Good evening and welcome to the district school district 622 North St. Paul Maplewood Oakdale School Board candidate forum. My name is Kathy McComber. I'm a member of the League of Women Voters, but not a resident of this school district. I'm pleased to be moderating the forum this evening. The League of Women Voters is a volunteer organization with a long history of providing unbiased information on candidates and issues that is widely used by voters regardless of their political beliefs. The views expressed here tonight are those of the candidates, not those of the League of Women Voters. The league neither endorses candidates nor a political party. We're holding this forum for voters so they can hear from the candidates and compare their ideas. The forum is being held in the District Education Center boardroom, 2520 East 12th Avenue in North St. Paul, and is streaming live on the ISD622 YouTube channel. It's at www.youtube.com. youtube.com at ISD-622. The recording will be posted on the district's YouTube channel following the debate as well as the live stream and we will also have the link posted on the League of Women Voters Roseville area website. Both candidates on the ballot were invited to the forum and are with us tonight. They are in alphabetical order. Jason Mida and Sam Rosemark. Both candidates are nonpartisan. We have a timekeeper sitting here. So each candidate has the same amount of time to respond to questions following the opening statements of two minutes. Each candidate will have up to one and a half minutes to answer each question and two minutes to make a closing statement. The timekeeper will hold up a card when there are 30 seconds left and a stop card when the time is up. We ask that the candidate finish their sentence and stop at that point. And we expect this forum to last no longer than 90 minutes. The questions were compiled by the question committee of the League of Women Voters Roseville area and include submissions from district residents. Questions are chosen for their relevance to the race in question and have been reviewed to ensure they are forward-looking, appropriate for all candidates, and are not of a hostile, biased, or personal nature. We look for a balance of topics that affect all those in the school district. to get to as many topics as possible. We limit the number of questions in each category. And if your feel your concerns were not addressed this evening, please contact the candidates individually and we will group questions together. You may not hear the exact wording of your question, but you'll hear the content. For the candidates's opening statement, we ask that they address the question, why are you running for the district 622 schoolboard seat and what are your qualifications? Each candidate will have up to two minutes to respond, and the first candidate to speak is Justin Mida. >> Thank you. Good evening, fellow community members, educators, parents, and friends. My name is Justin Mida, and I stand before you tonight as a candidate for ISD 622 school board. Not as a politician, but just one of you. I was born and raised in North Minneapolis, where my diverse background was forged in the fires of a vibrant and resilient community. I learned early that education is the great equalizer. is the bridge between struggle and success. As a small business owner who has called Maplewood my home for 18 years, raising a family amid the joys and the challenges of our district, I've seen firsthand how our schools shape not just minds, but they shape our future. Yet today, we stand at a crossroads with tremendous opportunity. Our schools with only 35% to 40% of our students meeting proficiency standards. We can become a beacon of excellence once again. Let's refocus on the joy of learning, mastering reading, math, technical skills, trades, and critical thinking. I envision classrooms where every student is supported to succeed. Teachers empowered to guide and inspire. I'll amplify parents' voices, ensure inclusion uplifts all children, not just the few, and keep our schools free from political agendas and ideologies. Together, we'll build an environment where potential flourishes, guided by our community strength and shared values. This forum is our moment to dialogue, to dream for a bigger ISD622. I'm here to listen, to learn from all of you, and to lead with business-minded resolve that turns vision into reality. Together, let's build schools where every student thrives, every voice matters, and our children inherit a legacy of excellence. Thank you. I look forward to your questions. >> Hello everybody. Uh my name is Sam Rosemark. Um thank you all for being here tonight. A special thank you to the League of Women Voters for hosting this event. I think we need more events like this where we can all come together and um learn and also have dialogue with one another, especially in today's um society. Um so, as I said, my name is Sam Rosemark. Um I'm a 2017 Tartan graduate and I have very deep roots in the ISTD 622 community. Um I come from a working family, working-class family. Um both my parents um did go to uh North High School, so uh we have quite a bit of diversity in terms of where we're coming from in the school district. Um my grandfather uh was a was the field engineer actually for um Tartan High School. He helped lay out and survey um Tartan and I just toured that uh this last week and wow have we made some great progress on that new school. Um, in addition, um, I have a a neurode divergent nephew, um, and he really inspires me to do good by our kids. Um, the reason why I'm running is I see myself as a servant leader. Um, and I also want to make sure that we pass the upcoming uh, levy referendum within the district to support our students and our teachers. Um, I see myself as a relationship builder and a consensus builder. Um, and in addition, uh, ISD 622 really gave me the tools to succeed, and I want to help give back, um, to the community. Um, from the speech help that I received at Cow Elementary, uh, to my time in Knowledgeable at Maplewood Middle School, um, and time in DECA uh, and, uh, football at Tartan High School. Um, I really have appreciated the time and the the tools and the resources Tartan has, uh, given me. Um, in addition, I am uh endorsed by the teachers union and workers uh by SEIU and I look forward to getting uh to work for the for the kids and the staff of the district. Thank you. >> We will be alternating who is the first to answer a question. So, Mr. Mido is first with the U opening statements. So Sam, we'll have you go first with this first question. Two questions really. What issues led you to run for school board and why are they important for public education and for our students? >> Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question. Thank you. Um so kind of my my core priorities are uh safety as well as student success and sustainability. Um, so when it comes to safety, we need to make sure our kids are safe in the school, outside the school, um, and we have to be thinking about upstream solutions and proactive solutions to make sure that our kids are safe. Uh, we need secure entryways, of course. Um we also need to be thinking about u mental health and um student belonging and create um you know reporting structures ensure those are in place as well as um thinking about you know the gun violence ep epidemic we're seeing in our in our society and implement proactive um solutions when it comes to student success as I mentioned mental health is vital our students need to feel supported um in the classroom and the same goes for teachers our teachers also are facing a mental health crisis and need those resources. Um we need strong academics. Every student deserves the opportunity um to uh explore their passions uh and have an education that meets their needs. Um which comes to equity. Uh we need to make sure that all students have the tools that they need as individuals to succeed and um explore their passions and sustainability. We need sustainable schools both in terms of funding but also in terms of the environment. Um, so those are kind of my core core priorities and why I'm running and how I believe I can make ISTD 622 thrive for our kids. Thank you. >> And Mr. Midall, would you like me to repeat the questions? >> Uh, sure. >> What issues led you to run for school board and why are they important for public education and the students? >> The main uh reason I ran, I did run last year and I did very well. Um, I learned a lot more uh than I did know last year because again I just I'm not part of the system. I'm a regular parent citizen looking from the outside into the system. So I had to kind of find out a lot. Um, my biggest concern right now is academics. Our children I talked to teachers last year. We have about I had a seventh and eighth grade teacher here at 622 reach out to me last year and uh tell me that he's got ma uh seventh and eighth grade students that he teaches math and they're at a third and fourth grade level. Um and when you talk to people a lot of people want, you know, still uh look back at COVID and that was a horrible time and our kids did, you know, our students did fall behind and we had to go through all this stuff. But we're, you know, four years past that