001[Music] good even my name is Tina CAD I am a proud member of the League of Women Voters Dakota County and I would like to welcome you to the independent school district 196 candidate Forum this evening as always we want to remind you that the League of Women Voters Dakota county is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed participation in government works to increase understanding of major policy um issues and influence policy through education and advocacy we never endorse parties or candidates and now please let me introduce our moderator tonight Lynn Lewis Lynn is a trained moderator an active member of the league and a co-chair of the voter service committee we're honored to have Lynn moderating our forum tonight thanks Tina good evening and on behalf of the League of Women Voters Dakota County
002I'd like to welcome you to the second session of the district 196 Schoolboard candidate Forum thank you to the candidates for attending tonight would' like to thank the city of Rosemont for providing the facility to hold the Forum and for recording it and making it available the recording will also be shared with Egan TV and Town Square TV so it'll be available to all parts of the district the district will also post it to their website as will League of Women Voters Dakota County the League of Women Voters Minnesota and our local leaks conduct candidate forums to provide the public with an opportunity to hear candidates discuss the issues that are important to members of the public the league is a nonpartisan organization that does not support or oppose any political party or candidate the
003views expressed in each Forum are those of the candidates not those of the League of Women Voters League of Women Voters Minnesota and our local leagues post complete unedited recordings of the forums editing is authorized only for official media purposes excerpts or edited clips of candidate forms may not be used for partisan or political purposes there are 10 active candidates running for four open seats on the district 196 School Board all candidates were invited to participate and nine of them accepted our invitation one candidate Tressa schulter had a conflict and was invited to submit an opening statement but one was not received unfortunately another candidate Craig angron who had accepted our invitation to participate had a personal issue arise about 2 hours ago and he cannot be here tonight because of the large number of
004candidates we've divided them randomly into two groups each group will participate in a forum session lasting about 75 minutes the same questions will be asked of each group we'll start the candidate Forum with opening statements opening statements will be given in alphabetical order each candidate will be given 2 minutes for their opening closing statements will be in Reverse alphabetical order and each candidate will again have two minutes for their statement the order of answer answering questions will be rotated randomly among the candidates candidates will have a minute and a half to respond to the questions we ask the candidates to respect these time limits we will also have two lightning round question questions with answers being restricted to one word responses will be in Reverse alphabetical order and alphabetical order please note our timekeeper who
005has a yellow 15 second card there is also a stop sign that indicates you should conclude your sentence so we can move on to the next candidate some of the questions asked this evening were submitted to the league electronically they were reviewed by League members and edited for clarity in addition some questions were drafted based on topics of interest that League members identified in the community because of time constraints we're not able to ask all the questions that were submitted this portion of the form will conclude in about 75 minutes so let's begin with opening statements the order for opening statements will be Kim Bower Melissa field Jackie Magnuson and Anna Williams Kim thank you thank you League of Women Voters for hosting us tonight and to the school district 196 Community for sub submitting
006comments and your sincere interest in learning more about the candidates and what we are for and about Hello friends and neighbors my name is Kim Bower I am an 8-year resident of Apple Valley a wife a mother to two incredible children Elementary aged and a small business owner I'm a substitute teacher an athlete a leader in women's ministry a fundraiser a volunteer in our community and Beyond and and most importantly I am an involved parent who is passionate about the education and well-being not only for my own children but for all the students in the district they are the future of the communities that we live in work in and they deserve an education that prepares them to thrive lead meaningful purpose ful lives and become productive involved members of society I'm running for school
007board on the platform of three main priorities improving student achievement increasing parent and Community involvement and increas increasing transparency and accountability our students deserve to not only achieve but excel in literacy Math and Science I am here to be a strong voice for students parents and teachers in the district through meaningful conversations and effective communication we can work together parents families teachers and 196 Administration to deliver our District's mission to help students reach their full potential let's keep the main thing the main thing a quality education focused on high standards and Excellence I am Kim Bower and I look forward to your vote on or on or before November 7th thank you Melissa uh I as well would like to thank you for the opportunity to participate tonight uh in the Forum my name is
008Melissa field and I'm a 19-year resident of Lakeville and of the school district my husband and I have raised two sons one is currently a senior at Apple Valley High School I recently retired as a police officer after 20 years and I can't imagine a better way to serve my community than to stay active as a school board member I have a vast range of experience on local and state level nonprofit boards in leadership positions during my career in law enforcement and I've had the opportunity to teach young adults aged 14 to 20 years old in leadership responsibility good stewardship to their communities all throughout the state as an Explorer adviser throughout the uh through the Boy Scouts of America I sincerely believe that my past experiences have helped prepare me for this next chapter
009in my life and I'm excited to get to work work as an ISD 196 School Board member so that we can focus on empowering parents to parent ensuring teachers can teach and that our students can travel on their path to success and excellence in a safe learning environment thank you Jackie good evening thank you again League of Women Voters for hosting this it's important that people pay attention learn and vote because that's what makes our community best I'm Jackie Magnuson and it's been my privilege to work and serve serve our community for the past 34 years I am a parent of three District graduates I hold a master's degree in education and I was a middle school teacher for 20 years so I know how to work a room especially Middle School people I bring
010a history of community involvement encouraging and seeking out public input along with a depth of knowledge of issues facing our schools I have served on all the board Committees of the 35 four years I've been on the board I've been board chair 15 years I have served on all board committees as well as Statewide committees with the Department of Education and on the state and National School boards Association board of directors it was really exciting to be able to be work in the central region for the national Schoolboard Association work with Iowa and Ohio and Wisconsin and work with those States in wondering what's going on in their states and bringing that to up to a national level I'm also a super fan for football hockey basketball games plays concerts robotics tournaments and anything else
