001okay good evening and welcome to tonight's special school board meeting Monday September 25 2043. we've met compliance with official notifications roll call please Brooke Taylor here Lynn Albrecht here Nick Schumacher I am Smith here I'm here president Olson here tonight's agenda is School Board candidate interviews each candidate will answer six questions will be given no more than 15 minutes to complete the interviews names of the candidates were drawn at random to determine the order in which they would be interviewed you do have that sheet in front of seats so with that hand will you please get our first end date sorry I'm assuming we're we're still going from seven to four candidates even though it says nine we're down to seven yeah footwork so that's going down to four episodes yeah same voting procedure for
002oh yes hello seat is not too hot controller oh yeah yeah thanks you're welcome Laura I am Steve Olson the school board president as you know today we are interviewing school districts School Board vacancy thank you for your interest and finally for the bacon seed there are six questions selected and every school board member will ask one question this interview will be limited to 15 minutes which gives you approximately two minutes per question you'll need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent Dr Amy starzewski will be signaling time throughout the whole process you will get a yellow sign with 30 seconds remaining and a red sign when your time has been completed your time will start after I read the first questions we will excuse
003me I'm not reading okay first question is read we will send out an email to all applicants tonight with the final four decision we wish you good luck answer before remember Diana Smith will be asking the first question member and role in The District sure the first role is obviously reviewing policies making policy decisions and recommendations to ensure that the school is statutorily complying with all federal laws the other part is ensuring that they're fiscally responsible for the district managing the budget thinking long-term strategic planning for the school board is a big piece of that as well approving those budgets Insurance things that come forward and then lastly you know supporting and listening to not that it's in the defined role but listening to our staff and administration and letting them do their jobs so
004not micromanaging but of course making sure you know enough to make decisions that are really important that they're recommending to us okay what strengths do you possess to make your effective candidate I'd say my number one strength is policy oriented it's what I've done professionally it's what I've done personally it's the chair that I was on the committee for the school board for six years all six years pretty much you know I was able to be a delegate that's really important to be able to read those policies I was the Delegate for the sisa um so you know not just looking at our school board making policy recommendations or resolutions but also for numerous other school districts serving on sisa 12. thank you all right Tyler describe your responsibilities as a school board member if
005you receive an email or phone call from a parent or employee with a complaint well that is something I always really appreciated I'll tell you it's always the nicest emails I want to hear from people whether it's positive or negative and so I was someone that would say thank you I'll look into this um and it was always really important as well to make sure you're sending that to the appropriate people so typically I'd be sending that to the board president and Amy had numerous emails from me um if I knew it was a direct person to send it to like Finance or something you know making sure you're routing it to the appropriate Administration but our role is never to investigate it ourselves but I do feel it is our role to follow up
006so when you get that email you know I would follow up with Amir the the board president saying did you get back to this person and what was the end resolution and even maybe check in with that like did you get your answer and if not I can try an appropriate route not like other people but I'll follow up with that person again thank you good evening Laura you have a lot of time so feel free to expand your answers here if you are appointed as a new board member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with your new I would like to get a full upload of what's going on with redistricting given that's you know the most timely um thing that the school board has facing them and
007I'm appreciative that I've had as a past board member I think that's also a huge asset that I didn't add is you know pre-covid I was a part of those conversations I was already looking at the data we were able to ask a lot of questions and so that is something that's not easy it's not something that happens frequently and so to have a new board member that has already had some of those conversations been a part of the presentations met one-on-one with Administration I would want to be updated on that but that's going to be really helpful to already have that foundational knowledge so again if there's new updates which there probably are um you know I would want to learn about that the fiscal situation I'd want to meet with um a person
008to make sure I'm understanding where we're at and what that trajectory looks like with some of the changes that Governor Evers has put in place um and then again just we have a strategic plan where are we at on that what is the board doing to support those different strategic plans for our district it's only been six months but things change quickly thank you hi Laura hi Lauren um if you could describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every day I would say that is something that I've definitely been most passionate about on the school board when I ran for um the school board position in my first time it was because actually lots of folks in the communities of color had come to me about some concerns I tried
009to Advocate reaching out to other um folks of color to see if we could get more diversity on our school board um since then things have definitely improved we've had hired folks that are specifically looking at not just race but diversity equity and inclusion and then additionally that belonging aspect which is really really important to all students and so when we say all means all in the school district of superior we're not just looking at predominant groups or folks with special talents we are again really trying to remove barriers so all of our students can take AP courses so all of our students maybe have different career Avenues even if it's not that traditional four-year College Avenue so when I think about all means all it means having diverse voices and perspectives and actually taking
010action to achieve what we're saying is all means all it can't just be words your final question was it like two minutes I should have looked up the time but I said expanded yeah why are you the best candidate to fill this short-term vacancy and this is my last question this is good okay um I thought long and hard about um not running um the last election cycle um and I think it's important to have a step back sometimes New Perspectives are always nice I like to have a balance on the board um but it also helps to have folks that have been on there for a while because there's a lot of history that I was fortunate to be mentored by people that have been on the school board for a long time to
