to the teacher you know the Wall Street Journal had a report recently that teen anxiety and depression was fostered by social media and you know when you think about that it feeds the qu one of the questions that hasn't been asked yet question number two about mental health in schools so so I think it it's not only about courtesy and bullying and cheating it's also about mental health which we'll talk about I'm sure when you pull it out of the Fishbowl there you know on the other hand moms are texting kids and saying there's a change in the car poool and they need to know that so they know what door to come out of so when I was in business one of the things that uh created the problem was you would walk by a a cubicle where somebody was working and in somebody instead of someone doing their job they're sitting there playing a video game and we had to pass policies where no cell phones in hand no cell phones no cell phones on desk no cell phones visible and cell phones turned off now I know that a lot of the folks before me have already mentioned policies that have been enacted and I think that uh you you know keeping keeping cell phones in lockers backpacks turned off and if there's a breach in that it goes to the office and the parent needs to pick it up all right thank you Mr Hall so we we were discussing the state law that goes into effect in in March 2025 but it it affects everyone it's um this legislation will impact every one of uh the 331 school districts in this state and so there there are already a fair number of best practices and and templates from reputable organizations out there for us to glean from one consistent recommendation which I agree with is that we should favor a solution that at the very least eliminates private cell phone use during instructional time however as for the specifics I I believe there's an opportunity for us to to better collaborate with our key stakeholders um and specifically our our teachers and and our students as um some may know in in 1993 the Minnesota state legislature enacted a law that required school boards to have student representation and while this law was later repealed nearly one-third of school boards in our state still include a student member today I'm not necessarily making that recommendation but what I would support is the suggestion that our administrators allow our high schoolers to form a Joint Council with educator advisement uh to develop a policy within State guidelines for the school board to then review edit and approve Not only would this give our students a fair voice in a in a matter that personally affects them U but also builds leadership and Civic skill and ultimately it improves both participation and buyin which after all is the aim of any policy thank you Mr Swanson I I might make myself sound really old but uh somehow we managed without cell phones in the classroom and I don't really see a great argument for why a student needs a cell phone in the classroom um I believe there is a proposed policy for our schools where the students wouldn't be allowed to have the cell phone from Bell to Bell they could access it from their locker during passing time or at lunchtime I'm totally fine with that but uh I would absolutely um be in favor of a policy where cell phones are not allowed in the classroom if there's an emergency I mean we we still have landlines at the school right I mean parents can contact the office the office can get a hold of the teacher so yeah I yeah I don't even I don't see what the problem would be with Banning cell phones in the classroom thank you thank you miss Cameron uh as I mentioned my husband is a Dena students this has been a topic in our household for many years how do you deal with the cell phone problem they've tried locked bags in their classrooms that didn't work um tried um locking them up in like a a closet type thing that didn't work but I I think what's changed recently and my husband would agree is the socialization that we need a policy change on this issue so it's been in the media so much the state law being passed I think has brought parents in particular along that this is something that we need to address um so at his high school and I agree um with many that have um spoke up here already about this topic is trying to adopt um policies that have been effective and recommended by like the Minnesota Schoolboard Association and the elementary and secondary principal associations um I think at the heart of this is that there's a local component so I don't think a school board I think school board's policy should be letting the administrators at those at the elementary um middle and SEC and high High School level decide what the what the um implementation should look like of a cell phone policy because they know what's how to operate things the best I think at the heart of this and I talked to my husband about this uh recently is we need to take the burden off of teachers they have a lot to manage in their classrooms already so to the extent that there is a clear-cut process where they're asked a student's asked to put it away they get one warning and then if that doesn't work it escalates to the dean of students which is my husband he he then is the one responsible for collecting the device talking to the parent parents and ultimately the goal is to not burn relationships between an academic teacher and a student um but to put that U burden on the administrators all right thank you hold on hold on I just got sorry uh thank you very much um our question skip the lame jokes this one is in regard to in demand careers and we are going to start with Mr Nicholson uh what if anything can be changed or improved in the curriculum to better educate students and families about current and future in demand careers and provide opportunities which equip them with the skills needed to be successful in those Industries Mr Nicholson thank you um I think we need to ensure our curriculum is