now. So, it's time to start seeing improvements and we're not seeing those improvements. So, that's why I wanted to run again this year because I have plans to improve academics and proficiency and to start getting these children to learn. Um, what was the second question? Sorry. >> Why Why are your >> My bad. >> Why those issues are important for public education and the student body? Well, I think that we're the students are not excelling like they should be. And if you look at society, we've got two generations now that I don't feel are excelling. We have a lot of um we're finding out that there's a lot of children that are coming out of high school that, you know, are going into college. They're not educated enough to um do the classes. And we've got professors saying that. So, I think our children are there's something not right. I have some ideas on what we could do to fix some of these things, but something's not right. And if you want change, then you want to vote for me because I will look into everything and try to change. Thank you. >> Okay, for the second question, we'll start with you, Mr. Mida. >> And this is several questions. What importance do you place on extracurricular activities in the middle and high school? And to what degree is the school's responsibility to facilitate participation from by all students who could benefit? I am a huge supporter of extracurricular activities because if we keep the kids busy in the things that they enjoy um and also when you're doing extracurricular activities that that gives children a chance to try things and know what they enjoy, know what they're good at, what they really love, what their passions are, that's one of the most important things and I think that the schools um with the help of parents kind of like we always have we we pay for those things. Um parents usually chip in for their kid for membership fees and jerseys. Um, and I think we should really look at children that can't afford jerseys, can't afford, you know, uh, individual membership fees, and we need to have, uh, you know, money set aside to help them because we shouldn't exclude any children from, uh, participating in any extracurricular activities. So, I would definitely be for funding all extracurricular activities and then on an income scale, if they come from a lower income family, then and they need help, we definitely need to help those students. And Mr. Rosemark, shall I repeat the question? >> I think I have it. >> Okay. >> Yeah. Um, yeah. So, in terms of extracurriculars and making sure that students are able to participate um, you know, students need the opportunity to explore their passions no matter who they are um, and what their socioeconomic status is. Um, and students who are able to explore things like art and theater or things like DECA in my case, um, they're able to engage, feel a sense of belonging, um, in addition to, um, again exploring their their passions and even building up their their resumes, um, for what they do after, um, high school. Um so we especially need to make sure that all students can equally participate. um you know when it comes to student activity fees um as well as things like um you know busing after school um IC622 is one of the only remaining school districts that does have a afterchool bus for for students and that's really amazing u because you know student might not have a car families might be working um and that's why things like the levy is so important to pass because without that crucial funding things like that could get cut um and we need to make sure those stay in place and strengthen upon that. Um, and those students who are participating in extracurriculars, they're much more likely to succeed and grow within their academics um, and see those those test scores as well as just their holistic student success grow. So, thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Mida, this is kind of related to the previous question. How do you feel about transgender youth participating in sports? >> I absolutely think they should participate in sports. Um, I actually had a really interesting conversation with some uh non binary individual and uh they uh were telling me a lot about being a child. She I think she they were 13. Um, as far as girls playing in boy sports, I'm against that. U biological boys because there's too much science out there. I've looked at it all and there's too much of a competition. We've seen examples of that. What I was suggesting to this young uh person. Um her name was Cass or I'm sorry they them. That's her pronouns. I'm getting that down. But uh it was a beautiful young person and they I suggested to them that for now if this is an issue and we do go back to absolutely no biological boys and girls sports because we could be leaning that direction. Um, I told them to reach out to other schools, to other trans kids and other community members of her community and see if maybe five or 10 of them want to get together and play us and just talk about playing sports. And she go, "Oh." They go, "Okay." And then I said, "Um, you know, you can get together and have coffee and then you could say, what sport do you all like?" And one person say, "Tennis and basketball and basketball and basketball." and then one for and so you take a consensus that if you have more of their them that they want to uh play basketball maybe they start a basketball league and they could do that from the different schools they could set up their own league um to play and compete and I think kind of like we do with um Special Olympics. So thank you >> Mr. Rosemark. >> Yeah. No, this is a very important question. Um so um you know no matter who you are uh what identity you hold, however you identify, you should be able to participate just like your peers are able to participate. Um you shouldn't necessarily have to um organize or or petition to to just enjoy things that you enjoy. Um uh this is a this is a both an equity and an equality issue. Um, and not only do these students need to be able to participate, but we also need to build community and make sure that these students feel a sense of belonging. Um, and that they feel connected to their school, to their peers, um, to their community. Um, so it's it's it's very important and I think this is a great great question and a good discussion that that that we're having. So, thank you. >> Everybody, could I step in with one more thing? I just want to react to maybe what he had just uh mentioned. I'm not sure. >> Can we do that? >> I don't know. >> How about briefly, very briefly? >> I just want to say it's it's we need to go back to no bullion. Be kind to everyone. Spread love to your neighbor. These are simple concepts that we've had forever and they used to work really well. right now we have to take one group and treat them so special because they don't belong or they feel like they don't belong and I don't quite understand that. So I wanted to kind of just say we need to just erase all that and we just simply say be kind, don't bully and treat everybody with respect for who they are. As far as sports goes, they can play sports. If they're a biological male and they identify as a female, they can still play for male sports. Thank you, >> Mr. Rosemark. Did you have any additional comments to make? >> Yeah. Um, yes, we need to I mean, kindness is everything. Showing kindness to your to your neighbors, to your fellow students. Um um and yes, that's important, but also we need to make sure that these students feel seen and um feel heard and feel that they can participate. Um so while it is um convenient to just maybe not talk about these things or not mention these things um it's still important to make sure that students know that they feel valued and that um their community is is welcome. So >> thank you. Okay then I think Mr. Rosemark you begin for this one. In the interest of time, we're going to move into the next set of topics, which is curriculum and instruction. And while I did allow the the rebuttal, I think we will again in the interest of time and to cover the topics and questions we have, I think we won't do that again. So, what importance do you place on standard standardized test scores in evaluating the success of the district education program? and what if any measures would you use to uh evaluate student success? >> Yeah, it's a it's a very good question. Um, so you know, when it comes to student success, we have to look at it at from a holistic standpoint. Um, test scores are one indicator. They're one tool that we have in our toolbox to see how students are doing. Um, and the best way to use standardized tests is to look at it from a student by student perspective. So how is a student testing in one year versus the next year um versus kind of looking at everybody together. Um so yes uh student testing is very important. Um but at the same time again we need to be looking at that holistic um success. Um and supporting teachers especially in the classroom give them the tools and the time um that that they need to make sure that their students are are successful. um because them being in the classroom, they know uh if a student's on track, they're not on track. So really supporting our our teachers is is um of vital importance. >> Mr. Mida, >> um