011that our students are involved in it's 196 Pride I believe together we can continue to grow as I said I seek out um asking people for input in the community and feel like I have a good pulse on that but I continue to believe together we can continue to grow this district and keep it number one thank you and Anna hi um I want to thank everyone uh that was able to put this together the League of Women Voters um and I am extremely grateful to be here today and humbled by this entire experience um my husband and I moved to Egan about 23 years ago we raised two children uh one is a sophomore in college um at the University of Minnesota seeking an a degree in mechanical engineering and I have a daughter
012who is a senior um at one of our high schools here in District 186 I have been a substitute teacher uh Middle School school was my sweet spot love it loved it um I have also been a par professional and I have uh been on site councils for both my student for both of my kids in their Elementary and Middle School um I my son were actually on the Community Education advisory Council and so we got to hear about all the amazing opportunities that are offered to people within district by6 and outside through Community Ed um I've had the opportunity to work with a long alongside of a lot of teachers and um am really impressed by the challenges that they face every day uh with the resources that they have and um the students
013the breath of students that they have and their experiences and what they are able to do and how they Inspire our kids to do better and to do and to be their best um I really strongly believe in the value of an excellent education my husband and I moved here um before we had kids and we decided we wanted to live here because of the excellent education that District 186 could provide um from Equity programs like uh targeted An Early Intervention which is something that one of my kids actually needed um and uh and also AP classes advanced placement classes for gifted and talented and so I'm just very grateful to be here I'm excited um just thank you thank you candidates now we'll proceed to questions the response order for the first question will
014be Melissa Jackie Kim and then Anna and the first question is outside of running for or serving on the school board in what ways have you been involved in the district schools and in the community at large Melissa so I have been involved uh not directly with uh one of the individual schools but the community at large um through Boy Scouts um my husband and I were Den leaders um at a young age we also um were assistant uh coaches for uh one of our sons growing up and um we tried to stay as as uh um as a a participatory as we could but you know it's it was very difficult for us because of our because of our duties um our son especially uh he we were very fortunate with the fact that
015he was a studious um child and he appreciated his studies rather than getting it uh going out and being a sports player um he appreciated his friend ship so we have more uh deeper relationships with children in the neighborhood rather than participation uh with the schooling uh in the Local District so thank you Jackie in ways I been involved outside of school district I've almost made being a Schoolboard member a full-time job because there are a lot of things that you can go to during the day during the week so um I'm very involved in continuing and learning about what other people are doing and what we can bring into district 196 I'm retired I have two grandchildren I'm very involved with their growth and development and what they like to do as as far
016as the community when my kids were in high school I was a dance mom my girls were on Irish shets so they always needed costumes made and and stuff like that you were going around to that when my son was in high school he was in the marching band and that took a lot of time as far as being a band mom um recently just being involved in my church and that kind of thing has been outside of my outside of my board duties thank you Kim thank you as a parent of two young kids I have had I haven't had all the opportunities that everyone here has had um yet but I do foresee having the future having a lot more in the future um however we definitely do make the rounds in the
017district we've participated in a variety of community ed programs from ECF to sports to Art to robotics invention Camp invention and more um we've been to ball games the band and theater performances and predict much more in the future when my daughter was in kindergarten I was the literacy volunteer at Green Leaf Elementary and now at my kids school I volunteer attend parent organization meetings and have been appointed to a building board I'm also a substitute teacher where I work face tof face with students and teachers teers and staff daily while it's challenging work it is an honor to support the individuals in the school in any way that I can um outside of the district I would also add that I have my kids are in dance and um what is he karate all
018kinds of different Sports gymnastics it changes from day to day um so we do attend many community events we have friends who um have organizations that I help to support and volunteer with and of course like all of us here in the district my husband and I pay taxes that go into funding The District Operations thank you Hannah hi um I already mentioned that in my opening statement but um I have been a substitute teacher here in district 196 and I've had the opportunity to work at UH several middle schools and high schools um and elementary schools from kindergarten and second grade and fourth grade and fifth grade and sixth grade and seventh and eighth freshman and seniors I think even some juniors in there um I have uh been on the site Council for
019Blackhawk Middle School and for dearwood elementary school I have uh attended ECFE classes with my babies when they were very very young and I just so appreciated the opportunity to meet with other uh parents and caregivers of young children um let's see what else um I've gone to Bandon in theater programs uh of my daughter's friends and um of my daughter herself I got to volunteer uh when my daughter uh was in Middle School and in the theater there um also attended other events like basketball and football when my daughter was in the cheerleading team um and let's see I don't know there's been a lot so I just appreciate um all the wonderful things that District 186 has provided for our family it's been very diverse uh very inclusive and it's just been a
020wonderful experience the response order for the next question will be Jackie Melissa Anna and Kim and our next question is what are two to three strengths of which this District can be proud and why Jackie this district has a lot to be proud of the triaa philosophy that we talk about about being having excellent a academics Athletics and arts we have exceeded in all of those um talking about that e the AAA philosophy it's not that we're making sure that every kid is going to be a hockey foot a hockey player at the NHL but what do they have where are they what do they have to hang on to what can they be good at at school where is their P where can they find their passion and their success and I think that's