011help me understand you know the the history when you go into negotiations the histories when we're going to the conference and and when we're presenting resolutions I am someone that has been actively involved in the board I would say in my past six years which was demonstrated you know by some of the the changes that our board was not just me but our board was really active in putting into place um specifically focus on like Equity issues um some of the things I was most proud of is you know the support of the Safe Harbor legislation um that was something that I really pioneered and were able to get numerous school districts across the state of Minnesota or Wisconsin rather um to pass that and so that decriminalized children that are being sexually exploited um
012you know as a Statewide voice saying that we want to support our kids even our kids that are really at high risk I sent out a lot of information because my career has been very focused on serving kids and Families um specifically kids that have been exposed to traumatic situations child maltreatment so um learning to Child Development teaching other professionals like law enforcement like Ed or social workers and attorneys how to forensically interview children which takes an understanding of children's communication developmental understanding what that process looks like and feels like for kids the mental impact and when we have expulsion hearings that is something that I'm always really looking at too is like that mental health aspect and that's something that the school district of superior has really been focused on and I think I
013really liked working with Mike Myers because he also had a similar background um you know as a school social worker I think that kind of approach that mental health approach not a punitive approach a restorative approach it's really important in school districts to keep kids in school so that they're not having criminalized behaviors they're not dropping out we need to ensure that our school is safe and mental health is a big piece of that and that's something that I work very closely with mental health experts uh National experts on how we need to meet our kids best needs for even the trauma impact of covid I think our kids are still um you know trying to get back to normal and I don't think we're going to actually get to normal and we're seeing that
014in academic performances our teachers are doing amazing but that's taking tremendous effort so another aspect I would say I bring is the relationship with our teachers with our staff anywhere from bus drivers kitchen folks to our teachers and administration um I was asked by many different folks that work in the district and supported by them to run for this position or run but apply for this position uh you know they just know that I am someone that'll listen to them and I'll go to bat like it's not something that people don't know that I'm very passionate um about kids that I'm very passionate about policy and public schools um you know I've been willing to speak um at hearings I've attended stuff that was outside you know but for the state for public schools um
015you know just because I'm a concerned Citizen and want our kids to have the best education they can have yeah and I'd say another aspect is that you know it's not uh secret uh you know that have had conflict with board members but I was really happy that by the end I felt that that relationship by taking the steps to go through actually mediation um was a good step I think conflict can be healthy but you know what if you're not having any conflict you're not doing the work and so there is a healthy point that if we're gonna actually get the work done that there is going to be some tension at times that's a good thing I've never worked on a team even from sports teams to professional teams with you know child
016maltreatment experts or investigators there's going to be times where we have to have hard conversations and we're not going to agree me and Chris kintop are another example Bowen bat to bat me and Len bad to bat it's never personal it's really about what you care about and trying to get the work done and with me and Brooke it was to the point where it wasn't healthy and I think it was important that both of us were willing to take the step to try to repair that relationship so I think people that are willing to do that that's someone that you need on the board thank you thank you this does conclude your interviews we certainly again appreciate your interest in this position again I remind you that we will contact all applicants tonight with
017our final result okay best of luck to you all thank you a lot of us are Mike semi hot seat Mike welcome I am Steve Olson School Board president as you know today we are interviewing Forest Perry School District vacancy thank you for your interest in filling the vacancy there have been six questions selected in every school board member asks one question interview will be limited to 15 minutes which gives you approximately two minutes per question you'll need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent starzaki will be keeping the time people signal with the yellow piece of paper with 30 seconds left and a red one when your time is up your time will start after the first question is read we will send out
018an email to all applicants tonight with the final board decision we wish you the best of luck thank you describe your understanding of your role it's the board member and the administration's world um that's a good question so I how I see the school board we are kind of um the you know the overseers of all that happens um outside community members that um you know listen to what the community has to say about about the schools and take their input and try to do the best we can to provide the uh the highest quality uh educational opportunities for uh every child in our in our community thank you hey Mike how are you good long time yeah uh what strengths do you possess to make you an effective candidate um I would say first
019thing experience so I did serve on the board for a term uh ending in 2018 especially for a role in this capacity where we're you know filling a spot for a limited amount of time having someone with experience I think is an asset um I think you all know being board members there is a learning curve I'm coming in so um you know I think I I would kind of bring some of that experience to help bridge that Gap um also just um working in education uh in different capacities or I don't know over a decade also uh just you know with being on the school board and other work um you know I've always just had an ear out for listening to our Educators I think uh that's the most important role we can
