School board candidate forum addressed key issues facing EP Schools

Candidates for Eden Prairie’s School Board shared their backgrounds, platforms, and views on key education issues at a recent public, nonpartisan forum hosted by the League of Women Voters Minnetonka-Eden Prairie-Hopkins (LWV MEH).

Topics of discussion included improving academic test scores, addressing behavioral issues, enhancing mental health support, school safety, school vouchers, and fiscal responsibility.

Ann Bradsher, John Cermak, Kim Johnson, Kim Ross, Dennis Stubbs, and Jody Ward-Rannow are running for three open seats, all for four-year terms. Ross and Stubbs, both incumbents, are seeking reelection. The third seat is being vacated by board treasurer Charles “C.J.” Strehl, who has decided not to run again.

School board candidates do not run for office with party affiliations since the school board is nonpartisan.

Candidates appeared in person at the Sept. 5 forum at Eden Prairie City Center, except for Ross, who appeared via video recordings due to having COVID-19. Cermak, who also had COVID-19 that week, was permitted to attend after meeting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. However, he was asked to socially distance and wear a mask during the forum.

About 30 people attended the forum in person, although it was also livestreamed and can be watched as a video recording from the LWV MEH website.

Sharon Borine, LWV MEH president, welcomed attendees and introduced the moderator, Deb Brinkman, who laid out ground rules.

Candidates were invited to make a one-minute opening statement. Then, each of the six candidates was asked, in rotating order, to answer the same question in one minute. Questions were submitted by the public in advance of or during the forum. Once all six had answered, the moderator moved on to the next question. Finally, each candidate made a one-minute closing statement.

Questions and answers

The candidates agreed on many issues, including the importance of academic excellence, student well-being, safety, and financial stability for the district. However, they had different takes on other issues, including school vouchers.

Some of the following questions are paraphrased for length and clarity, as are the candidates’ answers. A full version of the forum can be viewed online. Ross’ answers, given in videos posted on her Facebook page on Sept. 9, are included with the other candidates’ answers below.

Q: New Minnesota Department of Education data shows state reading and math scores remain below pre-pandemic levels. Eden Prairie Schools is slightly exceeding state averages but still lags behind pre-pandemic scores. Why do you think that is, and how will you address this?

Several candidates cited the COVID-19 pandemic as having a negative impact on math and reading scores and lauded the district’s current efforts at designing curriculum and serving students.

Cermak said he would want to examine data to get a better sense of who was most affected and determine the best way to improve things, taking into consideration cultural awareness and student demographics.

Johnson praised the district’s current efforts but suggested that the district should hire more interventionists.

Ross said this data came from the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, a moment-in-time snapshot and not the only measure of student achievement. She said the district has done much to help students improve and that third grade reading levels are a key metric.

Ward-Rannow said it was vital to understand each family’s unique experience with school curriculum, as well as to ask the district questions about how curriculum impacts students who don’t fit the average profile.

Stubbs said that not all students have the same starting point and that it is important to recognize each child’s unique needs so no one is left behind.

Bradsher said kids need to be in school five days a week and that schools should reduce student technology use in favor of using more pencils and paper.

Q: Do you support school vouchers, and what are the values behind your position?

Johnson requested clarification about what school vouchers are. The moderator replied that they provide state financial support for children to enroll in schools outside of the public school system.

Johnson and Stubbs said they supported school vouchers and that families should be able to choose where they want to send their children to school, although Stubbs added that he would prefer families to stay in Eden Prairie Schools.

Bradsher said she did not significantly oppose school vouchers if there was a good reason for leaving, citing concerns over incidents at the Class of 2024 graduation that made her question keeping one of her children in the district. However, she supported keeping funds within the district to improve education in Eden Prairie Schools.

Cermak said he did not necessarily agree with school vouchers since they divert money from public schools into private schools and other institutions. He supported keeping public funding in public schools but said he understood the desire for school choice.

Ward-Rannow said she did not support school vouchers since they take money that could be spent to improve EP Schools. She said that as a school board member, she would listen to anyone choosing to leave the district to find solutions to convince them to stay and keep resources in EP Schools.

