Final Hopkins School Board Candidate Discusses Qualifications

There are five candidates for the four School Board positions up for election this year. 

Patch talked with Steven Adams about his qualifications, the issues he’ll focus on and what he’d be like as a school board member.

The other people who have filed for office are , , and .

Here is Adams' profile:

Steven Adams

Time in Hopkins:  26 years

Education: Bachelor’s in English with a teaching certificate, master of business administration

Job: Sales and marketing consultant; owned his own information technology consulting company until he sold it

Family: Wife, Donna, and two adult children

Government experience

• On the Minnetonka Planning Commission, serving as vice chairman for the past four years
• Worked on school district referenda
• Chairman of the hockey booster club while his daughter was captain of the girls hockey team
• In his capacity as a planning commissioner, worked with other government entities, such as theMetropolitan Council and Minnehaha Creek Watershed District, and on issues such as comprehensive planning and light rail.

Other relevant experience

• Member of  in Golden Valley, where he has served on many committees

Issues of interest

• Maintaining 21^st Century skills: Adams said three decades of experience in the information technology arena have given him a first-hand look at the fast pace of technological change. It’s important that students have the necessary skills, he said.
• Long-range strategic planning: Adams has seen the changes happening to the west metro while serving on the Minnetonka Planning Commission, particularly a trend call “aging in place.” With this trend, school enrollment declines because parents stay in their homes after their children have moved out instead of selling their homes to younger families with school-aged children.    

Biggest challenges facing Hopkins Public Schools

• “Keeping the school programs relevant to a rapidly changing world”
• Professional learning communities: Hopkins Public Schools is launching this teaching structure, which brings groups of teachers together to collaboratively help students achieve. Adams thinks they have a lot of promise, but he wants to make sure teachers have adequate support to make them as effective as they can be.
• Funding: State legislators continue borrowing money from school districts through . “You never know what the legislators are going to throw at us next year,” Adams said.

Approach as a school board director: Adams promised to approach a School Board position the same way he’s approached his Planning Commission role—by focusing on the facts and making conclusions based on the data. He said he may approach an issue with a hypothesis but added that he’s not afraid to reject that hypothesis if the data doesn’t support it.