020do and our and our families obviously but um I think bringing that where the folks that are doing it every day know the best and I think um that uh that's something that I that I understand and I I respect and I I think um I would bring that to the table to to with that experience thanks Mike if that water's yours if you want it I'm good thank you hi Mike thank you uh describe your responsibilities as a school board member if you receive an email or phone call from a parent or employee with a complaint um first off uh it's it's a responsibility to listen um one thing I think we all learned once we're in a you know an elected official or anything like that that that's our responsibility is to listen
021um to um empathize to think about what what's been brought to us and then finding the best Avenues to uh to you know either solve that situation or resolve an issue um but I think um it's always our our duty to to listen and then to bring that to um have that conversation and really deeply think about how um anything that we would do in this room is going to affect not only that family but also the other other people involved the district as a whole the folks that work in the schools the other families there so I think it's our our responsibility to to really take the time to to think deeply about every everything that comes across our our desk thank you good evening Mike if you're appointed as a new school board
022member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with renewable well first off I would I would definitely connect with each one of you um to get to know you better actually know quite a few folks for on the board already but um no I think that would be the first thing to see what is already being worked on um get up to speed with um pressing issues uh things that are you know being worked on in the district wide things that I could I can help with um I think that would be the first first priority also then um really getting out there to let folks know that I'm accessible so uh attending uh more meetings uh events things of that nature just so uh you know community members parents
023uh faculty staff they would all uh see me and uh just let them know that you know how I would be available um and um just be visual for the district and everyone to see that I would be around and ready to work all right hey Mike hey all right describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every day um so if I hear that it's I think it's it's what my philosophy of public education is it's every student every day regardless of where they come from who they are what they are every student deserves the same opportunity to get a quality education and to have those um you know to have a chance to learn uh I think one thing I'm really um proud of our of our area is
024is the Legacy or the you know the um the tradition of doing this for for students being a student that went through school here myself and having all my you know my family my now my my brother has two children in the district um I think that's the thing that we that's the important thing that the district and the board has to always make sure it happens is that every student every day is cared for is respected is um acknowledged and um is showing their worth thank you Mike this is your final question why are you the best candidate to fill this short-term vacancy um I have 10 minutes let's say well this one I just I think um I believe there's a lot of good candidates on here I I think with myself like
025I said having the experience of being on here before um also showing an other uh service capacities um I have been able to work with folks um on different projects different things I I didn't mention that before but I did serve as a County board supervisor for four years um so having that um I guess that that experience of working in this world I think is a is an asset that I could bring for these these next few months um also I I think if you just look at my history education and especially public education is something that I fought for for over 15 years in this capacity as being a board member as being an advocate as being a uh a protester at times um to me it's always been the thing that I
026understood why I've got you know the the opportunities and the the things in my life came from having the opportunity to go to good schools with great Educators um I want that to happen and continue to happen in Superior and in like as as Len put it to for every student every day and I think I bring that that lens I I think I'd bring that uh that passion to um to really look at things deeply when necessary and to uh to ask hard questions and to uh at the same time be be willing to work um collaboratively with with others on the board and in the district um yeah I think that is why I would be a an okay candidate thank you Michael this does conclude your interview and we appreciate your interests
027in this school board thank you all very much thank you thank you thanks Mike thank you Buddies I'm gonna tease you you've been working on the woods all day be alone but for you alone okay yeah that's strong foreign and just as long as I get it back sir thank you we'll get that back to Andy right there yeah oh that's the one that the electrodes him okay you're heading good to see you hi welcome I am Steve Olsen the school board president as you know today we are interviewing for the superior School District School Board vacancy now thank you for your interest and that they could see you there have been six questions selected and every school board member will ask one question this interview will be limited to 15 minutes which gives you
028approximately two minutes per question okay you need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent starzeki will be keeping time she will show you a yellow card when there's 30 seconds left in a red card of course when your time is up okay you have a buzzer yeah your time will start after the first question is read okay okay I'm Diana hi thank you um describe your understanding of your role as a school board member inspiration's role in the description oh boy well of course the school board is responsible for just about everything I guess but setting policy is the main main thing and uh I get budget of course is important also um I always felt that a school is as good as its staff
029and I don't know if you have any role in selecting staff well you probably do at least for the superintendent but is that enough and and you know policy is the main thing I mean there are certain things that we're going to come before the board in which there has to be a decision and the board cannot do anything except when they're meeting as a board sometimes board members think that they can do things outside that parameter but they can't hello I'm Nick good to meet you hi Annie what strengths do you possess to make an effective candidate well I certainly have a a load of experience with with education public education I think public education is is very important and I'm a little concerned about what's been happening to public education around the country