021one of the biggest things that district 196 can be proud of that that is a big program for us I think we can be proud of our fiscal management our fiscal management is transparent accurate and understandable and we continue to record high achievement levels while our Administration costs and our property taxes are comparatively low we can also be this is a probably a little known fact but we can also be really proud of the the Energy Efficiency things that the district has worked for and believe it or not this school district is lower in average in electric use than any other school dist than any other school district around us so we keep working on those so some of the things that we we don't put big Billboards up but we don't see that stuff
022that is really important and I think those are things that we can all be proud of plus that we've built a district that people want to come to and people want to work here thank you Melissa uh I believe a couple of strengths that the district has to offer is uh won a strong Band program uh my son has participated in the Band program since he was able to I believe that's fourth grade um he thoroughly enjoys playing the tuba so we're thankful for that because of the great teachers and the parent participation they have a strong program and it's helped him Excel um through uh all the way up to all state for that um the future cities program that was offered uh while he was in uh junior high is an excellent program
023and I really appreciated the support that the instructors had for that as well it really helped the the kids have the ability to expand their minds in and for my son this especially helped him um really explore um the possibility of architecture as um as a a field of study After High School so it it really helps to expand upon what the basics are of learning in high school or or our basic school studies and then also the gifted and talented program and AP programs that we have in the district I think are uh great to offer the kids to those that um need the extra challenge to stay focused on school so that they don't lose um touch with why they're at school and that's to get a quality education thank you Anna um
024I am very very very uh proud of uh the um Equity programs that district 196 offers including their uh advanced placement for students that are looking for more of a challenge and Who Um can even get college credit if they are able to pass their AP exams and their early intervention their targeted early intervention programs beginning in kindergarten both of my kids um have benefited from these programs and have received amazing care and nurturing uh and and passionate teachers who have wanted to see them succeed and have done everything they can to bolster them where they need it and to let them also um kind of fly on their own a little bit um I'm very uh proud of the Arts programs that are available here in our district um from the music teachers here
025in our schools and the theater program and band and choir it's something for everyone which I love about our district and I think the district does a really good job of um uh identifying great teachers to come work here we have a lot to be proud of um it's is a highly sought after District so it is a great place to come live to raise your family and to teach here and to work here in the district Kim thank you um my family and I moved here eight years ago because we found that this was really a destination district and um there's really a lot to be proud of here we appreciate the AAA philosophy as well the Athletics um arts and achievement that was a big deal for us when we moved in and
026we had neighbors always touting how wonderful the neighborhood was and the schools are so that was really exciting when we moved here um I do see a lot of Awards coming across um when when I'm at a Schoolboard meetings and that sort of thing that just come across so the district's doing a really great job and um taking care of their students and making sure that they have great opportunities I think we have more opportunities here in 196 than most um school districts have available um teachers of course our teachers are top-notch teachers um I appreciate the AP and the PSO programs I my kids aren't there yet but I've heard lots of great things about them um so a lot of community programs I already mentioned the Community Ed earlier and um the special
027ed services are really great um as far as I'm aware as well my daughter um does have a speech IEP so I've been able to use those Services here in the district as well um I think it's great that the the district is able to take care of our um the mental health of our students as well I know that there's been a lot more um input into that so I appreciate those opportunities and everything the district has to offer um research does show that the extent to which schools nurture positive relationships with families and vice versa makes all the difference in students achievement so thank you the response order for the third question will be Kim Anna Melissa and Jackie and our third question is where does the district have the most room for
028improvement What policies or proced procedures would you like to change to accomplish these improvements Kim okay thank you all right um I think given the decline we've seen in math science and reading scores this according to the Minnesota report card from the Department of Education we should focus on a return to academic excellence and I think a key to achieving this is to seek input from teachers about the challenges they face their ideas for improving outcomes and making sure teachers have support that they need to deliver on our District's promise of helping students reach their full potential and as I've shared before research shows that the extent to which schools nurture positive relationships with families and vice versa makes all the difference in students achievement and I will work for increased parent and Community involvement
029to ensure diverse viewpoints are represented respected and reflected in the district's plans thank you Anna hi thank you for that question um I think that uh well there's one thing that I'd really like to see I would really like to see uh student representation on our school board I think it's time we have uh five different high schools and we have all adults up here and uh although I think that is fantastic that we have a breath and and diversity of experiences as adults I think we are missing uh some very important perspectives from students who are really on the ground and have uh direct experiences and and and can provide Insight on policies that are impacting their education experience so I think there's an opportunity there um I also would like to see increased
030uh um as a person who has a Communications background I'd like to see us improve our communication a little bit um when research when looking at our district website um there is we talk about great things that we do I think that there is information that could be readily easily available um and pushed out to families uh and also if I need to pull that information I can get the information I need right away without having to click three or four times in um and I'd like to see better uh improved communication um just uh from the our school level which I think our schools are actually doing well but I think uh districtwide what are some of the policies that are coming out and some of the changes so I'd like to see some
031improved communication but there's always opportunity to improve our communication Melissa well this is a difficult question because it might be uh what came first the chicken or the egg type of a a question but um I think maybe the best would be to address uh classroom disruptions um and uh applying the policies that have been set forth now I know that some State statutes uh and mandates might be applied um and I would have to look further into that but I think we know that most parents work hard to raise their kids to know the difference between right and wrong so we know it's a small number of kids that cause a majority of the problems but it's getting worse teachers are not parents but they are the adults and the kids need to look