I think the standard there's been a lot of talk about the standardized test is not um showing how great our students are actually doing. Um and the more I look into it, there's nothing really to back that up. There's no data, no nothing. So I go back to the standardized testing and I went back to even 20 years ago and then I went back to 2012 and I think it's a very good benchmark especially when I talk to other teachers that are saying their students are not reading or doing the math at their grade level. So I think this whole talk about getting rid of standardized testing is um something that we need to kind of just eliminate in our conversation because it works. As a matter of fact, they're spending more time. They added a new test um and it's a state law, so we can't do much about it here at the district, but they are now um they got a third grade benchmark that's requiring students to take tests on nouns and pronouns. Um they're also saying, you know, they're taking tests on pronouns, including reflective pronouns and male and female, non-binary gender pronouns. So, third graders are going to be tested on this now when they are having a hard time reading. And so last year when I was here at the same place, I kept saying we need to do something about these children. They need to learn. They need to go back. They need to get to school. They need to learn. They need to have good environments to learn in. And that's one of our biggest problems is we have something called the suspension gap. And we need to get rid of that as an ISD 622. And I'll get into more of that if I have time. But um look into the suspension gap that we signed in 2018. I think that's a big problem that we have. Thank you. Mr. Rosemark, do you need the question repeated? >> I already answered it. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> That's okay. I know there's a lot of moving pieces, so no worries. >> Okay. So, Mr. Mida, we're going to uh we're still in the curriculum and instruction area. We often just about the three Rs, reading, writing, and arithmetic. We also need to think seriously about the three A's, academics, athletics, and arts. Each area has its devotees and all have their place in the development of a well-rounded individual. Do you feel that the district does a good job of balancing support for all three areas recognizing achievement in each areas? And if not, what changes would you like to see? >> I think we do. Um I've been really impressed with that part. um they recognized them last year at the board. Um they bring people in and recognize them. It's really nice. I'm a big supporter of um school sports um and arts. I'm a musician myself, so I'm a big artist. Um I believe that really lets children be creative and to get into your creativity will actually show you a little bit more about who you are. Um, so if there's programs getting cut, that's something that I would like to really personally take a stance on and look at those and find out why, how many students are participating. Um, and so yeah, I wouldn't want to cut any of that stuff. I'm a big supporter in um all of those three A's. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Rosemark. >> Yeah. And could you uh repeat the question, please? We often just about the three Rs, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Excuse me. We also need to think seriously about the three A's, academics, athletics, and arts. Each area has its devotees and all have their place in the development of a well-rounded individual. Do you feel the district does a good job of balancing support for all three areas, recognizing achievement in all areas? And if not, what changes would you like to see? Yeah. Um, so yeah, I do think ISTD 622 does a great job when it comes to balancing both the three Rs and um the three A's. Um, I think uh when it comes to arts especially, I think there is room for for more growth there. Um, and I and that's one of the reasons why passing um an operating levy this this election year is really important because the district does want to expand arts in elementary schools. Um, you know, when we think of arts, we think of theater productions in high school, um, and those sorts of things. Um, but providing arts in the classroom during the school day, um, in elementary school is is known and seen as a really great way, um, to help students succeed as well. Um, so investing in in all these areas is is a vital, um, importance. Um, so yeah, >> thank you. Now we'll have you start with the next question. Just as we could not stop the internet, we cannot stop artificial intelligence. These systems have their upside and downside in education. What policy do you think the school district should adopt regarding AI to prepare students for the future with critical thinking skills? >> Yeah, that's a that's a very very good and timely question. Um you know overall I think uh we really need to focus on um technology literacy um for our students um both when it comes to cell phones um social media um all those sorts of things. Um and you know AI is here and it's here to stay. Um students have it at their at their fingertips. Um so we really need to teach students how to be responsible users of AI. Know how to use it, know how not to use it. help teachers um do the same as well um and help teachers spot and know when students might be using AI. Um so really developing those tools and and resources for folks. Um you know I work in higher education um I do uh education advocacy. Um and this is a big conversation that um that universities are are facing and tackling as well. Um, so we we really need to make sure that our our students are critical thinkers um can do those critical thinking skills of, you know, how do you write a paper, how do you form an argument, um how do you provide evidence and and back those things up um and create um responsible moments of when they would be using AI um as well. So um thank you >> Mr. Mida. >> Yeah, I agree a lot with Sam on that. Um, we have to teach I mean this is going to be their world so we we can't hide AI from them. Um, we have to teach them again how to be responsible with it. I do believe that we really should be strict on um, you know, certain classes and grades because PE kids are going to be using AI for all their homework. We already know that. So, I think we still want to make sure our students are learning how to do these things on their own because what if the power went out and the computer's gone and crashes on you? You still need to know how to do math on your own on the paper. You still need to do know how to read um and and how to do, you know, even science projects and stuff. So, there's so much that we can do. I want to keep some of that old school, too. I mean, we have to make sure that kids grow as a human. Um and that's the most important thing. But AI, I definitely think we need to um really focus on in the curriculum. We need to have some AI stuff. I believe um to really show the dangers of it and the goodness of it. And um yeah, I'll leave it at that. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Midaw. I will start with you again. As a school board member, you would pro play a crucial role in shaping the educational environment for students. One contentious issue that comes up nationwide 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 the schools? >> I think it should be case by case because we hear a lot of sides both sides they go oh these books and the other side these books and it's just like I think if if it's teaching you how to do fellatio then we should not have the book in our school. It's pretty simple as that for me. Thank you. >> Mr. Rosemark, would you like the question again? >> No, I think I'm okay. In terms of when it comes to banning books um and just uh topics around what curriculum is or isn't allowed. Um you know, our schools need to be a marketplace of ideas. Um students need to explore things um you know, debate each other um and help develop kind of what their what their thoughts are. Of course, it has to be in a in a um safe and um in an environment where folks are are uh respected. Um you know, the purpose of public of public education um is to provide students with a quality education based in in facts as well. Um to ensure students are set up for success and that they can succeed and also form their own kind of opinions and and um knowledge. So when it comes to issues around like freedom of speech um and things like that um we need to be creating uh spaces for students to to provide their to share their thoughts and opinions in a safe environment um and explore their interests um and students also need to feel seen in the library, feel seen in the schools. They need to be able to um read about themselves. um you know, as a person who identifies as a gay man, um I was not exposed to really any of that in and while I was a student. Um so being able to see yourself um reflected in the community in the library is really important. So >> thank you. >> Okay, Mr. Mida, we have kind of some follow-up questions about gender identity, things like that. With many families concerned with teaching around gender, how will you help families that do not want their children to ex be exposed to these ideas? Do you think