030and I think it's been somewhat under attack and I'm hoping that it doesn't happen here um I I can give you War stories about uh meetings that I've been through my first principle shipper is required to be at all the board meetings some they would usually start about 8 pm and often went to a two or three A.M and I had to be at school the next day if you want to hear some more stories about that one I could go on I had 10 years experience in three um I've been around boards I used to be a negotiator for the teachers union and the bad board didn't like me the others did [Laughter] thank you you're welcome hi Tom describe your responsibilities as a school board member if you receive an email or phone
031call from a parent or employee with a complaint uh I would listen but as I said before as a board member cannot do anything except when they're sitting as a board so I bring it to the board for the next meeting or put it on the agenda uh I don't know if it's if it's correct to talk to other board members and and say that I received this complaint or whatever whatever it was or concern but listen don't comment don't make them think you're taking sides there's always at least two sides and sometimes more big problem uh good evening Tom hi if you're appointed as the new school board member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with your new role I'll get to know the the other board members
032for one thing uh get familiar with how things are run every board is a little bit different and how they operate uh I would probably stay silent for a while until I get the feel of how things go and oh I can have any effect on anything I've I've done that same type of thing with several other things that I've been on other boards committees so on just stay silent for a little while don't try to change things right away if they don't even if they don't even need changing of course that would be another thing but yeah and if they do need changing don't try to jump in too fast I think hi Tom hi all right if you could describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every day
033I like it it's it's something to be uh sought strived for uh I used to have a personal model we've we built students one at a time and every day and I've always thought that teachers are everyday Heroes and uh yeah every I don't know it kind of says it all I think I I think with my my application you saw what I had as far as the uh the basic beliefs about kids and learning there's seven of those I had those on my bulletin board looking at it every day I handed them out to the staff um a couple times a year just so nobody forgets what we're all about uh I wouldn't put up with staff members that were complaining about kids because kids were the reason we were there all right thank
034you sure um your final question why are you the best candidate to fill this short-term vacancy I don't know if I am I don't know the other ones that's your job right okay um again if you go back to my resume I've got kind of experience been around a long time I even forgot some things in there I was also on the state superintendence committee for Teacher certification and education teacher education I was chair of that committee for a while I didn't like that committee because it kept coming up with more things for college students to do to be certified and I thought they already had enough on their plate and when I tried to remove some I got shot down um I've been around education for a long time as I think public education
035is one of the foundations of our whole Nation and we we can't we can't let it go we have to keep it um if you look at what this country has accomplished in the past I'm I'm at a big reader of World War II and to Normandy uh and the things that we accomplished in World War II had a lot to do with how we ran our education system because when somebody went down or say an officer went down there was always somebody there ready to pick it up and that didn't happen on the other side and I think public education had a lot to do with that I and as I said before I'm a little bit concerned about what I've been reading about what's happening in other places with school boards and you're
036in schools and I don't think we want that to happen here thank you Tom we really appreciate you being here today um we will send out an email this evening to our last case with our final voice message okay thank you thank you almost a pleasure [Laughter] get my flip nuts that's yeah that's your prediction yeah deployed clients yeah 50 years yeah me too because I like this since it's ugly yeah right he's generally serves fast all the time hi we call the hot seat yeah I make Aria good how are you welcome thank you I'm Steve Olsen the school board president as you know today we are interviewing for the school district the school board vacancy thank you for your interest in filling the vacant seat there are six questions selected in every school
037board member will ask one question the interview will be limited to 15 minutes which gives you approximately two minutes per question you will need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent starzaki will be our time keeper with 30 seconds you will see a yellow card and a red card when your time is completed your time will start after the first question is read we will send out an email tonight to all applicants with the final board decision and we wish you good luck thank you your first question is describe your understanding of your role as a school member in the administration's role in The District um so as a school board member and part of the board I feel like uh strategy is the big
038goal for the board whether it's financial and setting a budget abiding by all the laws I find that similar to my role in my business as an owner setting the strategy and so that the people within the business can follow that and that's what I see as administration's role is carrying out day-to-day operations seeing that the strategy that has been put forth is met and then being accountable for that Nick good to see you what strengths do you possess to make you an effective candidate um I feel like I've had a lot of life lessons and my experience as a business owner just dealing with day-to-day business operations um with many different people in that business and you know inevitably issues come up and having to figure out solutions to problems and listen to people
039I think that translates well into being a school board member um getting complaints doing issues raised to me personally or as a board being able to listen and understand that's empathy and compassion for those that are bringing the issues forward and then figure out a way to come up with a solution so that everybody is happy and if not happy they understand why the decision was made thank you hi describe your responsibilities as a school board member if you receive an email or phone call from a parent or employee with a complaint um so I think my responsibility would be to listen make sure I understand exactly all the circumstances around the complaints uh the people involved various things that I need to understand so that I can relay to the person whoever it is
040that I understand what they're what they're saying what their complaints are relaying that back to them so that we're on the same page and taking that issue wherever it needs to go whether it's the board or it's the administration um and then with that person having a follow-up plan um with them so that they understand what I'm going to do with that information and how I'm going to follow up with them thank you good evening Nick if you are appointed as a new school board member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with your new role um a lot of the first things I would do is really dive into bylaws and getting to know each and each one of you I've already planned on and committed to running for