adaptable and relevant to the changing demands of the workforce uh this means expanding access to stem trades technical education as well as as Business and Entrepreneurship programs uh collaborating with the local businesses in the Chamber of Commerce to offer Hands-On learning opportunities like internships apprentices uh and job shadowing is critical uh students need to be exposed to what potential employers are going to Expect While it may not be part of the curriculum uh it is the intangible elements that sets our Lakeville students apart uh as the overall culture becomes less formal uh I think it's important to also include things like interviewing skills punctuality establishing a work ethic that can pay significant dividends um by offering these experiences we not only prepare students for in demand careers but also provide them with a clear understanding of the opportunities available locally and Beyond and how to pursue them thank you thank you see pad yes um so I believe that we can have more career path and career focused research classes at the Freshman at sophomore level in high school allowing students to engage in career thinking activities earlier for students choosing to head off to college postgraduation they are visiting colleges by their junior year or doing PSO classes by then for those students who want a technical post high school education those students should also be able to dive into the technical education or the trades work for example plumbers are required to have four years on the job training as a registered apprenticeship under a master plumber followed by passing the journeyman plumbers exam what if we came up with a program to allow the trades to hire Junior and senior high school students to start apprenticeships early to get a head start HVAC apprenticeships typically require 2 to 3,000 hours of on the- job training that can take three to 5 years to complete there are so many local businesses that we could partner with in our district to get a program up and running to allow the students seeking the trade jobs to get started early thank you Mr Carbone thank you just like budget transparency I believe the classroom curriculum transparency is as important I've done a lot of door knocking in the last month and talking to parents for obvious reasons and what I found and this won't surprise you parents want the best for their kids everybody does but they're not quite sure how to get that and a lot of them tell me they don't know what's what's best for their kids until the report card comes home and then they see the grades and they see the classes they're taking and and then more discussions happen than not so I believe that more education for parents on what the curriculums are and and how they create Pathways to careers is important and and I'll just give you personal observation many parents don't have this knowledge and I think as a school board it's it's crucial that this occurs uh public forums Town Halls guest speakers from different disciplines job shadow programs whatever the case may be to educate the parent I do think there's an analysis that needs to be done uh you know is the are the classroom curriculums keeping up with the speed of the modern Workforce because the reality is we need to make sure that the public school systems are cultivating the talent to feed the world's largest economy and that's our job and that's our job to do so all right thank you Mr Hall I want to make certain that in answering this question I'm being fair to our staff uh while it is is true that the school board maintains governance it is the executive director of teaching and learning under the supervision of the the superintendent who is is responsible for our curriculum and out of uh respect for her 32 years of service with the district I I'm not going to immediately assume that I know better uh however there there is a curriculum advisory committee that meets five times each year to to give her feedback and for any ISD 194 resident that's interested in being part of that team I I encourage you to apply W with that said though I I do have a personal philosophy um and that is that I think that we need to First make certain that every student is leaving us on level in reading math and science and equally important that these students have a Proficiency in self-regulating emotions and making good personal decisions that would be my Core Curriculum and if somehow on top of these foundational skills we can also instill in these same young people both a love of learning and an aptitude for finding Dependable study we will build lifelong Learners we build emotional and adaptable uh academic academically adaptable community members who can tackle any problem in our workplace or our world and that is how I believe we future proof all right thank you Mr Swanson yeah thanks I just want to give credit to darl I appreciate him giving credit to the administration and the work that they're doing or have done in this area I didn't realize before looking into it this that the state actually requires that all school districts have a plan for the successful student transition to postsecondary education and employment so this is already in the works so we're stepping into this you know at an advantage it's not like we're recreating the system here uh there is the 2024 to 2025 program of studies that's been produced by our school district which is very informative and it does provide different opportunities for our students it's hard for me to sit here right now and judge and say what could be improved because I don't really know how successful those programs are because I'm not on the school board and don't have have any results from those programs um however I I am encouraged by the uh the career experiences for credits program and the career Explorations program right now which I believe is only offered at one of our middle schools for the eighth graders it'd be great to see that