032to adults for consistency guidance and safety but now teachers are reporting that they're un that they're feeling unsafe in school as well so how do we solve it we certainly don't remove school resource officers but that's a topic for another day we uh start with transparency everyone will know children and staff will be held to an expectation of high ex Excellence with no exceptions uh will be firm but fair students need to see discipline applied consistently and equally regardless of race or sex support of our Educators bad behavior steals teaching time teachers should be unafraid and supported for upholding be behavioral standards and safe classrooms for everyone students from chaotic homes often lack structure accountability consistency and discipline let's show them that we care enough about their success in the future by helping them and
033their bad behavior today thank you Jackie thank you this is front of mine in topic because this is a district and it a policy that we're working on right now and have been for the last couple years our reading scores have not been where District wants them to be or where teachers want them to be and they're not happy about that so last year we did a study and we gathered information from students families teachers staff and administrators to provide the administration where to go and what what they think we could do since then we now you've heard about the re act that that they passed in St Paul and we feel like we need to work with urgency and this summer we've had um all of our elementary school teachers trained under a screening
034tool called fastbridge to give us a much clearer idea of what students know where they're going and what they're doing in January of 2024 the state will put out um new new curriculum curriculums that have been bet been had been vetted through the state and so we will be looking at those and getting those on board as soon as possible district 196 has a lot to be proud of but it's okay to say sometimes and stand back and go this isn't where we are this isn't who we are and this isn't what we are and we need to stop retool and regroup and that's what we're doing with the literacy program so thank you okay let's break things up by going to a lightning round we'll ask you a question that requires a one-word answer
035just one word we'll proceed in Reverse alphabetical order beginning with Anna and then going to Jackie Melissa and Kim and our lightning round question is do you agree with the State's new policy to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students Anna absolutely Jackie yes Melissa yes Kim yes thank you and now we'll resume our regular questioning the response order for the fourth question will be Anna Jackie Kim and Melissa and the fourth question is the combined $493 million Bond referendum passed by the voters in May is the largest successful one in the history of Minnesota how can you assure residents that you are qualified to oversee the budget and use the money wisely Anna um having worked uh for a fortune 25 company and working uh uh with um the finance department specifically and
036Communications I have an understanding of uh how money gets allocated and what that money is used for and how uh even in my own area and and leading in an area in a specific Department managing my own budget and so I do have budget experience um and yes $493 million is a lot it is absolutely a lot of money and we should be responsible in our spending of it um but how do you do it with anything else you take a bite at a time just like you eat a whale you take a bite at a time um it seems like a big number it is manageable uh you make sure you ask questions you make sure that uh we have a documentation where the money is being spent um you make sure that you
037are getting information in a timely matter so that you can make informed decisions and you don't agree to something until all of your questions have been answered the reality is is that there are seven people on the school board and so no one person has any cont complete control or power in that way as it should be it should be Collective voices Jackie the best thing that we have right now is Mark STS who was the director of Finance is now been put in that place as a on a on special assignment to oversee that whole operation and Christopher has moved up and he will be the the finance director um Mark has probably one of the best Minds about money in the state of Minnesota especially about school Finance he's got between 35 and
03850 committees underneath him working on what are we going to do we need one person to funnel that into and then bring it to the board the board can then look at things that make sense we're not going to be looking at should we do brick at this building and what color that isn't in our role but making sure that everything is tied up everything is secure we have and I'm don't have any I have no questions and qualms about this at all our finance department has gotten awards for being transparent you can see anything you want to see on the website and so I've got all confidence that this will be a great project and in five or six years time when everything is done we'll go wow that was a lot so thank
039you Kim thank you we have one of the largest districts in the state soon to be Third District finances are important and complex I'll be a new board member so there's going to be a lot to learn but I'm a quick study and I'm a business owner and I will bring my full Focus to the business of the of the district to make sure that I'm helping make the best budget decisions for our schools whether that's about the bond Staffing facilities teacher resources or any other aspect of our district to make sure that we're delivering on our promise of helping all students reach their full potential following up on plans and budget will ensure accountability that we are achieving what we hoped for with a background interior design I do wish we were choosing the
040colors of the bricks I understand the importance of facilities needing to be wellmaintained kept up to date safe and secure and that they need to include all the tools and Technology to accommodate the growing size of our district so I definitely agree with this Bond and anything that will provide students with the ability to learn teachers to teach and off and offer opportunities for Community to engage with students in a in a is is a plus in my book so um we will definitely work on the transparency and making sure that the the bond is used for all these great things thank you Lissa uh I served as a Treasurer on two nonprofit boards uh and I was responsible for a large budget as a supervisor uh for one of the units that I was
041in charge of as a police officer so I have experience with uh dealing with a checkbook essentially um I think also just to um reiterate what's already been said is that I think when you have numerous board members that are um acting as a balance and check system um it's great to have that oversight for each other and uh just the checking uh everybody checking to make sure that we're all on track um and holding each other accountable plus all of the is public information anyway um and that is great to be able to guarantee transparency and accountability for the board the response order for the fifth question will be Anna Jackie Melissa and Kim and the fifth question is endorsements of candidates for school board have become more common place in recent years could
042you tell us by whom you have been endorsed and why you sought this endorsement Anna um thank you for that question um I have been honored and humbled uh to receive the endorsement from the Dakota County United Educators uh group um I sought their endorsement first and foremost because a huge population uh of the staff at District 186 is made up of teachers and so uh it is really important uh to be open and to listen to the needs of teachers since they are very big stakeholders um and so I sought that endorsement first and foremost to develop a relationship as I know that um again uh we have to listen to All stakeholders and and listen to All Points of views and perspectives and experiences and teachers are one of them um I also