041school board in the spring so I think this would be a big help in just getting my feet wet as far as understanding the ins and outs of the board learning the bylaws learning procedures and policies um I think that's a big part of you know following the rules and making sure you're doing things properly and in the right way thank you um describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every day my understanding of that is every student is important um every student has a voice every student has feelings and families that they care about so making sure us as a school board as the Administration staff whoever is involved making sure they they know that that student needs to be cared for at the school and so that they
042can go home at the end of the day but just really having compassion for all the students however wherever they come from different walks of life and just making sure that that student knows that they're cared about this is your final question already Nick why are you the best candidate to fill this vacant position I feel like I have a lot of experience um in my role as the business owner in my role on other boards I've been on several boards within the building industry um my different life experiences when I take on a challenge I do it with 110 I'm all in so I feel like I would give all that I can to being on this board um I've been in my business for almost 20 years and I started at the bottom
043and worked my way up so I have a an ability to manage relationships manage people um older than me younger than me I can communicate with them and so all these various things help me with dealing with conflict resolution and whatever it is that may come up I think I've I've dealt with it in some way shape or form okay anything else I appreciate the opportunity um like I said I was here in the spring although virtually so good to see you in person and again I'm running running in the spring so that this can be just a springboard for that this does conclude your interviews we appreciate again your time we will be sending out this email this evening's notification thank you thanks thank you thank you thank you client s that'll be drinking
044um it says blue slush uh energy drink stuff or whatever it's delicious better way not promoting I mean yeah good morning sir Shelly and welcome thank you I am Steve Olson School Board president and you know today we are interviewing for the school districts our vacancy thank you for your interest in filling the vacancy there are six questions selected in every school board member will ask a question the interview will be limited to 15 minutes which which gives you approximately two minutes per question what do we need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent starzaki will be the time keeper yellow card 30 seconds red card will be done with the interview your time will start after the first question is read um we will
045send out an email tonight to all applicants with the final board decision wish you good luck thank you first question is describe your understanding of your role as a school board member in the administration's role in The District I think um my role as a school board member would be to um be familiar with budgeting recruitment retention understanding policy upholding those policies Administration would be responsible for kind of studying what the goals and the Strategic plan would be for us to then carry out hi Shelly the strengths do you possess to make you an effective candidate I have worked with leadership for over 20 years I think a lot of the things that I've done in my leadership role would apply to what the school board does as well I'm familiar with budgeting I'm familiar
046with hiring dealing with conflict project management we just went through um I worked first on Joe so we just moved into a big brand new building I was a part of that project from the beginning to the end for moving our Laboratory that's the biggest project of my career and something I'm quite proud of as well we were able to move all of our equipment to all of our staff for a 10-day phase and maintain testing in both locations and not impact any of our patients in a negative way so that was quite exciting and the plan that I put together our moving company said they're going to use for future moves so I was quite proud of that as well hi sorry describe your responsibilities as a school board member if you receive an
047email or phone call from a parent or employee with a complaint well I think my responsibility would be to get back to them it's important to hear what they have to say I I will try to address it myself if I'm not familiar with the complaint I would bring it back to the board and discuss it with them to get insight from others in case it's something that I don't want to misdirect anyone so I want to be able to get the right answer to direct that individual in the right place I'm not afraid to admit if I don't know something I will ask for help good evening Shelley welcome back again if you are appointed as the new school board member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with
048your new role build relationships I need to get to know all of you um get to know what is happening um more familiar with what's happening in the school district I did read some of the minutes and see what's going on from that aspect I've looked at the website to kind of see what's going on but I think that relationship building is important um hearing from the students I have two children of my own my daughter just graduated in June from the high school so she is off to college and doing quite well my son is a junior in high school so he is uh still in the school and I hear feedback from him too and from his classmates so just understanding how I can then bring that to this group and how we
049can do something better to serve our students all right uh next question describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every day oh I saw that when I was doing my research um all means all is inclusivity diversity um Equity I think we do a lot of training at my employer as well around that and I think um it means including everybody finding a way to have every person have a positive experience and that's not an easy task tell your final question were you our best candidate to fill this short-term vacancy um I think my um Russian for wanting to serve the community is fun I want to see our students succeed I currently sit on a couple of boards I'm a part of the Lake Superior College MLT phlebotomy and
050MLA Advisory Board and as a part of that board we are establishing curriculum and giving feedback on competencies and just how well those students are coming prepared to be workers within the laboratory um I'm also a part of the memorial blood center Advisory board so I'll put a plug in for blood donations we need blood donors so please do that there's a blood shortage right now um and then I also participate in the Douglas County beef Association as the treasurer and we have youth from third grade to high school that participate in that and that Association I feel teaches a lot of life lessons we're teaching the kids not only how to care for animals but we're also teaching them some business skills and just life skills in general and I find that rewarding it's