the schools should be a neutral ground? I think the schools are not I think this whole push to be inclusive has been wonderful, right? We want all these kids, but then I think about when I was school in school and I'm like, well, did schools ever exclude anybody? Um, again, we went back to being kind um not judging people for if they were, you know, uh had some disabilities or whatever the case may be. We were always kind, taught to treat your others like a neighbor, do for others, do things for people. So where I'm going with this is that we need to get all this out of schools. We're teaching children now, their third, fourth, fifth, sixth grade, that if they're not happy being in a boy body or being in a girl body, that they can change it. And we all know that kids are so influential and they don't know who they are and they're searching for who they are. And I just think this is putting a lot of confusion. Um if they are a transgender child then they will know that on and they will also get support and they will get help with their peers and everybody should be felt welcome you know but by including so much emphasis on this we're excluding other people. We're excluding Muslim families and Christian families and families that don't agree with this stuff and just don't want it in their schools because we're in America. You can be who you want to be. I believe that you can only be who you want to be after you're an adult. But uh obviously we've changed that now. You could be a 13-year-old and be who you want to be. Um so but that's my answer on that and I could go on if anybody has more questions about it because this is something that's a hot topic that we need to discuss. Thank you. Thank you. >> Uh yeah, I think as as as Justin mentioned, you know, inclusivity and kindness is of paramount in our in our schools, within the classroom, within the hallways, um and you know, on and off school grounds. Um you know, I think u we need to um provide resources for students to to again feel like they belong and also um explore their identities and figure out who who who they are. Um, and you know, we need to support students mental health as well. Um, and this is part of the conversation. Um, making sure students feel feel seen and that and that they belong in in in the district. Um we need comprehensive health classes where students can learn about these things for with you know with facts and uh with with knowledgeable textbooks and um have the resources they need um to be well well-rounded well-informed um in individuals. Um so uh you attending as a as a college student going to University of Minnesota Morris which is known to be a very very inclusive um college and one of the best colleges when it comes to trans students. Um it's important that that these students um that that their pronouns are respected um and that they again feel like they're welcome and a part of the community. So >> thank you So we start with you again, Mr. Rosemark. The author of this question has a statement first and then a question. Their statement is there is no specific pronouns test law for Minnesota third graders. And their question is, "What do each of you know about the health education standards currently in place in Minnesota? Yeah, it's a that that's a good question. I appreciate the the information that was provided as well. Um so, um I I'm not as familiar with with the education standards. Um I did go through health class um not too long ago. Um, and you know, when I'm sitting when I was sitting in in in health class, um, a lot of it was focused on STDs and things like that, which don't get me wrong is very important, but we need to be thinking about a comprehensive health of a student. Um, behavioral health is especially important. Um, you know, things like self-esteem, um, mental health as I've mentioned. Um so making sure that uh we're we're again teaching these students about how to be a a healthy individual all around both physically, mentally, emotionally, um spiritually. Um so uh as a schoolboard member, I would I would make sure that that the district is is providing that. >> Thank you. >> You repeat the question again. You don't have to repeat the first part though. I got that. >> Okay. All right. >> What What do you know about the health education standards currently in place in Minnesota? >> Um the health education standards. I'm not familiar with that piece exactly, but I know um the standards I actually I'm not familiar with what the what you're familiar I know a lot of different other um curriculum things that are going on. But uh yeah, I don't know. >> Okay. >> But I was talking about um what I had found that was in the uh K through2 English language arts ELA standards and benchmark. So it's more of a benchmark instead of a test. I do mistaken that. But um they're adopted in 2023 are scheduled for fullation by the beginning of this next year. Um, under the writing strand, a third grade benchmark requires students to use nouns, collective annual irregular plural verbs, frequently used adjectives and adverbs. Uh, conjunctions, propositions, and pronouns, including reflexive pronouns, and male, female, and non-binary pronouns. Um, according to the state statutes, benchmarks identify the specific knowledge or skill that a student must master to complete part of an academic standard by the end of the grade level or grade band. So, they're making this part of their requirements, but yet we can't they can't do math, you know, make this make sense to me. So, like I say, um if if you guys want to if if the district chooses to keep everything the same without anybody asking any questions, then vote for Sam. If you want someone to ask questions, be truthful, be transparent with the public, find out if there's ways we can actually fix things, then you want to vote for Justin Mida because I think we need somebody in the board that's going to ask questions. Now, as one board member, I can't change it anyway, but wouldn't you like to know the answers to some questions? And I'll leave it at that. I'm sorry for the rant. >> Yeah, I I would just say we won't um we'll keep personal comments out of this and address the questions. >> I apologize. >> Thank you. So, Mr. Midra, what steps would you We'll move now to safe and supportive schools. What steps would you take to ensure that all students feel safe, welcome, and included in the school? >> Um, they're all welcome and included and they should feel safe. As far as safety and uh security goes, I was really happy um to learn last year um you know, Superintendent Christine let me know about all the windows that they put in. So the district's been doing a lot of really great things for school safety. We're putting not quite bulletproof glass, but they're bullet shatterproof class. So it gives people a chance to go more locked down. I still believe that we need more mentors in our school instead of mental health social workers. I think we need mentors and hall monitors that would be highly trained and would be have a concealed weapon. That would be the only way we would ever stop a school shooting is to have somebody on site at the moment. Um, it's really the only way I've looked at every other way. And if we had not, you know, whenever I bring this up, people say, "Oh, we can't have you people don't want soldiers and people in uniform in the front, you know, front of the schools. They can just be hall monitors. I had a hall monitor and he I love the guy and so did most of my classmates and he would walk around, hey, why aren't you in school? Get in your class." You know, and but they were more than that. They were mentors because if a child was out in the hallway crying, who would find them first? should be that that that hall monitor and they would say what's going on, you know, can I help you? What's what's why are you out here crying? So, I believe you can have a position of hall monitor slash security armed security guard without being dressed up in they could be in street clothes and be in gym clothes. >> Yeah. When it comes to safety, um this of course is is a very important issue that's on the minds of of all of our students. Um certainly on my mind when when I was a student and on the minds of of parents as well. Um you know I agree creating uh relationships in the school whether a student has a great relationship with their bus driver with a teacher um someone that they can um go to and confide in um that is is really um greatly uh important to make sure that that student feels uh supported um as well. Um, you know, as a student, I have experienced more lock I'm sad to say it. I've experienced more lockdowns than I care to admit. Both drills, um, as soon as being a student at Cowan Elementary to being in an actual lockdowns at Tartan High School. Um, when I was at Tartan, I was in the wait room after school. Um, and there was a legit lockdown. Um, and uh, we had a knock on the door. We had no idea if the person there was there to harm us or help us. Um, so all of us football guys, um, we grabbed weights and we stood by the door, um, and waited for the person to enter and we were ready to do what needed to be done. Um, and that shouldn't be the case in our schools. Um, I'm very, uh, happy to see Tartan has implemented, um, a metal detector-like system um, that has been wellreceived by the students. Um, so we need to be looking at secure entryways. Um, and the only people that should be in a school that have a gun is a SRO, a police officer in the school, and that's it. Um, I don't think anybody else should be should should be there. Um, so safety is is of great importance. Um, so appreciate the discussion. >> All right, Mr. Rosemark, you're ready for the next question? >> Let's do it. >> What changes would you make to better support the mental health of students, teachers, and administrators? Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, I think we need more caring individuals in our in in our schools. And when I say that, I mean folks like counselors, um, uh, social service folks, um, is, um, to make sure that that our students have someone they can go to and have the resources they need to, um, discuss kind of what what's what's going on. Um, I talked before about um, you know, holistic well-being. um that is of vital um importance too. Um you know I think it's great that students are able to have free lunch meals and and and free free breakfast because you can't learn and you know feel like your normal self on an empty stomach. Um when it comes to teachers um and staff um so my my mom just retired recently as a as a lunch lady and man was she burned out at her job because of kind of the lack of staffing, the lack of resources. Um, so that's where this again this levy comes into play to make sure that our staff um have the resources and the support that they need um to thrive and help our students thrive. Um, and that comes down to professional development too. Our our our teachers and staff also need need that. Um so mental health is is a vital um importance and we need to be investing more into caring adults in our schools who can help our students because if if students don't feel like themselves if they are having a mental health struggles in the classroom they're not going to be able to learn and um succeed in their testing and in their academics. >> Would you like the question again? >> Um no that's okay. Um, mental health is a big big thing and it was part of my platform a lot last year. Um, and we we did uh Walls invested a lot of money into mental health and and each uh each of our schools now have a nurse and a mental health worker. I don't not sure about the elementary but I know um can't remember the exact stats but a lot of our schools have have um social workers and mental health workers. I'm just kind of curious and we need to start maybe as people start asking questions. Why are our children having so much mental health issues? Why is anyone talking about that? They keep want to put band-aids on the problem, but they don't want to find out what the problem is. And so I think we need to look into a lot of what is going on that is making our children so distraught. Um and some children have a lot of mental pro mental health issues. I don't think our schools were ever designed to be a hospital, a mental health clinic, a psychology clinic. Um, I don't think it was ever designed to do all of this. I don't think our teachers were ever designed to be social workers and um, class controllers and disciplinarians. Well, somewhat they were um they were actually more disciplinarians back in the day, but um you know, I think we have so much on our teachers plate when teachers say that a lot of what I do is controlling my class because they cannot send their class or a troubled student out of their class to the office. They can, but it causes a whole bunch of stuff. Um all they ask the teacher about it. Oh, couldn't you just ask them this? Couldn't you handle on your own? So, I just think that we need to start, we got to keep the mental health in there because our kids are having problems. Um, and u, but I think we need to re-evaluate what is causing all of this. And I'll stop. Thank you, >> Mr. Rosemark. >> I already answered the question. >> That's okay. >> Okay. We're going to move now to uh teachers and staff. So, Mr. Rosemark, how would you support the recruitment and retention of highquality teachers and staff given Minnesota's teachers shortage? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, so, uh, I've been attending the last, um, like six or so months of schoolboard meetings and as the school district has been approaching, um, back to school, this has been a topic of, um, how we're doing in terms of staffing and we're doing really well. Um we have seen uh the smallest number of vacancies going into a school year um from the start of the pandemic which is really great. Um you know I have uh teachers who um who were my teachers um and I've talked to them a lot about this. Um u and retaining talented teachers and staff is is really important to the district and to our kids. Um one big thing is uh teachers and staff need to feel recognized and have that recognition. um whether it's uh things like you know a 10-year service award or um you know being able to talk to um administrators and greet and talk to them in the in the hallway. Um and then in addition to that um professional development and making sure our our teachers are able to to thrive and grow is is is really important. Um and then uh lastly um what I'll add is that um having that feedback loop um is really important. So teachers and staff feeling like their opinions and thoughts and experiences are being heard is also really important. Um uh so making sure that you know as a schoolboard member talking with with those folks hearing their feedback and bringing it to the board and to the um administration um will I think also greatly help retain folks. So >> Mr. Mida >> yeah I mean I agree we have uh this was a good report this year for our teachers and staff. I think we're short some of the um other departments but not not teachers. We have great teachers here. Um so our students need to start learning, right? Um because right now they're they're not learning that great, but we do have um really good teachers. And as a business owner, I know that to retain talent, you have to pay for it. So um and I told that to the teachers unions. I said, you know, they were wondering about $25 an hour minimum pay. And I said, well, I don't think you can live off $25 an hour right now. So obviously, yeah, I'm in I'm in favor of that because if you're going to put your care into all these children and our students, and you're going to put so much of your life into the job as a teacher, you shouldn't have to worry about bills. And that kind of makes me mad. Even when I was a young younger man, I used to always say, why are lawyers getting lawyer money and teachers are getting teacher money? It should be the other way around. Lawyers should get teacher money and teachers should get lawyer money. Um, but I understand it is on a public dime, so we do have to uh watch that stuff. But, um, I'm all for teachers benefits and retention. Um, with the teachers sorted, not just here, but nationwide. We need to re retain all the staff we have. >> Okay, Mr. Mid, we're going to move to governance and community engagement. What do you see as the most important responsibilities of a school board member? I think the most important responsibility would be to uncover a problem that you believe you could fix and bring it down to the legislature. Meet some friends, have some friends down there, which I do, and talk to them about it and ask them if this is something that's going to be doable. And you just kind of get it through the legislative process. um testify in front of legislature as well for bills like uh like just last year we had some important bills um like the parents rights bill that was a really big one. We had the uh the ethnics uh the ethics uh bill uh the mandatory requirement for the ethics uh training of the new curriculum the read act and everything and um you know they wanted to maybe have a a way to opt out if you're a district. Um well that didn't pass. So, um, I think a school board member, if you vote for me, again, I think we've had a lot of the same decision makers thinking the same way. And for for a while now, and what I want to do is bring a new fresh ideas, new fresh face into the mix to just ask questions. As one board member, there's not a lot of uh things I could probably do, but I want to ask questions and also testify and try to find the problem. We got to find the problem. Why are our children not learning? I know the internet and and there's social media and there's all this stuff. There's all these things going to I don't have time to get into all, but they're not learning a lot of reasons is because they're not facing consequences anymore. And that's another thing that we need to start looking at. So, there's so many things we need to look at and u but it's I mean it's not all bad. We have a great school district and our students I've been talking to some students and they're just really happy and wonderful in our schools, too. So, I want to just add that. Thank you. Can you repeat the question again? >> I I certainly can. >> What do you see as the most important responsibilities of a school board member? >> Yeah, very very important question. Um, so I think a schoolboard member needs to be present in the community, involved