001if I could have everyone stand we'll start with the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag one nation all right I'd like to welcome everyone to our 2018 school board candidate forum my name is Bryan Triplett I'm the president of New Prague Education Minnesota our local teachers union we're nearly 300 members strong and as a local union we work closely with the district on many items and I'm proud to say that we have a great working relationship with our district administration I always keep in mind to do what's best for students I'm also a sixth grade math teacher but I've also taught fourth grade fifth grade and seventh grade within the district and I'm proud to say that I be there had or currently have several of your children in my classroom and
002may have many more in the future so thank you for all of you for coming tonight hi good evening I'm Debbie classic I'm the director of the New Prague Chamber of Commerce Bryan contacted us to see if we'd be interested in co-hosting and I said absolutely yes because this is something that affects the entire community so welcome to all of you tonight and I'm glad you're here like I said we'd like to especially welcome our six candidates for New Prague area schools school board this evening our goal of the forum is to inform the public about who they will be voting for on November 6th and to give candidates a chance to speak to the public about their vision for New Prague area schools so if you would please hold your applause until all the
003candidates have been introduced and we'll go in alphabetical order mark bar to shake Leo geison Matt Gold daddy sandy macmillan Tami paksa and Miranda vernik [Applause] I will now review with the candidates and inform the public of our forum ground rules for this evening candidates have been given a list of prepared questions and will be asked a sampling of these questions during the forum each candidate will have up to two minutes per question for their response who is asked the question first will rotate with each new question audience questions can be submitted in writing to the timekeeper which is Jen over here for possible inclusion in the forum discussion audience question cards are located on the ledge along the room over there and moderators will ask as many questions as possible given the time available
004audience questions may be directed to a particular candidate but all will have an opportunity to comment if they choose candidate responses will be limited to two minutes per candidate per question in order to allow several questions to be asked by the audience members during the allotted time the forum will be conducted as a forum of panelists not a debate in answering questions candidates will speak directly to the audience providing information on their own positions or responses candidates will not direct questions towards or make comments about other candidates or other candidates positions or experiences there are no exceptions to be fair all candidate responses will be timed based on the times listed in the agenda when time is announced a candidate must wrap up their answer failure to do so may result in a candidate's lust
005of response time on a subsequent question the timekeeper who is Jen over here will hold up a card when you have one minute remaining and then again when you have 30 seconds remaining and we'll call the time when your two minutes is up yes sure so just make sure that when you are answering questions or speaking that you are speaking directly into your microphone so you got to get a little close with it there that would be great for the audience okay the candidates will now introduce themselves and tell why they are candidate for the school district or a school board I'm sorry you will have two minutes for your introduction and opening statements mr. bard who Scheck will start us off and we'll go right down the line in alphabetical order hi I'm mark
006bar two sick I graduated from New Prague High School in 1985 I've lived in the community my entire life had four children graduated from New Prague High School along with my wife Mary I served on the st. wenceslas school board from 2001 to 2004 and was the chairman in 2004 I also served on City Council from 2008 until August of 2015 when I had to resign because moving out of the city limits and I guess I the reason I ran for the school board was I enjoyed being connected with the community when I was on City Council and I look at this as another way to reach out and help the community thank you my name is Leo Geeson I'm a native of Union Hill born and raised here a graduate of New Prague in
0071983 I've got one son who graduated three children who are still in the in the schools here and it's I've always been very proud of what this school accomplishes I got I graduated with I would say better general knowledge than a lot of the college graduates that I worked with and that I met and I see that still continues today there's the school covers a lot more than comparable size schools comparable size districts and I just want to see that that can 2news thank you first I just like to think and take an opportunity to thank Brian and the entire teachers union and along with Debbie and the Chamber of Commerce for putting this on and lastly just everybody else that took time out of their day to come here today and learn more about
008all of us here I think it takes a everybody's lives very busy so as appreciate everybody coming my name is Matt goal daddy I'm a resident of New Prague for about 8 years I married Maggie my wife she's a early childhood special education teacher in the prior Lake savage School District we have three daughters Elsie a second grader at Falcon Ridge Cora kindergartner at Falcon Ridge and Cora who is a preschooler at st. Wenceslaus I'm running for school board because of the people in my life for my three girls who's gonna spend the next 15 or so years within all the walls of these schools and then also for the people they'll spend endless hours working with them caring for them these are the teachers the people on their daily lives the secretaries the custodians
009and all the administrative staff that make the schools run so smoothly my hope today is that you can learn more about me that I'm a thoughtful person and that I take care and make my in my decisions and that I care about the issues that will affect my kids your kids and our grandkids Thanks hello everyone my name is sandy macmillan I'm a resident of Elko Newmarket I have lived here for the last 14 years with my wonderful family I have two great kids who attend the new prague school districts i have my son chase who's in the third grade at Eagle View Elementary right there in the camouflage and his big sister McKenna who just started middle school at New Prague middle school and my wonderful husband Dennis who is a proud graduate of
010New Prague High School 1995 when I heard that there were openings for the school board a little light bulb went off in my head and I was so excited for the opportunity to run and to serve this great community that we are blessed to call home I've just been blown away by the staff and the teachers at the schools that my children have attended over the years I've worked at Eagle view as a substitute paraprofessional and also volunteered in the classrooms and the staff just blows me away every time I'm just so blessed that my children are able to attend this school district so I'm excited and pumped and I can't wait to meet so many more of you in the community thank you good evening and thank you Brian I also would like to
011reiterate thank you for putting this together and reaching out to Debbie I think this is a great opportunity for our communities to hear from all six of us so I married my husband John paksa we both are residents lifetime residents of New Prague we have five children two of which have graduated from New Prague and the other three remain in at the high school and middle school my mom worked for the New Prague School District for many years as a paraprofessional in special IDI I have a great connection with many teachers because of my mom and my mom instilled in me the love and the passion for teaching and education and high quality education with that I believe New Prague is a high quality educator from all levels when you are working outside of even
012the state of Minnesota and people know where you come from and they hear that you've graduated from New Prague there is a oh you're from New Prague I like that it's a pride thing I want to make sure that my children and my grandchildren have that same opportunity that I have had in that we continue to work forward and continue to pursue great opportunities for all of them thank you I am Miranda vernik my husband Mike and I moved to New Prague exactly ten years ago this month we have four children all of whom attend schools here in New Prague we have a four year old who attends the early learning early childhood learning program here at the CEC we have a first grader and a third grader at Raven stream and we also have