051fun to work with the kids and get them on a path and find where their strengths are and see them then succeed and feel good about themselves so those are just a few other reasons why I think I would benefit important thank you that's concluding the interview again we appreciate your interest in this position and we will be making contacts this evening to all members great thank you for your time thank you what's your what's your wish when we're done we have two more to go do you want to take a short break and come back if you want to follow this through right here oh they are here it means after we're done Brooklyn I need a break I'm good with whatever I said Brooke never I'm starting a new Leaf net yeah that's
052what else that'd be great he feel like I'm back in school that's where I said anyways it's fine welcome I'm Steve Olson the school board president as you know today we are interviewing for this Superior School District School Board vacancy thank you for your interest in filling the vacancy there are six questions selected and every school board member will ask one question this interview will be limited 15 minutes which gives you and I approximate two minutes for each question you'll need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent starzaki will be our time keeper for 30 seconds left you'll see a yellow card and then a red card Community where interview time is over yep your time will start once the first question is read we
053will send out an email tonight to all applicants the final board decision wish you good luck thank you your first question is describe your understanding of your role as a school board member in the Expressions world sure so my understanding of the school board is really to make sure that you know the best decisions are being made for this the student body as a whole making sure that issues are addressed in a timely fashion making sure that finances are handled um you know working with the actual District staff that is here that knows the ins and outs of you know say the financials or Transportation or what have you and just really kind of being that oversight um much like in a in an organization where you have kind of that next level of security
054to make sure that you know our community students are are safe they're getting the best education that they can um and and we're doing the best we can for them strengths do you possess to make you an effective candidate so I feel like I've had a lot of experience working in a corporate setting which I feel like is sort of similar with a school board you know I'm very comfortable speaking in front of a group I'm very invested in the success of you know any organization that I'm involved in and I just think I have a lot of skills that I can offer I'm a CPA so I have a financial background um I have a lot of experience with uh well anything number related but also organization related I worked for Goodwill for a
055while and worked on their board as their controller and you know offered my insights on improvements there um and I'm a mom you know I I know what my kids need and I feel like that's a good indicator of uh you know what what our community students need and you know I feel like that's a a big part of the school board is is having that understanding of of students in general I'm really involved with Athletics from baseball softball basketball gymnastics I know a lot of families and a lot of students and so I feel like that gives me a good understanding of you know what people are looking for maybe problems they're having that they aren't bringing up um you know just just some additional insight all right hello describe your responsibilities as a
056school board member if you receive an email or phone call from a parent or employee with a complaint so the biggest thing for me is always communication my biggest pet peeve is if you don't answer my email or you don't answer my call I'm gonna be upset and so that's going to be my biggest priority is even if I don't know the answer I don't know the solution is going to be getting back to that individual and saying hey I got you I heard I'm trying to figure out what my next steps are or I need some more information I need some help understanding what what the situation is um you know that is so key because people just want to be heard and even if you can't give them the the solution that they
057need or that they particularly want at least having that personal Outreach and contact and I realized you know I don't even know you know yet how you know how many emails you guys get but for me that's just very important it's the same thing if I walk into a store and I'm looking around at something not having somebody that works there come up to me and say hey can I help you what's going on you know so that's very important to me is is making sure that people feel like they're heard and seen good evening Marky if you're appointed as the new school board member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with your new role but I would like to figure out how to open things up for those
058parents that have a lot of complaints that are maybe posting on social media or something like that but they're not here so how do we get to those parents and we say to them like hey what's going on what are you upset about what you know is it a a town hall with just individual board members just to to kind of voice because some concerns is it you know open houses of some sort that's what I'd really like to get to because I feel like especially with a lot that's been going on there's all these parents that have these things and they're attacking and they're you know there's these Pages being made but they're not coming here they're not sending emails they're not bringing it forward and I don't know why I don't know if
059you know I know a lot of people don't like to do that kind of stuff they don't like to speak out and so they feel more comfortable on the internet but I think it's really important for you know the board to to hear those individuals so that they again feel heard and they're acting like they're not being heard but I also don't think that they're actually reaching out to be heard in the appropriate fashion so that would be a big thing for me to really kind of figure out what that looks like and and how that could maybe be um you know helped another big thing for me is um Financial education like I said I'm a CPA finances are a big thing for me my concern with kids these days if you will is
060leaving the house and knowing how to balance your checkbook knowing what a credit card means and how to finance things making sure you're saving for retirement I mean things are just getting more and more expensive and I feel like our students need to be prepared for that and need to understand that even just putting a little bit away is going to make a huge difference so I think there's a lot of things that kids learn in school and I'm not saying you know one thing is more important than another but I feel like this is a piece that could really be hit on some more and could be really beneficial for the students in our community thank you yeah if you could describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every