043have been seeking endorsement um from other groups I am not able to say who they are yet since decisions have not been publicly announced um but I I'm very excited uh to be part of that process and I think it's a wonderful example of our democracy uh we all have opportunities or we're all able to seek out endorsements um from individuals and groups and that's what makes our democracy work so thank you Jackie I've been proud to be endorsed by the Dakota County United Educators we have 2,000 teachers in our district and I am proud to say that they still endorse me and appreciate what we have collectively built together a collegial conversation where problems don't become problems because we talk them through so I'm proud of that thank you Melissa um I have been
044uh I don't know if endorsed is the correct term or if they use recommended but the Minnesota parents Alliance uh approached me or contacted me I read through their bio and um I believe that they have stakeholders that would consider themselves on both sides of the aisle and I feel that um they understand what it really truly means to um consider all children and to treat everybody fairly as human beings um so I was I was proud when they agreed to um to recommend me on their website I was also approached by the uh Dakota County Educators Union but I did decline to um be screened by them is the term that they used and um I as being a a past Union member and also sitting on a union a couple Union boards in
045the past um I I have a a personal conflict with that um I I don't think that school board members who are non partisan should be seeking endorsement from uh unions so that's that's my personal opinion on that thank you Kim thank you yes um I don't have any official endorsements either I am also recommended by the Minnesota parents Alliance um and there's a logo it's called the fair logo so both are nonpartisan um associations that have recommended me and I do have some other feelers out as well for further recommendations I'm not seeking endorsements because I do know that the school board is a nonpartisan position and I think it should remain that way however I do think that there is more of a group think mentality um on our current school board and
046I I would like to be a voice a stronger voice for the parents and for the students and the teachers as well and and more Community me members in district 196 thank you the response order for the sixth question will be Melissa Kim Jackie and Anna and the sixth question question is what do you see to be the difference between equality and equity which should be a goal for the district and why Melissa well I believe the difference between equality and Equity is that I believe that we're all simply equal there's nobody here that is worth any more or any less than the next person sitting next to me or anyone that walks through the door I believe that we need to begin with equality and then we can work with Equity I believe that
047all children deserve an equal right to the same education there are children that do need extra help to get to the same level as other children or to what the state has set as an acceptable standard and that's where Equity comes in and we get to that point by offering those children extra resources we give them tutors we give them mentors we give them mental health professionals if they need it that's how that's how we address equity and that and that's the and how we get to the goal of of meeting both of those so thank you Kim thank you um I think that equality is an equal opportunity but it doesn't always mean the equal outcome and Equity is um in my opinion it's more lowering standards so that everyone achieves um and you
048know we all have our own skills and abilities um so I'm just going to say this that the achievement Gap is a persistent challenge um and we've seen how test scores have continued to decline these scores continue to decline on all demographics and not just certain groups that's why one of my main priorities is to refocus on the fundamentals strong literacy math and science skills especially literacy listening speaking reading and writing this is at the heart of learning all subjects and so this needs to be emphasized in order for all students to have an academic academic success and really for them to be successful in life and that's to me that's equality um also research shows that students do better in school when they have at least one parent or Guardian that's involved involved or
049engaged in their academic experience so I think there's an opportunity for us to increase and be intentional about the parent involvement as well um because we just want to help our students to improve their academic success overall for all students thank you Jackie I like the words be intentional and I think when we're looking at equ equality and Equity what is it that we're talking about we're going to teach everybody to do math we're not giving them all we probably aren't giving them all the same book because we're not all coming in at the same level or at the same place so where is the equity where is the equality we're teaching them all to read to do math but other because we've got kids here and kids there and kids there we need to
050have a pro a be intentional with a quality of what we're what how we're helping students St find their place so I think that's where where I would go and where that's where I would start and say that this is we work on this all the time and sometimes it gets into muddy words that people don't under quite know what we're talking about but we want all kids to be connected in our schools all kids to feel safe and secure all kids to be treated equally and with equality so thank you Anna hi this is my favorite subject as a diversity equity and inclusion practitioner um I work with uh a lot of different uh organizations and CEOs and SE sues about how do we Define equity and what do we mean when we're talking
051about equity and sometimes there's some confusion out there and that's unfortunate we're not always good at uh we sometimes come up with our own ideas or what we think something is equity is providing the resources that people need to be successful ful and so that could be an AP program advanced placement that could be targeted early intervention that could be special education that could be uh creating a door that opens up with just uh pressing a button instead of having to use your body that's what Equity is equality is providing the same resources so that everyone has something equal and so our education ation system public school is an equality uh idea everyone can be in our Public School Systems um for K through 12 education so that is what equality is we don't treat
052everybody the same way meaning if I shake your hand I have to shake your hand I have to shake your hand it means that we treat people the way they want to be treated thank you let's go to a second lightning round question remember we're looking for a one-word answer we'll proceed an alphabetical order beginning with Kim then proceeding to Melissa Jackie and Anna our next lightning round question is do you support media Specialists making the decision as to which books are available in the school Kim I'm going to say no yes sorry I went out order no you're fine sorry I went out of order Melissa yes Jackie yes and Anna yes my apologies thank you and now we'll go back to our regular programming the response order for our next question question will