Ross said that although she supported the right to choose a school via open enrollment, she did not support school vouchers. She said school vouchers siphon public funding from public schools to support private and parochial schools that do not have to meet state standards, provide special education services, or conduct standardized testing.

Q: If Eden Prairie Schools were to face a budget shortfall, what changes would you recommend to make up for it? How would you accomplish this without larger class sizes or teacher layoffs?

Stubbs praised how the district’s finance team has managed the budget, including the terms of the latest teacher contract. He did not address how he would handle a potential budget shortfall.

Ward-Rannow also applauded the district’s financial team for managing the budget. However, she said she has heard the district is currently top-heavy with administrative roles and would first look there for efficiencies.

Bradsher said she would focus on needs versus wants. She said she valued supporting workers over making aesthetic changes to buildings or updating playground equipment that seemed perfectly functional.

Cermak said he felt the district has been extremely fiscally responsible. However, like Bradsher, he advocated for weighing needs versus wants, with taking care of staff as a high priority.

Ross said that because state funding has lagged behind inflation since the early 2000s, the district’s five-year financial plan for stability involves spending down its reserve. She said the district has estimates but not final numbers on how much unfunded mandates, such as the Read Act, will cost the district. Ross did not address how she would handle a potential shortfall.

Johnson said the school’s finance team was thorough and transparent and had the public’s trust. She agreed about weighing needs versus wants and suggested looking for additional sources of revenue through community partnerships.

Q: Recently, EP Schools purchased the former SuperValu UNFI facility. Please comment on your understanding of the long-range plans for the use of this facility for the educational benefit of students.

Ward-Rannow said she understood the building would primarily be used for the TASSEL Transition program. She said the Foundation for Eden Prairie Schools has an office there and that the district planned to use additional space for potential community uses, including rentals, and for future program expansion.

Bradsher said she had very limited knowledge about the building purchase. However, she said she supported TASSEL getting a bigger space because it would allow the district to provide more opportunities for special needs students and their families.

Cermak said the purchase supported inclusion and belonging, aligning with the district’s strategic plan goals, as an investment in opportunities and infrastructure for special needs students.

Johnson said she supported the purchase because she is committed to high-quality, equitable education and inspiring every student. She said she also supported having another opportunity to partner with the community and conduct outreach, as well as gaining additional space to explore expanding the curriculum with experiential and hands-on learning.

Stubbs said that as a current board member, he was privy to information about future plans that he could not share. However, he said the property purchase was an excellent value for the school district and that there was great potential for the space.

Ross said the new commercial space would house the TASSEL program, as well as provide a conference space for professional development that could also be rented out. She said the space could also be used for labs, Capstone coursework, personalized learning at all grade levels, and other innovative programming. She said the purchase was a smart and exciting financial move by the district.

Q: After recent large expenditures made by the school district without taxpayer input, please explain your views on how the school board can improve transparency and open communication between the board and all stakeholders, including taxpayers who do not have children in school.

Candidates said they believed the school board needed to be as transparent as reasonably possible and keep open communication with families. However, they recognized that the need to protect sensitive information meant the board could not always share things publicly.

Candidates also stressed the need for the community to elect candidates they could trust.

Ross said she was unsure which large expenditures this question was referring to. She said the budgeting process was already extremely transparent and that it was constantly discussed at board meetings, all recorded and publicly available on the district’s website.

Ward-Rannow said that it was a two-way street and the community had a responsibility to be involved and aware of publicly available information.

Bradsher added that the community should attend school board meetings and that the district should send paper mailings with budget and line items to people who might not be comfortable using the internet.

Q: Over the past several years, the district has received community feedback expressing a need for students to spend more time outdoors and at recess. How will you ensure the district implements changes in response to this feedback?

Candidates agreed on the importance of more outdoor time and physical activity for students at all grade levels.

Stubbs advocated for less screen time and increased use of paper-based assignments. He said the board receives a lot of communication from concerned families about excessive screen time, especially at the elementary level. He said his board subcommittee tried to enact a policy protecting human-to-human interaction. Although the board voted against it, he said he would keep fighting for this.

Johnson advocated for more hands-on, experiential learning where students could be physically active. However, she said she trusted the superintendent was ensuring the current curriculum met state standards and that as a board member she would ask the right questions.