013our oldest she's in eighth grade at the middle school be going off to high school next year I'm a licensed psychologist I have my doctoral degree in clinical psychology I'm not currently practicing though when we became when I became pregnant with our fourth I decided it was time to take a step back and wanted to be more present and at home with the family wanted to be more involved in our kids lives and that's a big part of the reason why I'm here today I really have a strong desire to give back and to volunteer and I think that this would be a great opportunity for me to put my skills to work for this community all right thank you everyone for your introductions so we will now present questions to the board members rotating
014who goes first with each question again you'll have up to two minutes for your responses for each question so starting with mr. Deason how have we improved the public Edge's education system in district 721 and what challenges remain well the most notable is all the physical changes to all the properties there's been so much renovation and updating the bus garage the courts the school to CEC the pool there's a everything is it's almost like having whole new schools with the renovations I know I think the biggest challenge is at the school district faces and it's not this one it's all of them it's finding teachers keeping good teachers and just the retention of quality personnel in the district thank you and then we'll continue down the line so mr. Gould Andy okay I think as
015a school district we have much to be proud of I think you have to look no further than I don't know what it was the annual report that the school puts out and it has the questionnaires from parents that the parents are polled on a annual basis just how they feel about the school and I think nearly every single parent 90 some percent said that their child feels safe in school which is very important and the fact that they feel like their child is cared for when they're there that teachers actually care so I think there's a lot of things that the schools are doing well and those are just two of them areas that I think that we need to see improvements on I think as a district we have less hurdles than a
016lot of school districts have and so I think it's just raising the bar and setting us to a higher level of expectation whether that's test scores or course offerings or just preparing the students for the next level and their adulthood and I think we're an exceptional School District but I think we can be great and just by raising that bar and taking us to that next level we can we can do that great thank you and miss McMillan no okay I agree with both Leo and mr. gold ad in regards to we've made so many improvements just within the lat within a short time period within the last few years here within the district with a new pool with the new offices it's just really tremendous improvements for the school as far as what we
017can improve upon I think have a mental health situation that's currently happening everywhere with our students and just to ensure that mental health topics are are covered in schools almost as part of the curriculum bringing awareness of mental health into the classrooms even an elementary school level elementary school the children do understand feelings and and they're able to be taught at a young age how to cope and how to grow upon their skills so if we could just look upon that topic of mental health and providing staff within the school's middle school in high school especially school counselors and just keeping the conversation of mental health going and growing I think that's always helpful within any community and every community can use it thank you all right thank you mrs. Peck so how have we
018improved we continue to provide opportunity to our children on all levels for students that are looking to go on to school post-secondary our counselors and the high schooler are always willing to work with the families who want to participate in that piece PSEO offering college in the schools and and making sure it's a wide variety not just math or science it's all levels for students that are struggling with standard mainstream we have the ALC that's a great program it keeps our kids in school gets them that high school diploma that they need I have a passion for special ed a couple of my children we're actually in special ed and our special ed program here is phenomenal we start at an early age 18 months I had two kids 18 months in special ed and
019that was unbelievable to me I didn't realize we went that low at that time but now it's even beyond graduation so it's just great things like that we're also one of the few school districts that haven't cut the trade classes which is important so I think we're on the right path right thank you Miss Burton Inc I would just start by saying that I I love our school district it's a big reason why we are here in New Prague my family we had a few years ago considered moving closer to the cities to reduce my husband's commute but the schools are really what kept us here we've been very very happy with what's offered here to our children I think specifically the implementation of the digital learning environment and the use of Chromebooks and other
020other types of technology in the classroom has been crucial no matter what career path a student chooses to go down later in their life computer literacy technology skills are going to be very important and so I think that has been a great improvement to the to the district I also agree with the the point about what we're doing to help kids be ready for the real world the what I read in the annual report about the career exploration programming I found that to be very interesting I am I love the spirit of hands-on outside of the classroom learning what can we do to help kids prepare and understand kind of what's what it's what it's going to be like after school when they after they graduate so what could we do to expand that program
021I'd be interested in in looking at that I think I read that forty some students had participated in it and there was maybe seven local businesses that participated so if we could if we could do more there I think what be great I think also keeping up with the changes in technology is important things are constantly evolving and that will be I'm sure a difficult thing to do is it's costly and kind of weighing out what we need what's what would really be beneficial but keeping that keeping those issues in mind I think would be important for for the district Thank You mr. Barr to check okay well being last in line hurts because I had thought I had one nugget left I can't bring any revolutionary information in front of you right now I
022can't say that after having four kids go through the high school and through you know various programs at the school that everything that people have said here from the trades to the to the arts to sports I mean just talk about improving it just to stay on top I think will be a challenge enough to continually raise the bar so that we do push ourselves to to improve and get better the challenges I think that we're in a unique situation in this town and that we have a tremendously large geographical school district that is probably twice as big as Lake fills and you if you look at how big Lake fill is that there's remains to be seen how big of a challenge that will be in what years that will present itself but it
023will come sooner or later that's about all I bad thank you and if any of you ever need the question repeated as we go down the line just make sure you make sure you let us know okay hey mr. Cole daddy's starting with you during a time of tight revenue or in the event the district is lacking in financial resources what solutions would you propose good question I'm glad I got this one first I graduated from college in 2005 so just right on the verge of the Great Recession so I've I've basically my whole entire life in business I've had to manage resources when there aren't a lot there and so I think when you're looking at cost-cutting there's never a one-size-fits-all approach I've learned that through the years of being in business and every
024single expense is going to need to be scrubbed whether it's you know one area of operations or repairs and maintenance or whatever it might be but one thing for certain is that I think if we make the focus of all of our decisions be the student I think we'll find that right answer some areas if you're going to have to put me on the spots of areas that I would look at I would probably say we would want to look at areas of fixed asset purchases you know delaying those maybe getting creative with transportation or believe some programming outside of school those will be my first areas I look look at but most importantly I think in times of in good times I think we need to make sure we're being good stewards of of
