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.

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Voter Guide

ISD #659 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-board

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  • Candidate picture

    Corey Butler
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Tristan Cox
    (NP)

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    Maggie Epstein
    (NP)

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    Amy Goerwitz
    (NP)

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    Claudia Gonzalez-George
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Iris Lee
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Andreas Thurnheer
    (NP)

Biographical Information

Do you support library staff choosing books and other materials for school libraries?

Do you support allowing teachers to teach material supported by the state curriculum?

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Campaign Website http://www.unitedfornorthfield.com
Contact Phone 5078500683
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/CoreyforNorthfieldSchools
Campaign Email coreybutlerjr@gmail.com
Yes, these are licensed professionals charged with providing various materials for students of multiple ages, reading levels, maturity and interests.

A quality school board works with its superintendent who oversees their administrators to ensure staff serve all children according to statute. Fortunately, Minnesota passed a law this year disallowing book bans, reinforcing that caretakers should engage with their children about the materials they check out without impeding other students.
Minnesota does not have a state curriculum, rather it has state standards. Each district can set its curriculum within the bounds of the overarching guidance.

To that end, yes, I trust our administrators and teaching staff to vet curricula when it's up for consideration, considering how best to teach our students. Northfield recently underwent this with a new math curriculum and the board received an update, which is the proper process. Boards should not be dictating curriculum.
Campaign Website http://tristanforschoolboard.com
Contact Phone 9522009850
Campaign Email coxtr@hotmail.com
Yes I do. It is the responsibility of library staff to curate materials available to faculty and students.
As long as teachers are first and foremost working to help students meet academic achievement standards set forth by the state and school district I see no reason why teachers should not use material supported by the state of Minnesota.
I believe in the expertise of library staff and think they are best positioned to choose materials for our school libraries: adding and removing items according to student interests and curricular needs. Access, equity and intellectual freedom are core values of librarianship. When library staff choose materials that reflect a diverse array of student experiences, they are fulfilling a professional duty to build a broad, welcoming, and informative collection.
Here in Minnesota, we are lucky to have a robust set of academic standards that lay out expectations for what students will learn. Then, our very own district teachers and administrators develop specific curricula and methods of instruction to meet those standards. When the state passes legislation that may require a shift in the curriculum, I support providing teachers with appropriate training and compensation as they integrate curricular changes into their classrooms.
Campaign Email abc@goerwitz.com
Yes. Northfield library media specialists are trained in library science.It is their role to know the library offerings and to choose new materials that will round out media choices for students.That being said, the specialists have not read every item. If a parent is concerned about a book in one of the libraries there is a form the parent can complete and a process the school district follows to resolve issues. For details, see NSD policy 652 (Instructional Materials Selection and Production).
Yes, of course. The state has curriculum requirements that our district must follow. Beyond those requirements, the district has a process for identifying and adopting new curricula involving an advisory committee, community participation, testing new materials, and a lot of research. (See NSD policy 603 Curriculum Development for more details.) The board regularly hears reports about the efficacy of the curriculum and works with staff to continuously improve the education we offer students.
Campaign Website http://unitedfornorthfield.com/
Contact Phone 4055010611
Facebook (Full URL) http://facebook.com/claudiaforschoolboard/
Campaign Email georges@georges.nu
I absolutely support librarians doing their job. In my role as school board member I would support the recommendations of the superintendent where it pertains to district staff and educators. Our school librarians are qualified specialists in media services and often certified as classroom teachers. Additionally our state has a new statue that protects the authority and expertise of school librarians to provide library resources to their student population.
I absolutely support teachers teaching state approved curriculum which aligns with state standards. Our classroom teachers are highly qualified. The role of the school board is to support the superintendent. We follow up on achievement benchmarks and approve budgets so curriculum can be maximized. The school board is a governing body not an operations partner.
Campaign Website http://irisleeforschoolboard.com
Contact Phone 5075812551
Campaign Email iris.erlingsdottir@gmail.com
No.
It depends on what the state curriculum is.
staff chooses books and other material for their Libraries Regarding books, there is a shared parent / schools responsibility.
teachers and the district build the schools curricula, following educational accepted guidelines set by the state.
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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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