061day yeah so that's a statement that I've read before and I've spoke before um this board kind of saying that statement as well and I think for me it's really again that listening being heard making sure that you are hearing the majority of the all and not making assumptions about particular you know sections of community or um you know anything like that it's really getting a comfortable feeling that the decision being made is really going to be you know for the benefit of the group and not just singling out a particular group and I realize that especially these days that is extremely difficult so I'm not saying it's easy in any fashion but to me when I hear that statement and when I think about having to make a decision for all means all I'm
062really going to try to understand do I know a parent that's maybe in a minority group or do I know a parent that's maybe struggling with bullying or something like that like who can I reach out to I'm very big with connections and trying to figure out who do I know or who do I know that knows somebody who is struggling with this or has a strong opinion about this or whatever to really get a good understanding and again getting that feeling of have I heard the parents have I heard what's being said you know online or what have you okay this is your last question why are you the best candidate to fill this short-term vacancy so I said you know I feel like I am a strong and steady voice for this community
063I'm a parent I have a personal invested interest in this community I have two kids one that's in fifth grade one's that that's in second grade I'm going to be in this district for a long time and again my involvement with youth sports I not only have my kids but I have those kids because I'm also the wife of a coach and he coaches pretty much everything and um in a super involved in this and super invested in these kids and these families and so I feel like that gives me that extra connection to you know more parents within the district to to get a a better grasp on what's needed and I think for me personally you know being a part of this albeit small in comparison to the teachers and staff that are
064actually working with the kids but you know just being able to make that positive impact helping our kids become you know good humans and being able to contribute to our community or the communities that they they move on to thank you Mark is this does conclude your interview uh we appreciate again your first in this position and we will be making contact by emails this evening don't be a candidate who was chosen and the others that were not all right thank you for your time thank you very much thank you have a good evening you try to stay dry out there Amy you're doing a solid job I'm sorry that's the yellow card and red card I thought yeah I didn't understand it the first what Laura here first I was like that's got to
065be longer than two minutes that last question and I realized oh yeah she's getting the AIDS that's right anyway good job that's not per question it's just an effort I did I did my research foreign and welcome I'm Steve Olson School Board president as you know today we are interviewing so this Career School District School Board vacancy thank you for your interest in filling the vacancy there are six questions selected and every school board member will ask one question this interview will be limited to 15 minutes which gives you approximately two minutes per question you will need to manage your answers to ensure you have enough time to get through all six questions superintendent starzaki will be in charge at the time she'll hold up a yellow card with 30 seconds and a red card
066when your time is done kind of like Vanna thank you your time will start after the first question is read we will send out an email this evening to all applicants with the final board decision and we wish you good luck hi Sarah the first question um describe your understanding of your role as a support member in the administration's role in The District so school board members are supposed to be a voice for all students staff community members parents grandparents Guardians everyone that's involved with a student they are there to be supportive make smart decisions both financial and safety wise for the students um as for the administration they're the ones that carry out all the policies that the school board creates and makes and votes on sometimes they don't mesh too well sometimes there's
067a disconnect just because you know you guys aren't in the school every day so you don't exactly know what's going on in the buildings so I think that's where the disconnect can kind of come with with parents and frustrations sir what strengths do you possess to make you an effective candidate can you repeat the question what strengths do you possess to make you an effective candidate I think that I am a strong leader I work well with others I bring new ideas to the table and when I have a good idea I run with it and I reach out to people that might not necessarily be your go-to people for support and um you know backing you up I reach out to everybody and see who best fits the job um for support and volunteering
068things like that I try to talk to people that I don't normally talk to meet new faces meet new people next faces with names kids with parents things like that just so I know who people are so everybody has a familiar face and feels comfortable in what they're doing thank you all right hello describe your responsibilities as a school board member if you receive an email or phone call from a parent or employee with a complaint so since I've never been on the school board I guess I don't really know what the what the procedure is um I would I would need to read up on that but I would assume that you bring it to the board you make discussions perhaps send it to the superintendent just so everybody knows what's going on and
069then I guess it would be discussed at a meeting it's not something that you would handle on your own I mean you would obviously respond and say thank you for the email I appreciate your concern but you can't make a decision or voice on behalf of the school board good evening Sarah if you are appointed as the new school board member what are some of the first things you would do in connection with your new role I think that the biggest problem right now is a disconnect with communication and parents and Guardians and students and staff for example my daughter was absent one day already at the high school and it took me 10 minutes on the website just to find who The per I knew who the person was I needed to reap make