025our dollars because if we have a good fund balance policy when times are good we'll be able to weather those storms throughout the years when they're when times are really difficult and especially when funding from state legislature doesn't meet the needs that we we currently have so I think just being proactive and focusing on areas outside the classroom would be the major areas that I would focus on ok Thank You sandy I agree everything because the students really really are our main focus jumping topics and making it a little bit more lighthearted fundraising this community is absolutely amazing at fundraising and getting the community really together in times of need there's so many great ideas that we can do here with the state with alumni I just jotted down some ideas get the staff the
026parents and the students involved community events we have the brainpower 5k that is such a hit every year to raise event or to raise funds for the school I was thinking Jo's inky is such a huge thing here and it's something going there fundraising for the schools and again just getting the community together and getting the parents the community and the students all involved I think makes a great deal but definitely making those cuts outside of the classroom because students are really of the utmost important okay thank you I like all the answers so I took this question a little more personal I would hold myself as a board member responsible to finding the solution that is the best solution for the students staff and community as a board member I would work to identify
027any underlying problem that is causing the difficulty as a board we would work together to review the budget to see if there's any money that can be reallocated and as a board we would work with the superintendent and other staff members to prioritize spending thank you so when revenue is tight what solutions would I propose I think the answer that really largely depends on what funds are needed and why I think we need to always be striving to be good stewards of our financial resources even when funds are good that we need to be careful with how we spend money and where we allocate our resources I think when funds are tight we may need to postpone certain expenditures we may need to seek funding elsewhere I also had thought about community fundraising I feel
028that the new prick community for this district is a very generous community I have served on the PA C Executive Board for rayvin stream for the past three years as a secretary and every year we do fundraising and generate significant amounts of money to be used to kind of hit wishlist items for the school I think if we needed if we needed to generate more funds that could be another another option there's always also grants that we could look into if we qualify for them if our needs qualify and then when absolutely necessary seeking funding through a referendum mark well this is actually an impossible question to answer at this time because when I was in City Council from 2009 to 2012 is when the recession did hit and budgets were severely slashed at the
029city level and it's not fun at all to have to convey to employees and and managers and staffs well how many things have to get cut not entirely but I mean there's significant budget cuts that have to be made and I guess what I've what we found was that if you if you really communicate with the people involved and and convey a good message that it's not personal it's not them it's just a simple dollars and cents thing you can come out of it especially in this community with everybody still although being somewhat stunned by it like everybody is because it's money they tend to pull together and still be a really strong community well it'd be a community at the city level for smallest you know a very strong district at the school it
030would be because it's really is depending on what the cuts are if they're severe it's it's not fun it's hard but you know it's it's money so it has to be done okay thank you leo I don't know that there's a whole lot left tight revenue is a problem at some point or another everybody has to face either at work or in their life I think the the best way to handle it the most responsible way is number one you know check budgets what's necessary what's not necessary cut back when you can you know it's the last thing I want to see is anything for the students disappear that's like I said this is an amazing school and they there's been so many programs already talked about that this school offers that I think anything
031taken away from the students should come last there's always like I said in a school in a business at home there's always stuff that can be cut somewhere it would be the board's responsibility to to do that in a responsible way and the other thing would be use No get creative and looking for sources of funding like grants were mentioned there's other thing if we put our mind to it if we look there are lots of sources where additional funding can be found they don't walk up to you you have to go look for them that would be our job to go find those and then as it's also been mentioned you know it and it's happened where we've done it sometimes parents are required for co-pays for the extracurricular activity tala fees bus fees
032stuff like that it's not an optimal solution but it's been used and you know when when families can't afford it there's been assistance for them so their kids don't have to drop out of extracurricular activities but that should always be the last resource thank you all right so the next question starting with Sandy how do you believe district 721 can meet the challenges of retaining quality employees we have so many quality employees here in the New Prague school district or our administration and our staff is absolutely stellar as far as retaining these wonderful employees in our district communication is of utmost importance between teachers and families communications keeping the lines of communication open so they feel they feel free to come to to us with whatever they need to make to make their career easier
033to make their teaching here in New Prague easier also we have to look at that employee pay at at a teacher pay it's it's a controversial topic within the news but they have to receive fair pay our teachers do they deserve it and [Music] just yes keeping communication open so they feel heard and also also fair pay thank you thank you Tammy no I went online and did some research on this question and because I'll get to in a minute anyhow I found an article and it's called why your best teachers leave or are leaving and four reasons or four ways to keep them but in this survey I found it interesting that 29% of the teachers that were polled left for personal reasons such as relocation or health the remaining teachers that left were
034because of job-related reasons so what are the job-related reasons 16 percent were terminated involuntary and eighty four percent left voluntarily well why did they leave voluntarily we're asking so 13 percent left because of paying benefits but sixty percent left because of career advancement and development and ISAT they're going that's interesting the school district is no different than me I am the human resource manager and those are exactly why some of my top people leave so it's a challenge to keep the teachers engaged we need to challenge our teachers to keep them here that is what we're all facing no matter what your career is in so you know looking at opportunities and how can we keep with the teachers getting them more involved having that open dialogue with them is the best thing one of
035the things that I've done in mine is I have a monthly meeting and all of my employees are welcome to come and it is basically an HR forum and it's restricted but I want to hear the good the bad and the ugly and what's important and making that an important thing and recognition so that's what I have Thank You Miranda mm-hmm when I was kind of writing out my response to this question I was thinking I would imagine that most people who choose to work in an educational setting are doing so because they value the importance of education they want to help enrich the lives of children but frankly you could do that in any almost any educational setting so what what would be important to make district 7:21 be a desirable place to work
036and to stay I think competitive pay is one obvious and important factor associated not only with attracting quality quality employees but retaining quality employees beyond the scope of pay and I think crucial to retention is the importance of fostering a workplace environment in which employees feel as though their needs concerns and accomplishments are heard that they're respected when this happens I think employees will have greater satisfaction we'll take a sense of pride in their work and when I continue to to show up every day and then I also know that in any profession a great deal of employee satisfaction has to do with their perception of the quality of their leaders when you have a good boss when you have someone who listens to you who values who takes action regarding your concerns I think