053be Jackie Melissa Kim and Anna and our next question is as a Schoolboard member how would you respond to parents concerns about what is being taught in or left out of classrooms Jackie thank you um in 196 right now what I would do is get in touch with that parent have a conversation and what is it that you think is being left out what let me know what it is what are the facts that we're looking at then I would go to the district office talk to the superintendent I think this would be time to bring in super or the superintendent um people in from teaching and learning maybe the director maybe the principal the first thing I might ask him have you gone to your principal have you talked about this is it I
054mean do you know that this is true for a fact but we have no problem answering people what is your question what is being taught or what is being left out let's look at it together and see what is that you think is being left out or what is being taught that you disagree with and we have different kinds of forms and rubrics and and different kinds of ways that we can help put that those things in motion if somebody thinks that something needs to be left out so thank you Melissa um I I'm reading this as it's a an opt in or opt out uh question um so so that's how I'm going to answer it um yeah do I do I think that that parents do I think that parents should have the
055option of of asking about what has been uh introduced into the classroom um yes they should absolutely have access access to that information the school should be 100% transparent about it and it there shouldn't be delay now that doesn't mean that a teacher needs to stop doing what they're doing for the day to to respond to that parent but it should be within a timely fashion um a parent should also have the opportunity to say uh no I don't want my child to participate in that in a timely fashion but that information needs to be uh needs to be available to parents to be able to have that opportunity to pull their children if that's the case um is it an opt-in or an opt out question um you know that's difficult to say to
056say not every school is uh offering controversial topics so I think that's that's a difficult question to to answer so Kim thank you um it is a state law that um parents do have access to see what the curriculum is in the students classroom I fully support parents rights when it comes to their kids education and I would advocate for Parental involvement in District decisions especially those that relate to the curriculum that's part of why I'm running for Schoolboard to increase parent and Community involvement in the district decisions we've seen how there's been a breakdown in trust between the administration and the community so I think we have an opportunity to strengthen this relationship trust can be established through consistent communication between the school the the teacher and the family about what the student is
057learning in their class with technology and the various platforms of communication that are available parent and teacher communication shouldn't be a stumbling block for our students as I've said before I firmly believe the um I firmly believe the foundation for Student Success begins with academic achievement if the benchmarks literacy Math and Science are not being met the parent has the right to view and discuss the materials being used in the classroom thank you Anna thank you for that question um so one of the things that I often practice and and teach um and work with other Executives is uh active listening and so I think that um one of the biggest roles a Schoolboard member can play can play is seeking to understand when a parent or someone else in the district has a concern
058about the curriculum or what is being taught active listening requires what are the facts what am I hearing factually um from that person what am I hearing that they value that's really important and what is the emotion that I'm hearing from that because usually we lead with how we feel and all and acknowledging and understanding all those three things are really important in order to help facilitate conversations that are productive um and come to Solutions and so also understanding that we have 29,000 students in our school district across three different cities and 33 schools that's a lot and so even the idea of responding Le a responding in a quick manner is can be difficult depending on how many how many questions you're getting but I am committed because this has happened to me I
059am committed to making sure that I respond and that I find out what actually is the challenge and the opportunity and listen and connect and try to come to some solutions I will also say this parents have the right to choose to say if they don't want their child to read a particular book in any school that's always been the policy the response order for the eighth question will be Anna Kim Jackie and Melissa and our eighth question is how do you plan to address the challenges posed by technology such as cyber security artificial intelligence and digital privacy Anna well so this is an interesting question for a board member to answer a school board we are not responsible for the administration of of the daily things in the school at the school level our
060responsibility is to advise to ask questions to make sure that we are governing uh uh governing budget spending um and to pass policies that provide excellent education and safe and welcoming School uh uh schools for our students so my responsibility is also to ask and and to ask to provide what is our strategy behind that right what are some gaps who are we talking to who are we benchmarking that's my responsibility and that's how I plan to address that Kim thank you so the school board is the governing body of district 196 responsible for developing policy to ensure the proper care management and control of District Affairs and supporting the mission of educating our students to reach their full potential so um I love what um the Apple Valley schools have been doing they've removed
061technology from the classroom I think um as a board we can be the governing body um for the entire District to um put those policies into place um and of course just part of safety in general just making sure that our systems are all secure um other than that I think that uh if things are not um if it if it's not focused on education and making sure that our kids are able to read we can probably dismiss some of those um things until um the students are ready for them too thank you Jackie we have a lot of policies around technology around the use of Technology we train kids from the time they get a a device through High School of what to do with their devices what not to do with their devices
062we talk a lot about cyber security with kids what you can put out on the internet what you shouldn't put out on the internet I mean then that's down into the Elementary grades um I'm not sure anybody has a handle yet on AI and that will be I mean I've been in conferences where they've talked a lot about it and are saying get ready and I'm okay we'll get ready when we have a better understanding of what that is going to do but the cyber security the digital privacy and I would say the other piece about technology that we have problems with in schools is just Facebook or whatever people are using to now have a war with this kid and this kid outside of school and then that comes into school so it's not
063necessarily a policy that the board could change or anything the board could change with a policy but it is one of one of the problems that we have so we do work like I said work on policies that we can do and that are working for dist for the district and for our students and that continues to evolve Melissa well I I think those so I'm unsure if every school hands out the the iPads for um the homework and and such but I do know that there are programs out there that can be installed on the the iPads that essentially lock it down so that they can only be used for what they are meant to do and that's to help the kids with homework there's in my mind there's no reason why kids should