Cermak said that although technology fluency is important, outdoor time is key for mental health and social interaction, especially for middle and high school students. He said he would like the district to take a more progressive approach to get kids away from screens and outside.

Bradsher agreed that experiential learning and outdoor activity were important. She said that while outdoor time is key, it must also be monitored and supervised due to safety risks, such as bullying at recess. She added that she hoped the extra administrators hired by the district would ensure a safer environment.

Ross said it was important to assess the goal of additional outdoor time and ensure that it fits into the curriculum requirements. She said kids also go outside for reasons other than recess, such as during a science class.

Ward-Rannow said increased outdoor activity would help improve students’ ability to concentrate on academics. She said that as a school board member, she would advocate for reviewing available options for increased outdoor time.

Q: Regarding banning or restricting certain books from school libraries, how do you believe the school board should approach challenges such as parental rights related to the selection of books in schools?

Several candidates expressed confusion at this question, pointing out that the Minnesota State Legislature has passed a law making it illegal to ban books in public schools and public libraries. However, they all still answered the question.

Everyone said they were against banning books, and each expanded on their answer.

Bradsher, Cermak, Ross, and Ward-Rannow said it was important to provide students access to books and that meaningful family conversations could be had if there were questions about a particular book.

Johnson said the community has to trust school librarians to select age-appropriate books for the shelves, but if something is questionable, the school board should bring many voices to the table to examine and collectively respond to it.

As a board member, Stubbs said he has never heard a complaint about a school library book. While books should be available for kids to discover, he said he did not want the school to promote or direct students to any particular reading material. However, he added that even though it’s not his role as a school board member to get involved with book selection, if there were deeply inappropriate material, such as pornography, he would intervene.

Q: Each time a tragic school shooting occurs in our country, there are calls for increased safety measures in schools. Are additional safeguards being planned right now, and what actions would you support the school board taking to increase safety in our schools?

Cermak said EP Schools has a great facilities and safety department. However, in the current climate, he said, he worries every day about his children going to school and thinks everyone else worries about their kids, too. He said he would support additional resources and initiatives to increase safety.

Bradsher said she wanted school security guards to be given full authority to protect students’ physical health and emotional safety. She said that while volunteering at Eden Prairie High School, she was verbally abused by a student she had accidentally bumped into, but that a school security staff member said he was not able to discipline that particular student. She said it was vital to keep and empower school security teams.

As a school board member, Ward-Rannow said she would prioritize building trusting relationships and a sense of community between schools and families. She said that last year, violent threats made against Central Middle School (CMS) created fear and confusion. She said debriefs from the district and stronger trust between staff and families would help reassure families.

Stubbs said the schools are safe and the district does a good job training and preparing with the Eden Prairie Police Department, but some strategic information can’t be publicly shared. He said that when something does happen, such as a threat or a lockdown, the board gets closed-session debriefs about it.

Johnson said it was vital that staff be trained and equipped to follow the correct protocol in any emergency. She added that she has heard of violence occurring in school hallways and wanted to ensure the district holds accountable anyone jeopardizing the safety and protocols of the school district.

Ross said that in terms of physical safety, the district is continually updating security protocols and infrastructure and has a strong relationship with the Eden Prairie Police Department. She said that for emotional safety, the emphasis is on fostering relationships between students and staff through initiatives like small class sizes and consistent engagement with the same teachers, deans, and counselors over a period of years.

Q: Eden Prairie Schools face student behavioral issues, both in and out of the classroom. What will you do to address student behavior issues to enable an environment conducive to learning?

Bradsher said respect needs to be restored in schools and that the handbook should be enforced. She stressed a need for clear guidelines, expectations, and consequences. She said the current board is not effectively following through on behavioral issues and needs to demand that the superintendent, principals, and administrators enforce rules and consequences.

Ward-Rannow said that as a board member, she would oversee the superintendent, ensuring his staff enforces rules. She added that it is the board’s job to ask for incident reports to understand how incidents were handled and safety issues were addressed. She said she would also ask questions to ensure the district considers all options to increase safety.

Stubbs said that student behavior is a major concern and that the school board has received “hundreds and hundreds” of emails from the community about it. He said he has told the superintendent and administrators that behavior is casting a shadow and scarring the district’s positive accomplishments. He also said he has witnessed behavioral incidents and that the biggest problem is the need for better enforcement of the handbook.