037that employees are much much happier and and then also I would add that employees need to know what's expected of them they need to have the the tools and the training to do their job effectively and when all of that is in place I think the only reasons people would leave are changes in their personal life thank you Mark I think New Prague has always had an advantage over other districts in in this end of a large area because it's always been just a very welcoming community with a lot of good people with good roots that have good kids and I think one of the one of the ways to keep quality employees here is to remind them what what some other teachers experience when they leave the district and go to some of these
038other places because I know coaches that have left here and went to other suburban suburban programs where where the quality of the student isn't probably what it is in the New Prague area and I think that a lot of actually a lot of the teachers a lot of people who live in the community really appreciate that and that's one of the biggest reasons they like to work here grant yes and obviously competitive pay is important in that as well but in visiting with people that I know that the teach here and that are in administration they're there and actually is I've coached a lot of sports over the years of my kids and been to different schools and there is there is something to be said about the quality of people and kids that that
039are in this community so I think that's a very strong selling point to keeping good good teachers here and the administration is very strong too and that obviously always a lot Thank You leo this had to come close to being one of my favorite questions on this questionnaire Miranda was she was dancing all around what I wanted to say I was afraid she was gonna steal it from me gonna go back to my time in the military the best way to retain good people has put them in charge nobody knows how to run a classroom better than the teacher nobody knows what's going on in the kitchen more than the cooks make the people responsible for their actions take their input you know it give them the ability to show what they can do don't
040tell them what they have to do give them the leash give them the Running Room if you give somebody the opportunity to impress you nine times out of ten they're not going to impress you they'll amaze you it's the best way to to retain good people empower them you reward them for their success you know they got new idea it's like I said they know their job better than anybody else they got ideas work with it and if you know if you have a culture like that and it gets known where you know the rules come from the employees not from the top word like that spreads fast and that's something that people want to be involved in Thank You Matthew all right mark you're right being last is tough I believe we can continue
041to retain quality employees and staff by building upon the trust that we already have in the district everybody many of the teachers that I've talked to an administration I've talked to they feel like this is a good right now the trust between the Union and the administration is solid that said we need to continue to be competitive when it comes to salary and benefits because ultimately the end of the day I mean we are working for for a paycheck and working for benefits so that's also important but also just the workload and the feasibility of that workload and then lastly above all I mean I think a lot of times we treat you we treat teachers differently than any other like a school system different than any other organization and Tammy had touched on this
042but ultimately teachers just want to be challenged and they want to be supported and feel supported in their role and I think ultimately if if we can achieve those things we're going to be able to not only just retain the teachers that we have but again talk about spreading that word and being able to attract teachers into our district great thank you all very much the next question we'll start with Tammy do you support public employee unions and their right to collectively bargain and besides the role of collective bargaining what do you feel is the role of a union I'd like another question please I think this is a loaded question because no matter how I answer it someone is not gonna like my answer you truly believe that I believe everybody has a voice
043and everybody should be heard so if you're part of the union you have a voice you should be heard if you're not part of the Union you have a voice you should be heard do I think that the union should be involved in other roles within the school district absolutely yes I believe there's a time and a place for everything I believe that you everybody needs to work up their chain of command and that's the biggest thing if people work in your chain of command it all works together it's when people go outside of the chain of command that we have chaos Thank You Miranda yes I am in support of public employee unions and their right to collectively bargain I've been a member of a public employee union in the past and I know
044that their scope the scope of their role extends beyond collective bargaining but unions have also done much too support the importance of professional development and making sure those opportunities are available for staff to keep up with changes that are happening and affect their job and also improvements to workplace safety so I think unions have led efforts to create major positive legislative legislative changes in education and that benefits not only educators but students as well I'm in support thank you mark I don't feel it's the school board members duty to support the unions on the City Council when we were budgeting for salaries with the police force the wages that they were offered were in line with the other city employees and it was up to the city administration administrator to negotiate with the Union City
045Council members never really got involved in that I guess now I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the unions we know they're there they're supporting there they're there for their teachers but I there's you're kind of crossing and a lion I think there cuz I think it's a school board's responsibility to support the staff the administration the students and the taxpayers so it's it's like Tami said this is a really loaded question so I I mean I the way I see it after being on City Council I would think that the administration the school board would fill the role in the school district you know the the negotiations so I don't really feel I just I don't see where that where that really is the duty of a school board member Thank You Leo I'm
046right in line with mark it's whether you support them or you don't support them they're there it would be the School Board's district to work with them that not you know not fight them work with them find a equitable solution for everybody but it's as far as the unions go they're not that just there for the collective bargaining they do so much more than that like I said the they work hard for legislation they offer a lot of tools to employees that the district can't whether it be workshops or other you know there's just so much more that the unions do besides fight for wages they got a you know they're responsible for the representation of employees whether it be in any way shape or form if it's legal medical if it's arbitration the union
047ensures that the teachers have suitable working conditions you know pay aside I mean the the collective bargaining is just one piece of the puzzle for the unions and that's like Lake Mark said we don't have to agree with them but we'll be required to work with them and that's that's just one more function that the unions do it's not their only purpose Thank You Matthew my answer this question is one or percent yes I do believe that I do support the right of public employee unions to collectively bargain the reason why I believe this is because the entire foundation of the teacher and administration of a school is based upon this relationship to eliminate that from the puzzle changes the complete landscape of of the school system so and for me to not support the
048the right for the for these unions would be to basically say that I would have to we'd have to develop a whole different structure in our schools and I don't necessarily support that I think the most effective unions are those that again are focusing on the student and I think new pregs Union does does so if we do what's right for the student it's almost in all cases going to be right for the teachers as well thanks Andy I'll keep it short and easy yes it's a loaded question yes I do indeed support employee unions I do support collective bargaining I believe that unions are an indelible part of the working force in this country as a whole as far as legislative as far as safety Miranda you mentioned safety and equals equal treatment and
049fair treatment so yes I do indeed support collective bargaining and unions thank you all right thank you all very much Brandon we'll start with you as a member of the school board what class size would you be committed to maintain for children's and children in grades K through five six through eight in high school it's a that's a really good question I'm certainly not an expert in this area but I did do a little bit of research to prepare for this question first I would say that as a parent I intuitively feel that smaller class sizes are optimal that our students and our children will get more out of their experience when classes are small and I'm guessing that most teachers would agree with that when classes are large it's difficult to attend to the