in the community. Um, I'm currently uh a community representative on the Heading Home Washington um homeless prevention committee for the Washington County. um which is fascinating and also um demoralizing at times. Um but um you know our students are facing a lot of issues. Um you know 2% of our students in this district are homeless and that's probably under reportported. Um so if a student's homeless how are they going to be able to succeed in the classroom? Um you know I think additionally accountability is really important. Um, you know, we need to be accountable to the voters um and holding our district and our administrators accountable as well. Uh, we also need to be advocates as as Justin mentioned. Um, being at the capital and helping advocate for things like ending the special education cross subsidy so that our special ed students have the funding and resources they need to succeed. Um, looking at things like public funding for our schools so that we have more resources and abilities to to help our students thrive. Um uh in terms of being present, uh I'm also uh part of our um local uh Rotary Club, the North St. Paul Oakdale Rotary, um which has a lot of great volunteer and community leaders on it. Um so again, uh bringing that um being present and hearing concerns and hearing the feedback from folks in the community, both parents and and residents, um is really of probably the most crucial role of a school board in bringing that back to the district. Thank you. So this next question is got about four parts. You might want to kind of jot down. >> All right. >> The topics. The school board is accountable to multiple groups of stakeholders. Students, parents, teachers, other staff, the community, the state. What is the best way to get input from these stakeholders? How do you balance what may be competing demands? How do you deal with those with whom you may disagree? All right, that's a great great question. Um, thank you for whoever asked it. Um, yeah, I mean, as a schoolboard member, there are multiple stakeholder groups that are going to come to you with their thoughts and opinions. Um and it's it's our job to balance those and help build consensus and drive towards solutions that that folks can get behind. Um so when it comes to um you know the input you know that again goes back to being present in in in the community um it also goes into you know public forums um but also going to meet with the different stakeholder groups. Um, so, you know, as a schoolboard member, I would go, you know, shadow somebody on the job, whether it's a teacher, whether it's a bus driver. Um, meet with with our union folks. Um, meet with our teachers. Um, I would also meet with our parents and a parent, um, parent our PTAs and parent advisory groups. Um, to again go to, we have to meet folks where they're at. We can't expect folks to always come to this this boardroom. Um, so getting their their feedback and then you got to listen to folks. People need to feel heard and listened um as they give you your your feedback and know that you're actually taking it, bringing it, and um helping address it. Um we're not going to be able to solve everything. Folks are going to have disagreements. Um but this board needs to have solid discussions and um come to a consensus that is best for our kids and for our staff. Um so disagreements are are are going to happen. Um if we're in a world where there aren't disagreements, um we're not getting anywhere. Um, so, uh, on this board, I'm going to be, you know, a change maker. Um, I think our board is really good at asking questions, um, and moving our district forward. So, >> thank you. >> Yeah, I I like that question. Um, I am also a relationship builder. I seem to have a talent to get along with everybody. I think the biggest thing to discussing with things that people don't agree with you on um is to listen to them and let them explain to you why they have their position on what they're thinking and then um that then you can come to some understanding of where they're coming from. Once you get some understanding where they're coming from, then you can hopefully tell them where you're coming from and they get some understanding and then you that's when you come up with a compromise. And um I would also really like to and I said this last year, if I'm a board member, I'm probably going to be the most transparent board member that 622 has ever had. I want to have public forums. Um maybe not here, but even online. Um I want to reach parents and find out what their concerns are. We have a 30% absentee rate in this uh district right now, and that's pretty much statewide. It's not really unique to our district. Um and I want to get those kids back to school. You know, I want to reach out to a lot of parents. I want to also reach out and go visit our schools. I want to be the board member that actually visits schools, meet some teachers, see some classes for ourselves, see how it's all going. Because that's how you find out how you can fix things if there's anything to be fixed is you got to go there and just analyze everything, talk to every party involved and come up with a good, you know, compromised solution. So, thank you. >> Okay. Just Mr. Mid will move now into finance and facilities. On November 4th, district 622 voters will be asked to increase the operating levy and consider a capital projects levy. Please explain your qu position on each question on the ballot and why. Now, I do I do have the questions from the ballot with me, so I'm happy to read them if you like. Okay. Question one, which is the um operating levy. An increase in our operating levy to maintain class sizes, protect essential student programs, retain highquality staff, and provide an opportunity to strengthen elementary arts experiences. And question two is a capital projects levy to maintain critical security systems, reliable networks, classroom hardware and software and technology staff. >> Well, I'm going to tell you the same answer because I'm consistent that I told the um the unions. Um I think that putting this levy on an off election year is kind of a little sneaky. Um, and I don't feel good about that because I don't feel that a lot of people are paying attention to it. I personally didn't know about it until I filed for candidacy. Um, I am for the operating technology levy. I think we need to continue keeping our schools up to date with high-tech. Um, the operating levy I still have a problem with. I would actually like to get on the board and look at the budget. We don't really get to see the budget unless you're on the board. we get to see like, oh, this much is spent on, you know, um, staff, this much is spent on this and that, uh, you know, but we don't get to really see the nitty-gritty. I would like to spend a year looking at it and seeing where we could save money versus coming back to the, um, homeowners right now and asking for more tax money. Um, because I hear love, love you, love you, love you, love you a lot here today before this question. And uh you know if if you don't own a house, it probably won't hurt you for a year or two. You know, your rent won't go up. But if you own a house, we're talking about I think it's like $300,000 house, and I'm just exaggerating because I did the calculator, but I don't have the exact number. But if you have like a $300 to $400,000 house, you're looking at about $400 to $500 more per year, I believe, is what the rate is. So they want to take the student operating cost from 209 up to uh 1,100. So, it's a lot. It's a lot to ask from our community and I would like to more look more into it. Um, so right now I'm a no on the operating one, but I am a yes on the technology one. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Just for a year to be clear, if if in a year with the general election when everybody it's really advertised and everybody's there to vote, I think that's a better I'm sorry, but I just wanted to clarify. That's a better use of a levy is when everybody gets to participate. right now is not being advertised. So I'd say give it a year, see if we can fix some things. If we can't, yeah, I think we need to ask for more money. >> Yeah. Um, so I support both questions. I encourage everyone to to vote yes. Um, as we all know, as we see our own pocketbooks, inflation has increased and school districts are not immune to that. Um, energy costs alone in the district, I think rose 8 to 10%. uh this district this this LA they had to cut about $8 million from the budget and when I was a student um we had to cut more. Uh this district has gotten leaner and leaner and leaner that we're getting to the bone and if we don't pass a levy things like um after school buses will go away um which I don't want to see because I use those buses um and they're very important. Um we haven't passed a levy I think since like 2016 when I was a student. actually helped get it passed. Um and uh so we we desperately need need this done. Um we have passed like a bonding levy u and we've seen such amazing work happen um in our district with all of our schools. Um I encourage you all to to to tour Tartan. Um it's amazing what they've done both from a security but also um just a facility standpoint. And we are very very great stewards of