064have the extra bells and whistles if you will that go along with it why do you need to put Facebook or SnapChat or um other social media platforms on them to be used used for unintended purposes um if kids need the Internet for um for doing research for papers and what have you um those can also be used with certain parental controls that the school can Implement on the iPads to um to be used to help control those um types of situations that would certainly help with a lot of the security issues um as far as AI goes I think it's a lot of Uncharted Territory for everybody and it's an Ever evolving um instrument that can be beneficial but it can also be extremely harmful so there's going to be more to come on
065that fortunately and unfortunately the response order for the ninth question will be Kim Anna Melissa and jagie and our ninth question is what differentiates you from the other candidates Andor board members Kim thank you I'm an involved mother a business owner a substitute teacher a leader in my community I'm also a strategic thinker creative Problem Solver active listener and as an athlete a very natural uh team player I'm equipped with the necessary skills to make meaningful contributions to the district and will use every tool in my tool belt to keep laser focused on my top three priorities student achievement parent and Community involvement and transparency and accountability in the budget and curriculum thank you Anna thank you um I am a biracial black woman who was born and raised in Minnesota I have uh two
066very different parents who come from very different cultures and was raised under that household and so I had the opportunity to experience uh diversity in a way that not everyone has the opportunity to have to have that and I really feel like that's prepared me to be more interculturally competent and to work with others and try to understand um people's perspectives and their experiences and their understanding um I am certified in diversity Equity inclusion from the University of Minnesota um and I do work with Executives and I actually know what's what executives are most concerned about is hiring and retaining diverse Talent not just racially diverse talent but all kinds of diverse talent to really um meet the needs and challenges of uh companies and business and so we need to keep improving on our
067understanding and working with different cultures and different experiences and how to be more respectful with each other um and how to treat each other with dignity that we all deserve regardless of our background um and so that we can become productive uh community members and be effective in whatever we decide to do Melissa um as an involved parent I've seen what it looks like uh for a child to be actively involved and interested in their schoolwork I've seen what uh hard work and dedication of teachers in the district looks like prior to during postco um but as a police officer I think it puts me in um a unique position because I've seen people at their very lowest in their life I've seen children who have been involved in that as well but I've also
068seen people at the best moments of their life I've seen kids struggling with I with suicidal ideations and I've seen kids with Tears in their eyes as they've graduated from from uh the Explorer Program uh and getting accepted to their first job in law enforcement um I've seen mental health professionals struggling to uh help these children and parents try to work together as a a cohesive family and been able to see them walk along in their Journey I've seen teachers that are struggling um in the classroom at home in their own personal lives and then with other people's children and trying to uh you know keep them to be or uh treat them to be as their own as well so I have a very unique uh situation in that way is um that i'
069I've seen a little bit of everything so thank you thank you my experience comes from the classroom all the way through to the boardroom and all of our teacher all of our students everyone regardless of their background beliefs um indifference to their abilities or so so their socioeconomic status or identity that they are given we need to make sure that they are given the opportunity to succeed I've watched my kids I don't have kids currently in school they've all graduated but I stand at the at the at the end where you can look backwards and see what worked you can look forward now as I watch my grandchildren and see how different it is now than when my kids were in school I enjoy immensely going to things and watching students hearing about the robotics
070program of the Iron Maidens in Apple Valley and I think those are the things that differentiate me from other people I can I have that ability to be able to see from the classroom to the boardroom and having the length of time of experience on the board that I think that differentiates me from a lot of people so thank you and we're coming to our last question everybody take a sigh and the Order of response for the last question will be Melissa Anna Jackie and Kim and our last question is what role does equity and diversity play in public schools describe how you would provide a quality education for a diverse student population Melissa well as I stated before um I believe Equity comes in after the opportunity uh to treat all of the children
071equal is already there so by bringing in um the resources that are needed to uh assist children and um to provide them with um the education that they need to be successful I think that we're we already have a very diverse um base of students um and that's that that can be found on the the Minnesota um Education website um the statistics are kept for every school in the in the state I think as long as we continue to provide a a quality education is we're going to be um a destination I mean this this area continues to grow um the the district while there are um issues that need to be worked out with uh bringing up our math and reading and science scores um graduation rate needs to increase um um this is
072a an area that continues to increase in population um we do have a safe community and the schools are above average so I believe those are aspects that'll continue to uh increase diversity here anna yeah um I think I've done a good job already of explaining what Equity is um so Equity again is providing people the resources that they need on an individualized basis and sometimes a group basis so they can be successful um as far as diversity and public schools diversity is an unlock when we have diverse experiences and perspectives and opinions and education like the four people that are up here right now we can uncover different opportunities and we can co-create better Solutions companies uh know this already they know when they have a more diverse Workforce that they perform other companies
073that they are more Innovative in their Solutions we need to know how to work with those diverse perspectives not just racial diversity we're talking about age we're talking about politics we're talking about experiences that is the unlock and that's the challenge and so I see diversity playing a huge role as we continue to bring in more diverse uh teachers more diverse uh students we need to know how to navigate each other if effectively respectfully um and engage with each other so we can come to Solutions and take care of our children and be in the business of providing an excellent education and we also need to focus on reading like Jackie said uh we want all of our students in Minnesota to be reading at grade level or above grade level uh mediocre isn't enough