050needs of all students and inevitably I think we will fall short when classes are too big from what I reviewed the research generally shows that smaller class sizes are associated with greater academic achievement for students particularly for very young students so when when we have children in K through five when classes are set at fewer than 20 we see the most gains I think it's a great ideal to aim for it's not always financially possible and so I guess if I had to commit to a number and I hate to make a firm commitment because I would want to seek input from from the educators in our district but I think we should aim for fewer than 25 in our K through 5 classes and strive to get those numbers as close to 20 as
051possible when we just don't have the means to do that then I think we need to ensure that we're utilizing paraprofessionals and teachers aides to help in those classes as I know they can be a great great support to teachers I think a good goal for class size in middle school in high school would be around 25 and there might be classes or subject matters where we could increase the class size or need to reduce the class size depending on the complexity of the of the subject but again ultimately I would want to gather input from our educators and see how things are working for them in that regard thank you Mark I guess I'm not gonna put a number on any one of those three obviously research continues shows at the lower the class
052size you know the better results you have and as a as a school board member I guess I wouldn't ever claim to be an expert on it that's where I'd rely on the administration and the the teachers that are here come up with the research and to presented to us so that we can make an informed decision because I'm not in the education business never claimed to be but I do know that all the classes that our kids were and we're always low and it obviously was very good for them thank you Leo can I move in front of Miranda this is I don't know it's really impossible to commit to a number here there's sources all over the place giving all sorts of numbers and all you can do is the best you can
053there's so many variables you know it's been said twice before the optimally the less number of students you have the better realistically can it be done you know a lot of variables in there so this it's really you can't commit to anything you don't want to band with 17 people in it so you know you you end up with bandwidth 60 70 80 students you get 2/4 you're German the year I graduated they had six students upon class but like I said there's so many variables it's it's just best to best that you do what you can with what you have thank you Matt glass sizes are very important I've I've read probably too many studies to mention on this topic but when class sizes become too large learning is hindered it also causes additional
054stress on the teacher because there's so many diverse needs in that classroom when it comes to many students being in that classroom I would like to be able to commit to you with a with a number but it's really hard but ultimately I think it comes down to equity because we need to give the kids what they give them the resource and the teachers of what they need so that said I guess generally I would like to see class sizes in the early elementary grades probably 20 or less would probably be a great goal in mind middle school would probably be in the mid 20s and high school if we could keep them under 30 I think that would be goals that we could really try to strive for however that in mind I understand
055that there are financial commitments to this and we would have to review this on an ongoing basis Thank You sandy with growing numbers with enrollment numbers growing as well the students struggle the teachers struggle and our facilities take on wear and tear with the more students that we have occupying our buildings in a perfect world in a perfect environment K through 5 20 or fewer in the classroom it's such an important vital vital age of that K through five so that one-on-one when that early learning is coming in is is just so important but middle school keep it in the mid 20s it's so hard to put a number on it 20 to 25 and with high school they're able to take on a little bit more maybe maybe possibly 30 but with all that
056said with with putting numbers out there it all has to do with finances and and what we have and what we can do with it but the smaller the classroom the more one-on-one that child gets with their education and that's what's of the utmost importance so the lower the numbers in the classroom the better but yeah thank you dami im not gonna disagree with anything anyone is set i will say i don't believe that there is a magic number based on the complexity of the class could determine if you have more or less students in it or if you have additional help in that class based on my experience as a past board member the board would hear the recommendations from parents teachers principals and the superintendent the information then is discussed alongside the policy
057as to what it says for our district and you take all that into consideration and we vote on it based on what is best for our student district and community but the student always comes first thank you all right next question please describe the importance of early childhood programming in our district and how you feel New Prague can meet the challenges of increased enrollment and we'll start with mark well it's a very important piece of Education as research continually shows I know all four of our kids participated in in it and we're it affected them in a positive way I guess one of the things nowadays it's becoming even more important to add with that is to get parents more involved in it at you early ages which tends to help the kids out a
058lot more I know this program in this school has grown significantly over the last few years probably close to 25 percent so continually finding space for that what seems like it's going to continue to grow is going to be a priority I guess that's about it okay thank you Leo I looked and I looked and I really had a hard time finding exactly what all the early childhood programming encompasses there's so many pieces of it spread so far that I can speak to what I know the ECFE is that's got to be one of the the best things you know we get the fliers and right away sitting down with the kids it's almost like a wish list they they cover so many things from magic tricks that I mean it just runs the whole
059gamut and that was always with all four of our kids I was always something that was like with that bulletin would come out and say okay here's what they got what are we gonna do and then go on pass that and the the kids company is to be honest I don't know how things worked before there was a kid's company because that is so important to for so many reasons I mean there's there's a lot of times you know parents are working or something comes up and that kids company can be a lifesaver both before and after school it's like I said those are the ones that I'm familiar with and everything else that's in early childhood I don't know that the preschool we didn't do preschool here but it's like I said that it's
060such a big area but it would be nice if we could if we could find something that would cover it all you know so that people would know what's available to them as well Thank You Matthew I know I'm not gonna do this question justice my wife is a early childhood special education teacher so she knows all too well and I hear about it the most every day all day the benefits of being able to partner with families early on in the successes that it proves and pays dividends down the road so I guess I don't look at this being a challenge of increased enrollment I think it's an opportunity um I think the more kids that we can touch before the enter kindergarten the better the entire school district in our I don't want
061to sound cheesy but our society will be just because I mean there's studies out there that show that the literacy that if you can read and write by the age of three or third grade that three would be great but by third grade I think the chance of incarceration is like in point zero one percent or something and if not it's at forty percent so I just think it's a great opportunity I think we should expand this area as much as possible and then I just do want to know to that I think on this last contract with the teachers they were able to add early childhood teachers to the Master Agreement and I applaud the district for doing that and it's a step in the right direction to creating and acquiring or trying to