our dollars. um because of the when the bonding levy passed, we were able to refinance some of that debt and extend that dollars to do things like retrofit cow as well. Um IC622 is in the bottom 25% of funding uh compared to our to metro districts. Um so we're not in a in a good place compared to other other districts. Hopkins has almost like three times as much funding as as we do. Um so we we really do need to pass pass this levy. Um, so our district has increased needs and we need this on this ballot to address those needs. Um, so I again encourage everyone to go vote so that our folks like teachers um, you know, Justin mentioned pay uh, we do need to see solid pay increases for for our teachers as well. So thank you. >> Since this is a hot topic, could we keep going for one more between us? >> Nope. >> Okay. >> The next question, Mr. Rosemark is school funding is often tight. How would you set priorities for spending limited resources? >> Yeah, absolutely. Um so you know my approach would be that you know we need to prioritize the core services of a school when it comes to teaching students um maintaining class sizes um providing um extracurricular opportunities um making sure that our staff are are paid a meaningful wage and and see a a wage increase. Um, again, this district has gotten very lean and has had to make a lot of cuts. Um, especially when it comes to like counselors. Um, when I was a student at Tartan, um, we had a SAD program students against, I think, uh, I forget what the exact it's like MAD but with students. Um, um, and the the drug resource counselor at Tartan was cut. We lost the program. students were doing really amazing things um and providing, you know, being examples about when it comes to drugs and and alcohol. Um and this staff member was doing really great things with students in terms of um preventing and helping students when when they're in need. Um so seeing cuts like that is is really sad to see. Um but you know, we have to do what we do what we need to do in in when it comes to providing um core resources to to our students and staff. Thank you. >> I'm sorry. What was the question again? >> Sure. School funding is often tight. Okay. >> How would you set priorities for spending limited resources? >> Well, I wouldn't cut things from the students. You know, you're saying that after school buses would be cut. I wouldn't cut that. Um I wouldn't cut things for the students. I would cut things for maybe the administration. Maybe there's too much bl bloat. There's a lot of stuff like maybe our schools shouldn't be mental health clinics. Maybe that's up to the parents. Maybe the parents can take them to get help outside of the schools. Um these are concepts where the schools were always here to teach our children, not make sure that they feel safe. Make sure I mean of course we want to make sure they feel safe. That sounds terrible. I mean the emphasis of um their feelings of how to be in a safe space and this and that it's the whole thing has just gotten completely convoluted and what we need to do is get back to the basics. Parents need to raise their children. Parents need to if they have a problem and teachers are trained to recognize a problem, but they would they should go to the the the parent and say, "Look, we recognize this problem." And the parent should then choose their doctor of choice outside the school district and seek help for their children. That's what needs to happen. We got to quit being maybe our budget is so bad because we are paying so much money to be a hospital. We're not a hospital. We have hospitals. So, well, we need more mental health hospitals. That's a different subject. Thank you. >> Okay, our next question. I've got kind of an example and then a general question. So, there's been a recent there have been recent cuts in the robotics at Tartan and cuts of engineering classes at North. Do you believe in protecting STEM classes? And the more more overarching question is, how do you think the district should balance the need for building maintenance, technology upgrades, and other investments? >> My first >> uh as far as building maintenance goes, we've got some pretty good new buildings. So, I think that's going to help a lot. Um I think that um the first one, I'm sorry, my brain. What was the first one? It was kind of an example about when this since this was about talking balancing needs. >> Yes. >> The question was about do you believe in protecting STEM classes knowing that there have been cuts in robotics and engineering. >> Yes. I believe uh technology and STEM classes are the most important in this changing world. Um this is how our kids are going to learn about AI and how to build robots and how to interact with the future because we're only about probably 5 years away from robots in our homes. That's what some people say and I'm starting to believe that. um where you can get like a $15,000 loan and buy a robot that'll do things for you in your home. So STEM is going to be the most important thing um that we really gota otherwise our district will be behind um other states, other districts because that's going to be the new generation of innovation. So I I I am a big strong like I say I think we can cut money in other places not not from the students. >> Yeah. No, I think it's it's definitely unfortunate that uh we've seen cuts to to robotics and and other STEM programs. Um I think no matter who a student is, um whatever they're interested in, they should be able to equally explore those subjects just as any other student. Um so making sure that there's balanced opportunities, I guess, across uh the things that are offered would be how I would approach that. Um, and you know, I think we do need to be investing more when it comes to things like shop class, um, and career technical skills, um, as well. Um, because not all students want to go to college. Um, granted, I think college is great. Um, a little biased, but, um, you know, making sure that that students have the opportunities to explore whatever they want to do after after um, high school and feel set up for success in that. Um, so again, this this goes back to the levy and why it's important to pass it. Um, because we wouldn't be in this situation if um if we had a strong levy um to begin with. Um so, >> okay, the next qu we'll move into the future vision vision topics. Looking ahead 5 to 10 years, what do you believe the biggest challenges and opportunities will be for for the district and Minnesota schools? >> Yeah, it's a great question. Um, I think the funding continues to be and probably will be um one of our biggest challenges. Uh, we've seen the the funding gap grow when it comes to how much the state is providing and how much um school districts and communities have to um provide. Um, you know, not all states need to go to voters and pass a levy in order to fund the fund the schools. Um, you know, in Minnesota, we have a it's tied to per pupil. Um, you know, we get certain number per pupil from the state and then there's a gap and it's up to the district to go out to voters um and ask for that additional funding to to fill that gap. Um, you know, when you look at again the the the special education cross subsidy, um, very similar. um the state provides a certain amount of per pupil for special education students um and then the district has to find dollars um to fill that gap in providing those students with the things that they need when it comes to like pair professionals um and things like that. Um I think in addition um we really need to be supporting science-based um curriculum um and and fact-based curriculum and students need to be learning about science and the facts of of what's happening in in our world um especially things around like climate change. Um so I think that will continue to be um a big challenge. I think AI of course um is is is a a challenge um that the district is going to have to have to wrestle with as well. Um and I think in addition um like we're kind of in a kindness epidemic and as as well. So promoting kindness I think is really important and promoting community as well. Thank you. >> I love that. I agree with you. Kindness. Um, I think that's been lost in all this stuff. Um, I don't want to go on a rant though. Thank was I agree with you also on AI and funding. Funding will be one of the biggest challenges moving forward still as we know. Um, I don't think inflation is going to be going up much more, but it has already gone up, you know, 35% in the last 5 years. So, um, we've already kind of ate that, but we haven't, our salaries haven't caught up. So, a lot of people are still struggling and hurting out there to pay their bills, which um so the challenges will be that um but my but to come to uh the the homeowners right now for more money is really tough because again, it's been pretty well said here that people are struggling. They're struggling to pay their bills. The teachers are struggling to pay their bills. So, what if we start crossing over to where people start losing their homes? Because when we're talking about property taxes, that's when we talk about losing your home if you can't afford your taxes. So that becomes another bigger social problem in the future that we'd have to look out for. So we