expanded to all of our middle schools I know I have an eighth grader and so it'd be great if he gets some exposure to that um but in addition I just jump back to something that that Brett said for career Readiness there is the simple thing of building a strong work work ethic and resiliency in students um just through a rigorous education because as anybody knows any employer knows if you have somebody that's a worker that's hardworking and willing to step up to a challenge regardless of what their degree is or um the credentials or certifications that they have that's going to be a successful employee thank you miss Cameron right um I agree with a lot of what Daryl and Matt have just said um I also agree that U the purview of a school board is not to um uh to talk about how to improve curriculum necessarily um but to support the administrators in our district who who do that and who that who have that expertise um that being said my family um has worked in seven different um school districts around the Twin Cities and while I think Lakeville has a really good start in this area supporting career and post-secondary um exploration I think there's a lot of opportunities for um growth or for exploration here um I think we've see a lot of districts like 196 for example and also Shaka who are developing course sequences for students to move through a particular industry to get more in-depth knowledge about how to work in that field ultimately resulting in an internship they hold their courses offsite at a local business under the purview of a um High School teacher and um it can go in depth into kind of their their passions and interests I think also um we are not participating in the college and the schools program which is an opportunity for college a dual enrollment college credit for our high school students we're the only School in the sub South Suburban Conference that doesn't have this as an option for our students and also there's other programs someone mentioned stem education um called Project Lead the Way uh wetta 196 minetonka Maple Grove Etc are all participating um and it's a stem curriculum for career Readiness that also provides college credit so I think we build off of where we are and see how we can plug into these existing programs for additional support for our curriculum all right thank you Miss fangle I'm not sure if it's harder to go first or go last um there is an entire team of people within the district that is responsible for developing an implementing curriculum and they work with our teaching and learning advisory committee which darl mentioned Tac to present any significant changes in address concerns before making them in addition there are strict guidelines that are set forth by the minister Department of Education for what must be included in any curriculum in Minnesota Public Schools as a school board member I would lean on our expert Educators who are work work tirelessly to develop robust curriculum that meets or exceeds the standards and prepares our students for success I do think that um as a board member I am in support of working with our curriculum team to better understand how we can develop more opportunities outside of the classroom to engage our students and increase their exposure to both postgraduate work and education opportunities I also think that it's important to engage with families to share opportunities for their students and how they can get involved in career readiness programs and can improve the reach of these offerings I also understand that new this year um with the um addition of counselors to our high school level they are planning to meet with Juniors each spring to talk about career Readiness and career options which I think is a great first step in that direction all right thank you you're absolutely right it takes a it the first spot is tough and the last spot is tough so that's why we uh that's why we were rotate them and I appreciate that all right we're starting off with uh miss sead this time I think we have room for one more question so just trying to balance out what we have here uh I'm going to pick one of them uh mental health uh mental health uh continues to be important to businesses because of the intermediate and long-term effects on employee engagement at work what role and responsibility do you believe the school district has in addressing student mental health yes so it is very important for the district to have mental health resources our students need at each age level to succeed academically and into their postgraduation years I believe this is the role that needs to follow currently our district is extremely under staffed in this department and the student to staff ratio is at 512 to1 student enr rment has grown by 9% this hardly puts a dent on our District's needs the school district is asking for a referendum to be passed this November this referendum would provide consistent academic College and Career personal and social Readiness it would add nine counselor Social Work positions at Middle School level and two at high school level the referendum would add strengthened behavioral support by adding sorry 7 behavioral specialist at elementary schools and one at Crystal Lake Education which obviously adding the behavioral specialists and the counselors is going to help with the mental health thank you thank you Mr carbon thank you um you know the word mental health spans a broad category you know is it is it a psychotic episode is it anxiety is it an anxiety disorder is it just stressed from an exam you know all of these things obviously need to be addressed in the school system if there is an episode with a particular student but I think and it probably happens but I think it needs to be it certainly needs to be uh done if not is to make sure that teachers have the proper Education and Training to recognize symptoms and to recognize when something might erupt and and certainly there should be and I'm