070an email to Elaine I knew that but I could not find her email address anywhere on the website 10 minutes I gave up and then I remember seeing a a newsletter from the high school engagement coordinator that's you know listed that information so I had to dig through my email to find that I think that there's a lot of parents that are frustrated because everyone just thinks that everybody just knows what the plan and procedures are and I think we need to go back to the basics and remind people how do I report attendance what am I supposed to do for drop off where do I go where do I park what what school supplies do I need do I need snacks for my kid there's a lot of Basics that people just don't know
071and especially with new families and shuffling and everyone coming into the district that perhaps doesn't live here didn't go here there's those basic informational things that they just don't know how to find all right next you could describe your understanding of the following statement all means all every student every day I figure that was going to come up this time I've advised it did not come up last time to be honest with you um I think that that is really pushed a lot and I think there's a lot of people that spelled that but don't necessarily know what it means I think that there's a lot of parents that don't feel like it includes everyone um you know there's there's kids that are going without school supplies or going without lunch or there's families that
072are struggling and I don't think that they feel like they are often with open arms with that all means all I think that all means all most of the time but not all of the time and I think that there's a lot of families that don't feel that that applies to them Sarah your final question why are you the best candidate to fill this short-term vacancy um I'm really excited to have the opportunity to be here I would love to be on the school board I come with every passion in the world and when I want something I go for it I am all in both feet everything I feel like I have a good voice for the school district and the fact that I have three children all at the three levels of that
073our school is in I meet everyone everywhere I go people know who I am and that's not a tutu they know who I am I'm the lady with the weird hair right so they all know who I am um and I don't I don't know what it is people just gravitate towards me if they have a question about something because they know I know the answer because I'm the one that sits up at two in the morning watching the school board meeting recordings I look at the city council meet meeting minutes I I just I really like to know what's going on in the community and that's that's I'm very passionate about that I want to be a resource for people if they have a question or they need help or they need a resource
074for something or a connection to a person that they don't necessarily know I I like to be that person okay thank you this does conclude your interviews you've sent out an email to all applicants again tonight with our decisions thank you thank you thank you so at this time we're going to take a work by a minute break backpack he's about 600 25 happy thank you yeah I just can't believe all right in high school is that supposed to be yeah that's the blue means it's on yeah just one you put your ex now okay so I'd like to uh reconvene this reading is that okay this would be an opportunity hang on no before you go would be an opportunity for you to have any type of discussion of what you heard I did
075write some notes down when I looked at it experience knowledge understanding of the exact rule what the school board does governance and policy over micromanagement I was looking for a Cooperative attitude I was looking for someone that wanted to be part of our team that wanted to know us to know us want to know how we function what our purpose is here for the children of our history they were all required to submit the letter of interest and part of that letter of interest was the biography and and uh as you've read biographies are very thorough again in that letter we talked about experience and qualifications to serve as a school board member we talked about why the candidate is interested in the position what the candidate hopes to accomplish as a school board member
076and you saw that some of the same questions had some of the same messages or questioning part of what both parts here the questions and then the interview so as you as you move forward you know are you looking at any particular thing what you've heard as you as you make your validity valid your first ballot what you're going to do is you're going to select four people out of the sevens we originally had nine but all that one dropped and then unfortunately today one of our other candidates had to to drop so we will select our top four choices when that is done then Mr Albrecht and I will count ask that superintendent starzaki oversees the count once we get to that point the top two volt getters top two names that are showing
077the most move on to the second ballot and then there will be a third ballot that will go from the two people down to your number one choice so questions about procedure or any other comments that anybody would like to make if we happen to have a tie again for more people are we just going to take that like what we did last time or yes I think we took top three last time instead of top two yeah I think with the top any further questions in our comments you just need access for the first one just need X's for the first yeah and make sure and make sure and sign them don't be like me last time exciting my balance and you can across all the last name on that ballot you have completed
078your ballot please fold it yeah pass it oh if I made a boo-boo an X around one of my across it out so I don't know if you want to fill out a new one or I have those good um [Music] here thank you well we have is the tally sheet with all the names on it we'll tell you know the top four old kids that leading in Iowa damn yes I am 16 with six feet of storage and five that's cool so we would move two the two no that wasn't what you're gonna do all of those based on what you told Brooke right yes so we'll put all those on the ballot and then they vote so do we have an yes um so they'll be fine because we do have a tie
079so moving on Tom Henning Michael Olson jelly Moon Markie Hansley Sarah Schubert McCone you will now vote for your time Texas again click of them two up two man yep Nick Olson Marky Hanson your final ballot we your top person if you come to a conclusion after this you'll need to make a motion so you know and you have one more paper look at all what all right paper clip yes let's see this yes thanks thank you always I can read sure that's yes two first one the second one you may also want to make foreign with the most votes this evening Mr Nicholson so I'd entertain a motion to accept Mr Olsen as the person to build the naked position motion and accept second in a second except Nick Olson as the next School
080Board member discussion first of all reminder you'd have to sign these that this is the public record so anybody can come in and look at each one of our individual votes puzzles are questionnaires and here's the questionnaires because these will have to be turned back as well as our questions and everything will be going back to Ann at the end of this meeting any other discussion hearing none all those in favor signify by saying aye opposed multicarious this time I adjourn tonight thank you foreign