have to balance. And from my consensus, a lot of residents right now do not want to uh pay more property taxes at this time. I also think that as a school board member, I want to prove to these to our citizens that these schools are worth it because right now I think we're falling short. And that's another thing is we're falling short on expectations with our parents and yet we're asking for more money, more money, more money. So again, vote for me for one year. I'll get in here and this is a one-year term and I want to look at everything and I think I have a lot of ideas that we can really fix some of this stuff without asking for more money. Thank you. Okay, we're starting to wrap up, so we have time for one more question before your closing statements. Mr. Midaw, why should voters choose you to serve on the school board at this time? >> I probably mentioned a lot of it. I'll probably be the most transparent board member you guys have ever finally had. I think it'll be refreshing. I'm very loving and kind. I love every student. I don't care what ideology, what culture, what religion, it doesn't matter. I just want to include every student. And right now, I don't feel our schools are doing a good job at that. I believe that they're focused on um just a few different demographics. But um I want to be the board member that'll be there for the teachers. I want to reach uh I want to meet teachers. I'd love to be invited to their classroom and meet the kids. And I want to be part of the whole thing. Um because that's how you're going to fix things is if you're in the trenches with the teachers looking at what's going on. Um you can't unsolve problems if you're just not looking and not really looking for any problems. I want to be um the person that's going to ask questions. I feel right now that um nobody's asking questions. It seems like I watch all the board meetings and um it just seems and I don't see what happens behind the scenes. I don't see the meetings that are going on behind the before the board meetings. So, but it just seems like nobody's asking the tough questions. Everyone's kind of in agreement and I think we need a change. So, that's why I want you to vote for me and I'd be honored to get your vote. Thank you, >> Mr. Rosemark. >> Yeah. Um, so, um, you know, I have born and raised in IC 622. Um, I have a a wealth of experience and knowledge of of the district. Um, I h I'm a very strong relationship builder. I love um chatting and and getting to know folks and finding out um what their experience is um what motivates them, what challenges they're facing, and how we can work together to address those those issues. Um I think having a young younger person on the board would be of great value and importance um especially being uh a somewhat recent grad. Um, in addition, I have really strong relationships in the community, especially when it comes to our um, local elected officials and can be a really great advocate for ISD 622. Um, you know, I'll give you one example is that um, I attended the the Cow uh, residential meeting um, talking with residents about the renovation Corn is going to see. Um and one resident raised their hand and they said and they said that um the four-way stop by Cow um has a lot of folks blowing through the stop signs. Um and the part of the issue is that it's a county road and a city road that meet. Um so I reached out to our county commissioner um Kelly Miller and said, "Hey, there's this issue. We've been trying to address it. How can we figure this out?" Um and immediately she followed up and said, "We've sent an email to the person who handles this at the county." Um, so I look forward to working on an issue like that to make sure that our students are safe when they're trying to get to and and from school. So, >> thank you. And now each of the candidates will have a twominut closing statement and we'll start with you, Mr. Rosemark. >> Yeah. Um, well, I first want to thank the League of Women Voters for putting this on. um uh organizations like you and the work that you do are of great importance to our democracy and to our society um and our district is better off because of it. So, thank you so much. Thank you to those who are um here in person who have submitted questions especially and those who are tuning in. Um it's really great to see folks who are active participants in our um in our democracy. Um as I've said u I'm a I'm 27 years old. I'm a 27year-old resident um in in the district. um with really strong roots and I uh really am excited to give back um to the district and be a servant leader and help make ISTD622 thrive. Um um one one item that I'm really especially proud of um and that has motivated me is when I was in um college I had the opportunity to write a $550,000 grant through the MPCA to bring two electric school buses to um the Morris Area School District, a very small school district. Um and every day it makes me very happy to know that there's two electric buses going around Morris um picking kids up. Kids are breathing in less emissions. We're being good stewards of dollars. um and being good for our climate. Um so I hope to um bring that mentality and and that work to the school district as well. Um if you want to learn more um and get involved, you can go to my website which is samrosseark.com. Um would love to talk with you further um to have you help door knock um call folks. Um I really want to build um a community effort and bring more people in and help build a district together that that that we all want to see. Um, so I welcome your your input. Um, and I encourage you to go vote on November 4th as well, both for me as well as our two questions on the ballot. So, thank you so much, >> Mr. Mida. >> Yeah, I'd also like to thank the League of Women's Voters. This is really great that you guys do these. Otherwise, I don't think the we wouldn't have a really platform to really reach everybody. So, I also want to say thanks to Sam for for doing this. It's uh you know, running for school board is a volunteer thing and um we only do it because we have passion in our hearts. So um I appreciate you wanting to serve as well. Um I'm I'm looking for your vote because again I think I'm not going to keep repeating myself, but I think we need to take a good hard look at what's going on. It feels like our school districts and our even the Minnesota Department of Education's just been on a steamroll ahead without maybe evaluating what is going on. What's causing our kids to to, you know, to have such a high mental illness right now? Um what's causing our classrooms to be somewhat chaotic at times? um what's making us do things like when a troubled student is lashing out in class for whatever reason, you know, we remove the whole class and then the class isn't learning instead of removing the troubled student and getting that student some help. Um I think that what we really need to start doing is not classifying troubled students with bad behavior as special education. The only way they get help is if they're labeled some sort of special ed. And I think that's wrong. A lot of kids just need some help. They they don't have it at home. They might not They might have a bad father or a bad mother or an abusive situation that they're in and they don't know how to treat people with kindness and not how to bully and and they take out those aggressions on on other kids and they become bullies and stuff like that. I just think we need to um really focus on getting our classrooms more peaceful and beautiful and loving because I would say 99% of our classroom the students want to learn and there's usually 1% that's kind of um creating a lot of um problems. So right now we don't remove those kids from class. So that's something I really want to look into. I know there's laws and stuff we have to get around. So I definitely would like to um do my part to try to make our classes better for the teachers. And uh with that, vote for Justin Mida. Uh my website's justinfor622.com. Um I don't have any union endorsement or any money coming to me, so I'm only going to be uh getting endorsements and money from uh you people. So if you want to donate, I will have a donate uh button set up really soon, like next day here. Um I don't have one right today, but um just for 622.com. Thank you. >> Thank you. On behalf of the League of Women Voters Roseville area, I thank you, the audience, for all your questions. If you feel that your question wasn't addressed, it might have been a matter of time, but feel free to reach out to the candidates to to have your specific question answered. I thank the candidates for being part of the democratic process by running for office and being willing to serve the community. We hope this forum has helped voters in school district 622 make an informed decision in regard to the November 4th election. Excuse me. You can find nonpartisan information about candidates and voting at another league website, vote411.org. Early voting for the general election began September 19th and will end November 3rd. Early voting sites can be found at the Secretary of State's website, mnvotes.gov. The general election at your polling place occurs on Tuesday, November 4th. Again, thank you for coming and for all your questions. [Applause]