sure there is an action plan and res resources to handle those types of situations um and I also think we need to look at what's the role of the parent in that and and can we provide a list of outside the school resources for the parent if if the school is not capable of handling that particular situation you know we talk about mental health for students I I'd like to add a new one there um what about teacher burnout I'm going to switch gears here for just a minute I'm looking at a recent poll in the Wall Street Journal and and 4 2% of teachers say that the stress and disappointment is worth only 42% of teachers say that the stress and disappointment in their job is worth it now when you compare that to 2018 there were 70% of teachers that said that and when and when you dig down into into the the poll it says the biggest burnout reason is misbehavior so I think we've got thank you thank you in ISD 194 is a strategic plan we have a stated mission that we will provide educational opportunities that ensure academic social Civic and personal Readiness for every student and as part of this we identify meeting social emotional needs is an important element in my day-to-day life I'm a person that hires and fires I'm a parent I'm a Community member I'm a neighbor and I am now someone seeking a role on your school board and all these capacities I understand that life's opportunities can be limited by one's academic or emotional AP aptitude and so as as a school and as a society I believe we greatly benefit when our Learning Systems include our uh emotional development alongside reading and math in November our community will vote on a levy that could provide additional counseling resources throughout our district some of these monies would be specifically dedicated to behavioral specialists and Deans the individuals in our school Community who tirelessly work with students to regulate emotions make Positive Choices and address traumatic life events I support this Levy and I would also support other measures that might train promote and provide Mental Health Services for our students all right thank you Mr swansson yeah I just want to build on what uh has already been said a little bit um there is this spectrum of what mental health means mental illness means and and I do want to note that we have to be careful as a school district to not overstep into an area that we weren't meant to be in for those cases that might be a little bit more on the extreme side uh schools aren't equipped I think we would all agree aren't equipped to handle every mental health illness and nor should we try to um additionally we need to be careful that we're not stepping into an area that should be under the purview and control of parents and so you know I would Advocate that whenever there is an issue that we again and collaborate with the parents bring them into the situation let them know what's going on and if it's an issue that the the school is just not equipped to handle with the parents but that's something that maybe the parents have to handle in another setting and we don't have the budget as a school to be both a mental health facility and a school educating our students well I agree there are certain things we can do on a the maybe the lighter side of the scale um I don't think we're equipped and nor should we be reaching over into the the more extreme side thank you all right thank you miss Cameron um I think the relationship between mental health challenges and poor academic achievement is widely documented in scientific research it's pretty simple if you're not ready to learn then you're not going to be able to learn and so if our goal is academic achievement for our students that means supporting them in all areas of of um their being as darl mentioned I fully support the levy this November we lag behind peer District districts as Don mentioned by a significant amount we had no counselors in Lakeville until this year for many many years compare that to um istd 196 they have a counselor for every 250 students Yetta every 300 students we now have some counselors at the secondary level and we have one counselor for every 600 students and what I learned is that every 30 minutes our counselors are booked right now our students are asking for this they need this and it will help them be successful both in high school and Beyond I think what this Levy supports is as some people have mentioned in the um in the research that we need um trained staff who know how to deal with these complex student behavior and mental health concerns beyond what teachers can address teachers are there to help students focus on their academic achievements and we need the supports in the classroom and in the buildings to um help for help with kids who need additional supports um again I fully support the levy um and the fact that we don't have these supports in our school system we are lagging behind our peers Miss fangle thank you our children spend more than a third of their waking hours each week in school the pressures of class extracurriculars and social connections are a lot for our kids to navigate as a district we should be providing robust support systems to help them manage these pressures and address social emotional health our district has adopted social emotional learning strategies through our multi-tiered system of supports framework that is geared towards preparing students to better manage their behaviors and emotions this approach Works to improve overall academic achievement and mental health through positive behavior interventions and self-management strategies the work is built into the curriculum to reinforce positive goal setting social competence and responsible decision making in addition the levy on the ballot this fall would increase support for our students through more counselors social workers and behavior interventionists all levels of Education these additional support staff will offer more options