Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

  • Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues.
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Voter Guide

ISD #194 School Board Member {_getChooseLabel(this.selections.length)}

School board members oversee the care, management, and control of schools. This includes hiring, firing, and overseeing superintendents, who manage the day-to-day affairs of the district. They also set levies to fund the district and create school policies.Learn more here: https://www.lwv.org/blog/voting-local-matters-why-vote-school-boardA candidate forum for this race is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQg1oyKjFH8. More MN forums are available at https://www.lwvmn.org/2024-candidate-forums.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Zachary Bohlman
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Amber Cameron
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Paul Carbone
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Laura J. Fangel
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Jackie Faust
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Darryl Hall
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Brett Nicholson
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Dawn Seepersaud
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Matt Swanson
    (NP)

Biographical Information

Why are you the best candidate for this position? (750 characters)

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (500 characters)

If forced to cut the budget in the face of declining revenues, what would be your strategy? (500 characters)

How would you address any racial and economic disparities in our education system? (500 characters)

Please describe how you will engage teachers and families in your decision making process. (500 characters)

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Campaign Website http://amberfor194.org
Contact Phone 9522376298
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561922965429
Campaign Email amberfor194@gmail.com
I am ready and excited to serve on the ISD 194 Board of Education. I bring with me a deep commitment to public education; my parents were career educators, my husband is a teacher, and I work as an administrator at the U of MN. Having two children in Lakeville Schools has shown me what incredible educators we have; I am proud to be endorsed by the teachers and education assistants in our community. I have extensive experience serving on ISD 194 committees (finance, facilities, and boundaries) and board experience at the national, county, and city levels. Lastly, I have an M.S. in Non-Profit/NGO Leadership, providing me with extensive knowledge of strategic planning and finance/budget planning and oversight from the Wharton School.
Thriving Students: Creating inclusive schools where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. Building Our Future: Attract and retain high quality staff and support facilities that meet student learning needs. Transparency + Accountability: Open and honest dialogue, keeping students at the center of all decisions.
I would advocate for stakeholder input opportunities to allow teachers, staff, parents, and students to provide ideas on how best to solve the budget challenge. When decisions need to be made, I would first minimize the impact on the daily student experience. I think it is important to understand how particular cuts would make us less competitive with peer districts to ensure district cuts would not result in unnecessary enrollment loss.
First, schools need to create a welcoming and inclusive space for all students, especially for those students who have traditionally been at the margins. This means all school staff need up-to-date training on how to create culturally responsive classrooms. This includes knowing how to facilitate interventions for students with tailored support systems and structures. Finally, I think it is important for our school district to build relationships with families and cultural communities.
Keeping ISD 194 students at the center of all decisions would be paramount for me as a Board member. To accomplish this, I would welcome feedback from teachers and families on a regular basis. I also am interested in scheduling conversations with individuals and groups of people. Finally, as a Board member, I want to be connected to the various advisory committees that parents and teachers serve on to ensure suggestions from these groups are incorporated into Board decisions.
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I believe I am the best candidate for this position as I am an active parent in the school district. I have spent the last several years engaging with my children's schools and learning more about the issues that are directly affecting our teachers and families. I have joined advisory teams when offered the opportunity and connected with district leaders to advocate for the change I am wanting to see. I believe that our schools need to be a safe and welcoming space for all students and staff and that board members are responsible for representing the community they live in not the politics or personal agenda they have.
My first priority is to build a visionary leadership team that will help bring Lakeville into the future of excellence in education. My second priority is to collaborate with students, staff and families to identify areas of concern and learn about what I can do as a board member to advocate for them. My third priority is to rebuild trust within our community through communication and budget integrity.
My strategy would be to focus on cuts that are outside of the classroom and schools first. I would encourage our district's financial leaders to get creative with their ideas and think of every opportunity to save money that doesn't directly affect day to day school operation. If needed, I would ask school leaders and staff for their ideas on ways to save and what they see as opportunities to help keep cuts out of the classrooms. No one knows better about the needs of students than teachers.
I think reaching out and connecting with our community is a top priority. Learning about specific challenges that disparate communities face will help me be a better advocate for their needs. Utilizing and expanding resources that are built to increase equity in education is and will continue to be important to me. There are so many communities across our country with wonderful, creative ideas to help all students succeed that we can learn from and implement.
As I am now, I plan to continue to be an active participant in my children's schools. Teachers are the experts in what students need to help them learn and succeed in school. I turn to their voice and will listen to their advice on how to continue improving our schools. We also need to engage all parents and families in their students' learning and encourage them to be an active member of the team to support the work being done in our schools in whatever way they can.
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Powered by League of Women Voters Education Fund

The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

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