062find additional teachers in those positions so I think it's great Thank You sandy for this question because when I saw the question question initially my heart kind of skipped a beat because it's my first memory of coming into the district so early childhood education we started with EC Fe with Mary bar to check she was our go-to she's fantastic so when my daughter was born she's 11 now brought her in there and it was like the parents got to to see their kids interact with other with other toddlers and get that first initial interaction not with students but with with classmates per se you know and it's just such a vital jumpstart to their learning to their education so from EC Fe jumping into kids company kids company has been such a boost to this
063community I think to this district I've only worked with the Eagle view staff but they're amazing and what they can do for parents because in this community you know we're working parents and you know they're bringing their children in before school and then they have after-school programs it's a fantastic program so we have e CF e kids company staff it's just amazing and then when I was thinking about when I was thinking about increased enrollment a thought popped into mind going back to career training and hands-on training back to maybe about four or five questions back if we have high school students that are interested in a career in education possibly having them do like a hands-on program with the EC Fe staff or maybe the kids company staff and then that would be that
064would be their hands-on education or maybe even career training for their for their future so I love easy EFI I just have to say that you are first Bell Tammy I definitely think early childhood programming is very important I think it gets our children ready for their future getting them into a structured program or semi structured program for a couple hours a week or you know a half a day twice a week is so important because it just plays into their upcoming years as far as the constraints I a to think it's more of an opportunity for us and I would say move over malá strana we're bringing the kids in so I will find space we'll find someplace to put all of the kids that need to be put and we always do we
065always do somehow someway we figure it out so I'm not concerned about it I think it's a great opportunity for us to have because there's a lot of school districts that wish they had the opportunity to do it Thank You Miranda I was also really happy with this question really excited about this question three of our four children have participated in the preschool programming through the district here and the the teachers there are some of the warmest nicest greatest people ever and I know that our children have have really benefited from that experience as said earlier early childhood programming is so important in shaping young children's behavior and getting them ready for elementary school research shows that kids who participate in early learning programs have improved social skills but our attention spans better grades have
066less need for special education services and are at reduced risk of engaging in criminal behavior in the future I strongly support the early childhood program in here district and I think the district has done a nice job of spitting up splitting up classes into morning and afternoon options and on alternating days to maximize the number of children that we can serve in each classroom I would support continuing this practice and hiring additional staff as the need arises okay thank you and we are going to go to some audience questions that we've received so Devon if you want to ask the first I'm sorry the first question and we will be starting with you Leo with issues regarding school policies sometimes being played out on social media before the board can review them how would you
067respond an act it's the first thing that's required is responsibility if you don't know what the situation is if you're not aware of all the facts then it's best to not do anything say anything until you can determine exactly what it is that's happening if I understood the question correctly I think you repeat the question oh I'm sorry sorry with school issues regarding with issues regarding school policies sometimes being played out on social media before the board can even review them how would you respond or and act I don't know I don't know what I would add to that it's just you can't you can't have knee-jerk responses you have to get the information first if that means not saying anything no it's better to remain silent and thought a fool then speed can be
068proven one so find out what's going on before you jump into the fray thank you Matt I guess I would just answer that question with I mean I see it all the time on new break happenings but I guess I would just reach out the person individually I'll send them a personal message a PM on Facebook and ask them to reach out to me directly or direct them to you know superitendent other administration and try to resolve the issue and direct them to the resources that that we have to help resolve that issue and then take it up as a board once once we have the opportunity do that as a group Thank You sandy social media is awesome and I'm saying that sarcastically I think it's best just to take a deep breath reflect
069like Matt said send me a personal message let them know who they can get in contact with to resolve their issue if there is an issue let them know that we're here to listen so they don't feel they don't feel put off in any way but I mean social media is what it is sometimes and you just have to take a deep breath you know don't take a step back direct them where to go and then of course once they're directed where to go like you said once it's presented to the board move on from there but thank you Tammy can you repeat the question jerk with issues regarding school policies sometimes being played out on social media before the board can review them how would you respond and act I would not respond my
070reason for it is as a board member I am a team not an individual so I would not respond from a board setting I would not say well as Tammy pecks a new prank school board I say this absolutely not that's not what the school board is the school board works together as a team to run the district and so if I saw things which i have seen as a past board member I have taken them up my chain of command to whoever the president was whoever I've taken it straight to superintendent dip burner and we discussed it before anyone said anything I think when someone steps out on their own it just opens a Pandora Box Thank You Miranda my response would be to wait to respond I I get it that people post
071concerns on social media and kind of gathers some steam kind of in some ways checking out have other people witness this issue or this problem what are your thoughts on it I have no problem with that I think as a board member I wouldn't respond directly though until the issue or the matter was brought to the board may be something that I might bring up for discussion with the board but would not respond directly to that individual certainly not on social media and I think that might be difficult for some community members to accept I think we're so used to instant communication instant gratification but I think it would just be best - wait hold off on a response okay thank you mark smile and do nothing okay thank you Brian all right this next
072question is from the New Prague area chapter of PFLAG and they are support group made up of parents family and friends of persons who are gay lesbian bisexual transgender or queer from here on from hereon referred to as LGBTQ LGBTQ students in rural towns face a more hostile school environment or school climate then students in urban and suburban schools similarly LGBTQ students in the Midwest have more negative school experiences overall than in other parts of the country they do not believe that New Prague is immune to this statistic this hostile school climate can include things like verbal and physical harassment fear of using the bathroom and locker rooms cyber bullying even personal property and home vandalism a transgender student has told me that they do not go to the bathroom at school ever this can
073manifest itself as Miss days of school lower GPA depression lack of desire to pursue secondary education avoiding school functions and extracurricular activities etc because they do not feel safe so their question would you be willing to support school-wide education that makes New Prague a welcoming and safe school for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming students its program called welcoming schools that was created here in Minnesota and we will start with Matthew I think it's a great question I think it's a very difficult question to answer but at the same time without knowing all the details of the organization and what's going on I it's hard for me to answer completely but high level I would say absolutely our our role as a my role as a school board member would be to make sure that we are