for mental health for our students and reduce some of the burden on our classroom teachers so that they can focus more on their lessons all of this work is critical to the success of our students happy supported kids are more engaged have better educational outcomes and maintain positive relationships with their peers thank you Mr Nicholson uh as I agree with some of what Laura just finished up there with um I I also would like to as much as I could I'd like to decouple mental health from education um but the reality is our teachers are on the front line of that um I talk about it with my wife on almost a a daily basis when a student struggles in a traditional classroom setting the teachers are forced to provide the burden of proof um typically before any intervention is made or a pair is assigned uh the teachers are not mental health professionals but they have to go through the process of documenting all of these activities before they can actually get support and help um we need to be cognizant of how decisions for one student impact the rest of the 20 or 30 students in the class um I think you have to distinguish between behavioral issues and clinical mental health diagnosises um we need to allow our teachers to use their classroom management skills when it comes to Behavior Uh they need to be supported to ment logical consequences when expectations are not met taking away Choice time recess things like that um are things that require uh it does require work uh and and does teaches it teaches important life lessons for the kids uh the district wants kids to be resilient they can't be resilient if they've never been told no or had to deal with a punishment and a consequence before um I find that one to be one that has traditionally lacked here in the last 10 20 years um pushing kids outside of their comfort zone help them become more real world real world ready um minor minor behavioral issues should be handled at the school so as to not disrupt the learning of the other 20 plus kids in a room all right thank you all right uh I don't think we can squeeze in another question so we're going to start move on to the closing statements uh I really appreciate all the answers given here I think it's been great in uh just lining out where everyone is that's fantastic so uh with that 60 seconds uh I'm going to I I'm going back to the begin very good sir you know I I'd like to answer the question why me if the graduate is not career ready everything we've all been talking about tonight has diminished value I've observed students in my college classroom that have graduated from public parochial Catholic and Christian high schools I've seen the voids I've seen what they need I've mentored college students I've brought them to my office and done mock job interviews and critique their resumés I've judged academic competitions with other college professors and as a business executive I've interviewed graduates coming out of high school for real job opportunities if the graduate isn't ready for the workforce the trade school or college then we've failed them and I believe my credentials fit what needs to be done and don't forget folks what we're doing here is we're building adults all right thank you Mr Hall well once once more I want to thank uh the the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce I appreciate you including us uh in your in the forum tonight I also want to thank my fellow candidates I'm grateful for your your interest in helping our community and and our schools uh and every one of the 12,000 students that we are privileged to call our own uh and I thank you the viewer who I now asked this question of who do you believe can be most effective who do you believe has the experience and the skill to get things done who do you believe will be able to work with the existing board members to complete the mountain of challenges that will beset this District in the coming year this is not a small task this is not a simple challenge a board of mostly new faces will select a new board member plan for a bond hire a superintendent negotiate with our teachers approve a budget set policies and likely cheer on two new funding renewals we must elect individuals that are ready to hit the ground running so I implore upon each of you to not take this decision lightly it affects our community it affects our home values it affects our way of life thank you very much thank you Mr Swanson yeah I am asking you to vote for Matt Swanson for vote for me for a school board because the stakes are High um with the recent MCA test results we see that 58.3% of students tested at their grade level in math 61.2 tested at their grade level in reading and 42 . 2% tested at their grade level in science this is just simply not acceptable for the Lakeville school district and we can do better we need to have a candidate that is going to put academics first that is your priority we're going to make sure that we are accountable for the spending of the budget so it goes back towards that first priority of putting academics first if we're spending our money on things that are not improving Student Success we need to be held accountable for that and then finally we need a candidate that's going to collaborate with the parents bring the parents into the teaching process as a resource for our schools because that's where the success is going to happen I am that candidate I have the experience working with boards advising boards and I can bring that to the table here vote Matt Swanson thanks thank you miss Cameron uh thank you to the Lakeville chamber for hosting this forum and like darl thanks everyone for being here today uh up here I think people would who know me would say that I'm very responsive to stakeholders my job at the University of Minnesota works with the same stakeholders that Lakeville area school does teachers parents businesses community members people would say I'm a strategic thinker my daily work