Wayzata School Board Sees One New Face, Three Familiar Ones

Last night's election results was a "wow" moment for Cheryl Polzin of Plymouth. She is the newest person to join the Wayzata School Board.

"This is my first time running," Polzin said. "I was just holding my breath until all the precincts were reported in."

Polzin came in second for total number of votes, according to the unofficial board election results from the Secretary of State's website.

The three incumbents, Linda Cohen, Jay Hesby and Carter Peterson join Polzin for the next four years on the board starting in 2012. This will be Cohen's fourth term, Hesby's second and Peterson's third.

Seven people total vied for the four open board seats. The other candidates were Gregory Baufield, Joan Curtiss and Nick Roehl.

With 10 precincts serving the district, the voting results rolled in from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. last night. The unofficial voting totals were: Cohen with 1,576, Polzin with 1,500, Peterson with 1,444, Hesby with 1,279, Baufield with 1,019, Curtiss with 999, Roehl with 857 and 44 write-ins.

Peterson said the pool of candidates were all good and all brought something to the table.

"I'm thrilled with the results, but have to say there was some great choices for voters," she said. "It's exciting that all three incumbents will be able to continue our work together. The vote was a vote for the district."

Cohen is excited about the results, having the incumbents returning and an additionanl "new, strong board member," she said.

"I"m very pleased to be able to carry on and build upon successes and momentum that has already been generated in my last four years on the board," said Hesby. "The district is in a really good spot and its strengths and postitives far out weigh negatives. I am looking forward to build upon those strengths."

Hesby, Cohen, Polzin and Peterson agree on what they are looking forward to working on and issues they want to tackle.

"The board will be implementing the strategic plan we've been working on with staff and administration," Peterson said.

Hesby said the board will also need to tackle facilities use and managing district buildings capacity for the future.

"Solving the crowding issues in some of the elementary schools coupled with the long term facilities usage and how to best use our space in the district is something we need to tackle in order to best serve students and everyone in the community," Polzin said.

The four agree that there are plenty of issues to tackle, but that the district is doing well too.

In the short term, Cohen is looking forward to congratulating and meeting the Wayzata High School 26 National Merit semi-finalists at the next school board meeting Monday, Nov. 14.