074providing a quality education for all students in our district so whether they fall under that category or another cat my job as a school board member was to make sure that all of our students are provide provide equality education Thank You sandy my initial heartfelt reaction would be yes most definitely but as a responsible board member you would have to research the organization itself before we said yes to any education within the classroom however we talked earlier about the unions we talked about teachers feeling safe we need our students to feel safe when they're at school and this is this is something that needs to be addressed so yes is my is my initial answer but yes to be more informed on the on the program that would be bringing the education into the classroom
075but students should never feel unsafe in their learning environment and it's important we we can definitely work harder on this issue thank you thank you Tammy this is a situation where again everybody has a voice and should be heard if we have one student that feels that way then shame on us I'm sorry because that means we have one student that doesn't feel safe in what we portray to be a safe community for them so I would want more information on the organization I would just like any other organization or any other thing that the district supports we always want to have the back with all the information to bring it on and but absolutely totally open-minded to hearing about any organization that we can bring into our district Thank You Miranda mm-hmm I am
076familiar with PFLAG and the awesome work that they do for the LGBTQ community I'm not as familiar with the welcoming schools program specifically I would be very into I'm learning about that I think I'd also like to hear what are we doing in our district to support our LGBTQ students I do wholeheartedly agree and believe that every student needs to feel safe they need to feel like they can come here and safely get their education have their basic needs met but you've seen the bathroom I would definitely be interested in learning more about what is being done in our district and what more we could do thank you Mark yes I used the word bullying describing that and to me that just as a lack of respect for another human being which is not okay
077at all so yeah I would assuming that the organization is you know a good organization and the rest of the board is in favor of it I I would say yes for sure thank you Leone something that was said in there that that kind of caught my attention and this new prague is an immune to this well all of us has have sat up here and said how great this school district is and a lot of us have gone through it our kids have gone through it but the one thing I want to assure you of is that New Prague is not immune to anything that's the first thing you hear anytime something happens is well we didn't think it could happen here the new pranks just like any other school were not immune from
078anything and a student's safety the students comfort is something that should always be ensured and like Mark said it comes to respect know that it needs to be taught at home it needs to be reinforced in schools but it has to be when you're in a public system like this it has to be enforced boundaries have to be set up students have to understand that that school is not there for them it's there for everyone thank you and dim okay start this phone with Sandy if a prominent citizen referred to LGBT students or parents by saying publicly that we don't want their kind in schools what would your response be can you repeat the question sure if a prominent citizen referred to LGBT students or parents by saying publicly that we don't want their kind
079in schools what would your response be a prominent citizen isn't so prominent if they're making a statement like that in my opinion as far as if it was addressed to a student or if it was just you mm-hmm if that was right after I took a deep breath and smiled it just comes down to respect and it's not I would respond it it's not the New Prague way we are a community that accepts everybody Steven was we we don't want that kind here or that kind doesn't belong here it's it's harassment its bullying and it's it's not it's not who we are here at the new prank district as far as if I held a title of being on the board I would still feel comfortable saying that whether they're a prominent citizen [Music] in
080the community or not it's speaking to another human being with respect and an out of respect reminding them that they need to respect everyone and it's just not who we are thank you Tammy yeah where was that question on the list Wow still my mom married my stepdad when I was 4 years old and I tell you this because in 1974 a prominent New Prague businessman looked at my mom and said oh don't you just wish they could build some walls around New Prague to keep the outsiders out the foreigners and my mom had a new pregnant the time stood there and I was standing right next to her and I remember the conversation and I remember going home and I'm like who is he talking about so knowing how I felt after my mom
081explained it to me at age 4 and if someone made that statement to me about anyone how can we put a cap on someone and say well you're welcome but you're not well you're welcome but you're not that's not what we do we embrace everyone with open arms and they're welcome to come that's what I would say to him Thank You Miranda I think my initial reaction would be to feel pretty heartbroken and not necessarily surprised there are certainly stereotypes out there that people subscribe to and unfortunately make comments that reflect that and and hurt are hurtful statements that are made I personally would have no problem having a conversation with that individual talking about about that statement and kind of my beliefs on that I'm such an armful hurtful thing to say I think
082that that when that's happening really says to me that we need to look at what are we doing within the district to support inclusivity in our schools and in this community and there's likely more work that needs to be done so thank you mark honestly after living here in my entire life I may just dismiss it depending on who the person was because some people you're never gonna change their views on things so I try to block those people out of my mind and not let them frustrate me it would be disheartening like everybody else said but I certainly wouldn't make a big deal out of it as being on a school board insert you know they cause a scene or anything like that but it would be disappointing there's no doubt about it but
083unfortunately in this country in this world in this town you run into all types and you have to you have to decide sometimes to walk away okay I certainly wouldn't be supportive but at the other hand you know it's I've heard a lot of things come out of people's mouths in my life so I'll leave it at that okay thank you well I'm looking at this in two different ways if it was a prominent citizen who came to me late publicly or in a public forum as a member of the school board and said that I just tell them if you think somehow or another you can shape that into some kind of grievance then please do so and address the board as one member there's nothing I can do to help you if it's
084a not public setting and I'm not being addressed as a school board member my answer to that is simple you know if you don't think we should have those type of people in our school then maybe you should be in a different school okay thank you Matt honestly it depends on the setting to be completely honest time I think it was in a private setting that probably asked the person for clarification of what they meant with that and from there have a conversation about it because I've encountered lots of conversations like this over my lifetime and I think it's small little interactions human interactions that we have with people that can maybe change somebody's mind down the road so so I'd probably just asked for clarification and ask you know why he feels that way
085or he or she feels that way and and talk about it if it was in some type of public setting and it was somebody that was in a representative type of position it might be worse than that you know it might be something where we bring it up to that person who that person is held accountable to and hold that person accountable for their actions okay thank you all right this is our last audience question and it'll start with Tammy what is the purpose of the Aquatic Center and is it important that it makes a profit yes what is the purpose of it it gives a greater opportunity for our school district for swimming team and other opportunities for sporting event type things yeah I do think it is very important that it turn a
086profit since we've now opened it up to the fitness center I think we're joining or we took on the fitness center I think it has to turn a profit I also know that as a past board member and one who voted for it I know that there were going to be struggles and we were pretty clear about the struggles and financing everybody knows when you have a pool it's expensive and we made it very clear when the pool was voted in so but I mean yes it should when I can't give you that I haven't looked at the numbers but yes it should thank you Miranda mm-hmm I agree that it should be certainly hopefully making money not losing money I know that that is usually kind of takes a while to get into that
