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

SSD #1 School Board Member District 5

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-boardIf your candidate didn’t fill in the guide below, visit the Secretary of State’s Candidate Filing site to find contact info (https://candidates.sos.mn.gov/). If you reach out, ask candidates to complete their Vote411 Voters Guide from LWVMN!Watch a candidate forum for this race recorded on October 5, 2026.

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

    Molly Chase
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Becca Dryden
    (NP)

Biographical Information

Why are you running for the Minneapolis school board and what are your qualifications for this position?

If you are elected, what are your priorities as a school board member?

How would you balance issues concerning school safety, discipline, and student and teacher mental wellness?

The "Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act" is the state’s mandate on how to teach reading. How should the district assess its impact on students’ reading skills across the district? Specifically, what should the indicators of the success of this reading mandate be for Minneapolis students?

Given reduced enrollment and substantial federal funding reductions in education, health, and social protections, how will you fill the funding gap, particularly for disabled and underserved students?

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Growing up, a few amazing public school teachers made all the difference in the trajectory of my life. As an MPS mom, I believe in investing in the schools my first grader attends.

I have 25 years' experience in corporate and nonprofit leadership, organizational management, and financial oversight. In my role as governor-appointed board member for MN's Perpich Center for Arts Education, I oversaw a state budget and helped expand student meals. As a consultant and nonprofit leader, I've helped scores of organizations with strategic planning and change management.

I bring financial rigor, board experience, and a deep commitment to ensuring students and educators thrive.

I'm all in on MPS. You can count on my commitment for the long haul.
Our challenges are urgent but not insurmountable. My top three: 1) Delay the rushed and deeply flawed Transformation plan. (See my website for what we could do instead.) 2) Rein in big tech. A growing body of research questions the use of 1:1 devices in schools, yet we issue iPads starting in kindergarten. It’s time to re-evaluate at all grade levels. 3) Protect against gun violence through family and community outreach. Safer gun storage, suicide prevention, and other interventions save lives.
Safer schools have a) smaller class sizes and b) additional professionals in the building. Students need trauma-informed counselors and social workers. Teachers and ESPs need building-wide mentors, plus immediate and long-term support in addressing student behavior issues. An educator in a classroom should not have to handle serious behavior issues alone. A student should not face complex challenges in isolation. Too many schools have only the bare minimum. We need a team approach.
Passage of the READ Act is a big win for literacy. MPS chose a strong foundational reading program for elementary students. I'm grateful to our MPS teachers for taking on intensive extra training (~86–116 hours). Key indicators of success: % of K–3 students screened, % flagged, % receiving intervention, % who improve, and % reading at grade level by end of grade 3. Beyond grade 3, literacy assessment and support must be continuous and include students enrolling mid-year.
Our schools are either increasing enrollment or managing decline. I reject managing decline. MPS has built momentum in District 5. Citywide we can do much more, including: limit K–3 screen time, revise tech policy, extend PreK, and relax CDD boundaries. Meanwhile, we must protect our kids from the whims of the federal administration. Short term by lobbying the MN Legislature. Beyond that, the board must offer a transparent, long-term plan for financial resilience.
Our school district needs leadership that believes in the power of public education and is ready to fight for a future where our school district thrives. That is the vision I have for MPS, and why I am running to represent District 5 on the School Board. Our families and educators are tired of years of managed decline, instability, and under-enrollment. This moment required leaders who are attuned to the needs of the community and accountable to that community in every decision they make. From mobilizing families to fight for smaller class sizes & organizing sanctuary school teams, to testifying at the state legislature for better funding & building cross-jurisdictional relationships, I have shown what my leadership will look like.
For the school board’s work to be effective, we must restore trust in the community by being present, listening, and communicating well. We need a full picture of the district’s financial situation and a fully functioning finance department with robust internal checks and oversight. Only then can we have conversations about how to ensure financial solvency long-term. Importantly, we have to approach these issues as a united district and not pit neighborhoods or communities against one another.
I am concerned about the mental wellness of students and teachers after the past 6 years of instability and trauma. Our students have experienced so many “unprecedented” events, and our educators have been tasked with shepherding them through each disruption. We must be prepared to support students’ mental health proactively rather than trying to address behaviors reactively. We must prioritize support services personnel, small class sizes & caseloads, and stability for our students & staff.
Literacy skills must be a top priority of any functioning school district, and I remain committed to supporting educators in providing effective reading instruction and early interventions. We must also acknowledge the weaponization of the “literacy crisis” to perpetuate a narrative about urban public schools. I believe in our educators and our students. Test scores are not always reflective of individual abilities, nor at a population level due to high rates of demographically-skewed opt-outs.
Per-pupil funding is our greatest source of revenue for MPS, and prioritizing enrollment is vital. Students are more than the money they bring to the district - bringing students back increases funding for all students AND creates more robust communities within our schools. We have real opportunities to do this - outreach, door knocking, partnering with MFE and other organizations, providing more Pre-K and Spanish immersion. More students in MPS means a stronger MPS for ALL students.
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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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