Letter to the Editor: We Need Selcer's Leadership

We need Yvonne Selcer’s leadership on fiscal matters in St. Paul.  I first met Selcer when I ran for Hopkins School Board in 2007.  I was immediately impressed by her knowledge of school finances.  After an accounting error pushed the district into debt, Yvonne did the responsible thing and ran for reelection to ensure the problem was fixed, even though the budget that caused the error was approved prior to her joining the board. 

As treasurer, Selcer created the first school board fiscal oversight committee in Minnesota.  She helped create a dynamic budget-forecasting model so that the district could make decisions based upon sound fiscal data.  And Selcer made tough choices, many of which affected my children - closing an elementary school, redrawing district boundaries, and eliminating programs.

Yvonne Selcer’s leadership helped her become the leading vote getter in 2007.   I became her colleague and took over as Treasurer when she became Chair.   I witnessed the results of her efforts: four state and one national award for excellence in fiscal management and reporting; increased bond ratings; a fund balance exceeding 30% which helped us withstand the legislature’s ill-conceived budget which borrowed over $2.4 billion dollars from our schools.

Most importantly, I watched her advocate for our children without regard to partisan politics.  On November 6^th, vote Selcer for House 48A and bring this leadership to the legislature.

Wendy Donovan, Hopkins School Board Treasurer

Edina