074we don't want to just be above average we want to be the best state and the best District in Minnesota for all our students Jackie I love the question how describe how you would provide a quality education for a des a diverse student population and we do that every day in 196 we talk a lot about mirrors and windows you got a mirror do these people look like me you got a window can I see other people that are doing things that look like me one thing that we've got that would be really proud if you haven't seen it you should go look it up it's the Native American um unit that we have in second grade and in fifth grade and it is so very powerful the lieutenant governor came out last year and
075watched we've got books written by you know jibway we've got artifacts we've got um all kinds of things that are involving students so it's a mirror I see myself in this book and I'm ojibway so it's all kinds of things that create that quality education for a diverse student population and we'll keep on working Kim thank you diversity makes the world go around um I love traveling and I think it's really important to get to know other students and cultures and um I also believe that diversity isn't just color it is culture it's um it's you said religion it's a lot of different things so and I do think sometimes that gets lost in the um in the wording but um I just think that we need to continue to focus on the fact that
076we do have declining test scores and it's across all demographics and it's not just certain groups as I've said before so again focusing on the fundamentals of strong literacy um and academic success um these these students no matter who they are or where they come from are going to be members of our future um cities that we live in so I think it's very important to embrace um and learn about who each other are and um yeah and I think that's what we need to do just focus on the basics and I think the rest kind of comes along with it through the relationships thank you and that now brings us to closing statements candidates will each have two minutes closing statements will be in Reverse alphabetical order beginning with Anna and then proceeding to
077Jackie Melissa and Kim Anna okay thank you so much um I believe everyone wants our students to receive an excellent education in safe and welcoming School environment where they are cared for they are nurtured and loved for who they are I believe public education is the Cornerstone of our nation's democracy and it should provide all students with the skills and abilities needed to reach their full potential and become informed and engaged community members and leaders regardless of their race spiritual beliefs gender orientation economic background or citizenship status I believe that kindness has a Rippling effect and that we each have a responsibility to use our individual talents and privileges to help others and that changing the world starts here uh with each relationship we have the opportunity to make with somebody else with developing meaningful
078authentic and trusting relationships with each other we have to close the poll polarizing Gap we have to learn to listen and talk to each other with respect and dignity we have to understand that barriers do exist for many students and families um and that if we come together uh collectively and work together um we can actually remove those obstacles and we can co-create solutions that realize a better future for all our students we are a very very wealthy District you can see that and how we uh pass levies and bonds you can see that with how well we pay our teachers um of course we can always pay our teachers more but uh that would be a personal opinion I wouldn't quote me on that um and uh we also have families and students that
079are struggling and we have an opportunity here uh to come together and do better we can always do better each and every one of us that are up here regardless if we be get on the school board or not we have a responsibility to our community and to our families and to our our students thank you Jackie education is a universal right it is the Cornerstone of a prosperous and Equitable society that is why it's critical that educating our students to reach their fullest potential to achieve their infinite possibilities is so crucial we are a district that is renowned for outstanding achievement in academics award-winning arts and performance top-notch athletes that is result of our Collective effort as a community and this is the collective effort and shared vision of providing our kids with the
080best education possible that brings us here tonight I am so proud to have served on this board for the last 34 years and ask for your support to continue we always work better we always do better we always look for continuous Improvement at every turn and that's what's kept us one of the best school districts in the state we are number three by the way and we all work hard to do better every classroom teacher works hard to do better so I'd ask for your support if you need any more information um you can go to jackie4 F 1996. and thank you for the privilege of serving for the last 34 years and thank you for your consideration and your vote Melissa in closing I'd like to say I'm proud of the Educators we have
081in 196 my son's success can be attributed to their professionalism and their caring instruction but I do think we have fallen into complacency complacency goes against everything that I have ever known it allows for Dangerous ideas and actions to infiltrate what we've worked so hard to do for so long parents please Empower yourself to do what's best for your kids you know them you know what's best for them teachers please expect nothing less than Excellence from your students they're worth it and you deserve it for the hard work that you do let's all work together to keep our kids safe and keep them on the path to Excellence that we know that they can make thank you for your time please vote for Melissa field honor before November 7th thank you Kim thank you thank
082you again League of Women Voters and ISD 196 constituents for your time and interest in my campaign I believe that obstacles are opportunities and I am excited to raise rise to the challenge of cultivating a culture of student parent teacher Community engagement and Trust while on the board I promise to listen to All perspectives and be a strong voice that will reflect the diverse opinions of all the members of our community especially parents to ensure that each of you are represented respected and reflected in the district's plans I will keep the main thing the main thing student academic achievement to support Student Success I will seek input from teachers about the challenges they face their ideas for improving outcomes and make sure teachers have the support they need to deliver on our dist 's promise
083of helping students reach their full potential what you will receive from me is focus transparency integrity and a strong commitment to building positive relationships within the district for more information you can visit kim4 education.org thank you for voting for Kim Bower on or before November 7th to keep student academic achievement the number one priority thank you League of Women Voters Dakota County would like to thank everyone for participating in our Forum would' especially like to thank our candidates for being part of the democratic process by running for office and for being willing to serve our community remember this is only one half of the district 196 candidate Forum please tune in to the other half the League of Women Voters also researches issues important to our members and to the health of our communities if
084you're interested in finding out more about what we do and how you can make a difference please visit us at lwv Dakota county.org you can find more information about voting and candidates at mnvotes.org and at vote411.org again thanks for viewing and remember to vote by November [Music] 7th [Music]