Ross said schools nationwide have faced behavior issues in the aftermath of COVID-19, and students have had to relearn structure. She emphasized the importance of relationships so staff can try to understand the root causes of student issues instead of meting out punishment regardless of a student’s personal situation. She said the board is also polling students for their opinions.

Johnson stated the importance of classroom safety and said disruptive behavior affects learning and stresses teachers. She said clear behavior expectations, consequences, and accountability are key. She suggested adding community service within the school district as a consequence for behavior infractions. She also suggested consulting students for possible solutions to these issues.

Cermak said a friend of his, who was a student supervisor at Central Middle School, said the same children were not going to class but instead were disrupting the halls in different areas at the same time every day. Cermak said existing handbook policies should have stopped this, but there was a lack of accountability and consistency in enforcement. He said the district should enforce consistent consequences, regardless of who is causing issues.

Q: How would you improve communication and transparency about fighting incidents and other disruptive behaviors occurring in Eden Prairie Schools?

Bradsher said that due to student privacy laws, the district cannot and should not share everything with the community. However, as a parent, she wants to know what happened whenever she hears about an incident at school. She said clear expectations and enforcing consequences are vital. She added that she does not care about a student’s race, creed, or reason for inflicting violence on another student. If a student is struggling with mental health issues, the district should provide support.

Ward-Rannow, an employment lawyer who covers privacy issues, said privacy rules are not necessarily as broad as EP Schools claims. She said that while the district cannot disclose identifiable student information, it could communicate more openly with the community to help people feel safer. She added that as a board member, she would use her expertise to ask important questions about how to enhance safety.

Cermak said he was unsure if it was legal, but he would suggest appointing student or staff liaisons to advise the school board and keep them informed about what is happening in school hallways and classrooms. He said many parents have kids who come home from school with stories about bullying and violence. He said an advocate who feels connected to the board could deliver transparent information.

Ross said out-of-school suspension data, which is publicly available, represents some of the most egregious violence and discipline issues. She said that last year, 244 students received out-of-school suspensions, which is less than 10% of the high school population. She said that the schools alone could not solve the problems and that there had to be a partnership between students, staff, and families.

Johnson said while she respected student confidentiality, consistent communication from the district to families was important. She said when her children were in school, parents would receive an email or other notification if an incident happened. She said this reassured families and struck the right balance between keeping people informed and protecting privacy.

Stubbs said students are told to be safe, kind, and responsible, and he would add respect and obedience. He said it was important to find root causes of behavior issues while also being culturally aware, but that regardless, poor behavior cannot be allowed to disrupt learning. He said he did not support expulsions but, if necessary, the district would remove and help students to ensure other kids can learn.

Q: What will you do as a school board member to ensure that mental health is addressed and supported financially in our schools?

Cermak said well-being was a top priority for him and recommended allocating resources, money, people, administration, and professionals to help students and prevent mental health crises. He said it was a good start that every school building had at least one licensed mental health professional.

Ross said health and well-being are pillars of the district’s strategic plan, and a model is in place where certain administrators and counselors will loop with students to provide consistency. She said the school cannot provide clinical treatment but can help connect families with mental health resources. She said there needs to be a partnership between students, staff, and families. She also said staff mental health is important.

Johnson said mental health was an “everybody” concern. She said the district needed to equip teachers to help students. This would include providing teachers with comprehensive education to identify mental health triggers, mental health-specific coping mechanisms, and resources and connections to help families and students.

Stubbs agreed that mental health was a huge concern in schools and the entire community. He praised the work he had seen EP Schools staff doing around mental health, including creating relaxed classroom environments.

Ward-Rannow said helping with mental health should be a community-wide solution and that the burden should not be on teachers. She suggested that the district could partner with organizations that have expertise in mental health and offer educational resources.

Bradsher said the school board could reassess the budget and identify mental health support as an absolute need versus want. She suggested reallocating funds in future years to increase mental health advisors within schools, since mental health issues can be debilitating. She said if a student is struggling, a clear protocol for accessing help and available resources is needed for both teachers and peers.