is thinking about how the university can advance broad goals on Student Success I'm a collaborator I enjoy working with people to solve problems and I have strong financial management and background experience through all my boards that I've served on I've often been nominated and elected to serve as chair I take that as a compliment my colleagu see me as an impartial leader who is capable of building coalitions I strongly believe that continue community support for Lakeville area schools um we need to have student outcomes at the Forefront I graciously and humbly ask you for your vote to serve on this board of education thank you thank you Miss fangle i' would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the linkville Chamber of Commerce and my fellow candidates here tonight a special thank you also goes out to my family friends and neighbors for their unwavering Support over the past few weeks I am deeply passionate about this work and committed to the success of our student schools and Community I believe I can bring a new angle to the conversation and will use my professional skill set and love of public education to serve the board every day I would like to leave you with this my priorities are clear build a Visionary leadership team that will work collaborative with our collaboratively with our teachers and parents to address the challenges we Face ensure schools continue to be a safe and welcoming space for all students and teachers to succeed and rebuild the trust with our community Through clear communication and Clarity on spending if elected to the board on November 5th I will dedicate myself to ensuring that Lakeville area schools not only continues to thrive but excel in providing the best possible education for our community together we can build a brighter future for our students thank you thank you Mr Nicholson uh I agree with what darl and Matt said I think this decision can't be taken lightly um we're talking about a billion dollar budget over the next four years um I want to bring my my expertise in Project portfolio management budget optimization strategic planning to ensure our district not only meets but exceeds expectations uh with my focus on academic achievement Financial accountability and supporting our teachers I want to be a voice for teachers parents students and taxpayers alike our district our district must move forward with transparency and a long-term Vision that prioritizes both educational needs of our students and the fiscal health of our community um while I understand some of the business side of it my wife has also provided me insights into the life of a teacher I understand what it feels like to deal with the behavioral issues in school today what brings uh what bringing work home with you means for teachers spending money to provide items for your classroom like extra gloves hats snow pants Etc and then also how a hug from a student can make it all worthwhile uh I'm married to an extremely loving patient caring teacher uh Lakeville has a bright future ahead but it requires careful thoughtful planning and I ask for your support in making that Vision real reality remember vote Nicholson in November all right thank you Miss cot I am asking for your vote because of my skills experience and Community involvement will bring value to the school board as a mom my high level of involvement in our schools and co-curricular programs builds trust within our school Community my experience from holding a prior seat in office is the leadership that the school board will need my negotiating and communication skills along with the sense of urgency I learned as a contract negotiator are substantially valuable skills to have on the school board as a real estate agent my ability to network with other small business owners and community members helps me hear from all the school district Partners I will speak up for our students and for you the district has some big decisions over the next few years we need board members willing to listen and work together on behalf of the students the school board and School administration need to be aligned the school community and staff must be engaged in the process we are not always going to agree on everything but it's important how we come together together to create Solutions we must work together to continue providing an excellent education for our students I value the voice of the students Educators and stakeholders across our school Community vote Don CAD this November all right thank you and I want to say thank you to everyone here all the candidates I always say this I've worked with many candidates in my life along on the way and everyone is dedicated to making their Community a better place it takes a lot of guts it takes a lot of work to do this and I truly appreciate everyone of you st stepping [Applause] up that I also will will continue the thank you thank you to the uh city of Lakeville for this facility to the uh Lakeville Chamber of Commerce on to Colleen leau for helping us out with the timing here as well this is uh again our Forum uh that we're having we have two more forums that we're doing uh one for the city council and one for the two Lakeville uh dominated house districts Minnesota house districts 57a and 57b uh they these will be broadcast live uh and'll be also be rebroadcast on lgtv Channel 180 on Charter On the city of Lakeville and Lakeville Chambers YouTube channels uh and I always wanted to do this links to our other ones will be right here and right here I just put pressure on somebody that's fine uh we will remind people that the Lakeville chamber is not making an endorsement this year uh and I don't believe we've done one for many many years now so we want to provide a forum and hopefully uh this helps everyone make good decisions along the way on behalf of the Lakeville chamber and board of directors thank you and remember to vote Tuesday November 5th thank you and good night thank youo