Candidates Take on School Finances, Standardized Testing at Forum

Leadership qualities, standardized testing, district finances and morale among district employees.

The four Independent School District 199 School Board candidates who participated in a candidate forum on Wednesday afternoon left few stones unturned in a 90-minute-long, moderated discussion.

The forum, hosted by Education Minnesota Local 1718 and held at , was primarily an opportunity for local teachers and school district staff members to sound out the candidates—though the forum was open to members of the public as well.

The four participating candidates, Tom Begich, Allen Gerber, Keri Myran and Mark Westpfahl, were allowed several minutes to answer questions posed by a moderator before members of the audience were given a chance to weigh in with their own questions. A total of seven candidates are competing this fall for four open seats on the school board. Election Day is on Nov. 8 this year.

The candidates spent a significant portion of their time discussing communication between the district, board, staff and community. Several candidates advocated for more direct lines between teachers and school board members, while Westpfahl also pushed for stronger links between the district and public.

“We need to do a better job as a district communicating what’s going on in our classrooms, what’s going on in our schools and what’s going on in our district,” Westpfahl said.

Student achievement on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments was also a recurring theme during the forum, with all of the candidates applauding the improvements Inver Grove students made on both math and reading tests this year.

But focusing on the student groups—or “cells”—that are still struggling on the tests, Begich said, shouldn’t come at the expense at the rest of the district’s students.

“If we only have three cells we are not doing well in, and we adjust the entire day to take care of those cells, what have we done the 85-90 percent of students who have passed the test already,” Begich asked during the forum. His question drew applause from the more than 20 audience members.

When asked to describe his qualities as a candidate Allen Gerber emphasized his extensive experience working on boards and committees. He also promoted staff development opportunities for both teachers and administrators in the district.

For her part, Myran argued that the district should do a better job of finding efficient services that are more effective for kids, . As the school district’s budget gets tighter, Myran and Westpfahl said, the district must learn to prioritize its initiatives and trim less successful programs.

“We can look under every rock and every corner, and that’s the reality of the situation,” Myran said. “It’s a matter of setting priorities and doing the best we can with what we have.”