087place I do personally enjoy the Aquatic Center I find it to be a good place for community gathering there's birthday parties things our kids really enjoy going there fitness offerings kind of supporting overall health and wellness in our community the Aquatic Center also provides additional athletic opportunities for our children and the students I think there's there's plenty of reasons for the purpose of the Aquatic Center I know that there's currently the movement of making it a more fitness center opportunity that they'll be group fitness classes and not just the ones that are done in the aquatics in the pool but that they're moving the fitness center over over here to help offset the costs I think that's great and hopefully we'll see see improvement there but I'm there's a lot of reasons why I think
088we have the Aquatic Center I think it's a good addition to our community and hopefully in the long run it's gonna gonna show that financially thank you mark you repeat the question yep what is the purpose of the Aquatic Center and is it important that it makes a profit the purpose of the Aquatic Center was to serve the community and the school district Dooley which is why the city was brought into it did you say should it make a profit is it important that it's important I think it's a it's a dream that it turns a profit because nope - no truthfully no pools turn profits and that was known from the start that it was going to be an expense and if it could work closer to not being a big expense yes that
089would be great but to think that it's going to turn a profit unless something's changed a lot since I was involved in it I don't think that that's I don't think so Thank You leo I think pretty much everything's been set on it and I kind of agree with mark to hope that you're gonna get a profit off of it is I think it's just that it's a hope the best-case scenario is minimizing costs as much as possible to fraying you know what you can in expenses but making a profit I honestly don't think is realistic I think the purpose of the Aquatic Center was to create an asset that the community can get behind I think it's a way to attract new families to our area I think it is an opportunity for families
090to be more fit and to use that space to increase the Wellness of our of our of our area I think the school district has done some really good things to help defray some of those costs I think the joint powers agreement with the city of New Prague helps split some of those costs and as well as bringing in the fitness center so I know right now it's a it's a cost it's a it's an expense on our our pl but I'm not sure what the I don't know the financial statements are of the fitness center so I don't bringing that revenue over I'm not sure if it will turn a profit or whether it will break even but to me it's not important because I think it's something that it's a benefit to the
091community and that it's there for us to use and we knew going into it would potentially be an expense so thank you sandy even though I haven't been there yet I think it's a great asset to the community it's we live in Minnesota it's an indoor pool in Minnesota it's someplace to go in the winter so for community for birthday parties for just a place to hang out on the weekends for the kiddos that's fantastic but it also with swim meets I have a good friend who's a coach a swim coach she absolutely loves it working with the girls there on the swim team it's I don't know the numbers if it's going to turn a profit I haven't looked at any of the numbers on the finances of of the Aquatic Centre but it
092is a great asset to the community I do believe it gets it gets kids active it gets them moving it gets adults active it gets them moving with the with the fitness center moving in there as well I think that's that's gonna be a real fun thing with the group fitness classes but yeah it was it was brought in my daughter she's gonna be doing swim swimming there she's in middle school they do swimming there for gym next week so she's excited about that too so it's I think it's a win-win I'm real excited to have it here okay thank you so you can all take a breath because that's the end of the questions now and we're going to give you one minute each for some closing remarks and we will start with Miranda
093okay I guess I would just end by saying that I hope you consider voting for me in November I'm certainly not an expert in all things education related but I do work hard I'm eager to learn I care about this community I'm currently not working outside of the home I've got time to devote to doing this work I think my training and background and in the field of mental health it'll be a great benefit to the school board into the district I also think the fact that I have kids who are attending schools here I'm personally invested my children at multiple levels of education here in our district and I think that helps me give me give some sense of how things are going across those levels which I think could be be helpful in
094this work so thank you thank you mark I just like say good luck to all the candidates and I thank you guys for organizing the event and I've always been very proud of the New Prague community and look forward to the possibility of serving it again Thank You leo I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you for having this event thank you everybody for attending and good luck to everybody like I said in the beginning I'm very proud of this school district I'm a product of it and it's after traveling the whole world seeing what there was to see I decided when I'm gonna have kids I'm gonna have them here although the pride of the school district I think is pretty evident look at how many long-term teachers we have and then
095you see their children come back and teach right behind their parents you know these kids heard everything there is to hear about the school with no filters because when you go home you let loose with what you got and if they can come back after listening to their parents for 18 years and they still want to teach here then I think this is the right place to be like I said I want to make sure it stays that way Thank You Matthew no I just want to echo the thanks to for putting this event on for everybody showing up and listening and learning more about the issues that are facing public education in our district specifically I hope you learn more about me today I mean about how I feel about the issues and ultimately
096I hope everyone everyone will vote on November 6 then you fill in the circle next to my name thanks Andy I also want to echo that I wanted to say thank you to the chamber and to mr. Triplett for for organizing this event tonight and for the community to come out and take the time to listen to all of us to meet us tonight basically and get to know us a little bit better so like I said in our introduction when I heard that there was openings for the school board a little light bulb went off and that light bulb is still burning so I'm very excited to be here tonight I'm not the best public speaker I get a little nervous if you guys didn't notice that but but this is important so I'm
097happy to be here yeah that light bulb is still burning working for the school board is serving the community and that's what I'm really excited to do I love our district I love the students I love the teachers so I'm ready to get to work and I ask for your vote on November 6th get out there and vote thank you Timmy so I think everything has been said everyone needs to go out and vote on Tuesday November 6th you all six of us there are three available spots just understand that when you take your oath in January it's not about you some decisions that you as a board member are going to be making you cannot take personally and you cannot make them personally it is what is best for the education of our children
098and for our communities thank you thank you let's give our candidates a round of applause half of the 300 educators of New Prague Education Minnesota I just want to thank the audience for attending the audience who may be viewing this after the fact online and the candidates for attending this evening and as well as your thoughtful responses to the questions that were presented to you prior to the event and also the questions that were presented by the audience and above all thank you for running for a very important position that really does help shape our community and our schools thank you everybody for coming also please help yourself to some lukewarm coffee and some cookies and just so everybody knows the recording of this forum as well as the candidate answers to the prepared questions
099will be available online via the chamber New Prague education Minnesota's social media accounts the district website the district cable channel and all that good stuff because there were several questions that we did not get to so people might be interested in seeing those as well so once again thank you very much [Applause]