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On Monday, January 4, the ISD 197 school board will vote to appoint a new school board member to fill the seat vacated by newly elected Mendota Heights Mayor Stephanie Levine. The term will run until December 2021. The district sought applications from the community throughout December 2020. They received 25 applications, and 23 of those will be considered on Monday night—one applicant did not meet the age requirement and one applicant withdrew their name from consideration.
The applicants are:
- Timothy Aune
- Peter Auran
- Rebecca Bullen
- Adam Crepeau
- Daymond Dean
- Cory Engelhardt
- Daniel K. Halvorsen
- Delores Henderson
- Martha Henrickson
- Abigail Hendricks
- Marcus Hill
- Sarah Larsen
- Rita Laugerman
- Heather Leigh
- Hannah Lichtsinn
- Rachel Lew Power
- Alana Lucio Thomas
- Nicholas Lyons
- Rachel Quick
- Megan Redmond
- Lisa Rogers
- Jon Vaupel
- Brandon Wilcox
The process for nominating the new school board member looks a little different than the last time the board made a mid-term appointment (in 2016 with the appointment of current board member Maureen Ramirez). The changes are in part because of the limitations of virtual meetings. According to a memo on December 21, 2020, the board wanted to discuss altering the process because, “we decided as a group to base our decision solely on the information provided on the application.” During the last appointment, the discussion was more open-ended and not limited to only what the applicants provided on their applications. The new process was recommended by the Minnesota School Boards Association.
During the meeting, each board member will nominate one person. Then the board will discuss all candidates nominated, keeping in mind that their comments should be limited to the information provided on the application, and they should avoid making any negative comments. If there is not a nominee with a majority vote, there will be a second round of discussion with a repeated vote. If no nominee wins the majority of votes the second time, those nominees with the highest votes will be invited to interview with the board at a later date. The process is outlined on the agenda.
To watch the board meeting, tune in at 6 p.m. here. The nomination process is on the agenda for approximately 7:10 p.m.
Update: Two Finalists
Jan. 4, 2021 8:30 p.m. Update: After four applicants were nominated, the ISD 197 school board narrowed the list of applicants down to two—Daymond Dean and Marcus Hill. The school board will interview those two applicants during a public meeting, tentatively scheduled for Monday, January 11 at 6 p.m., and then vote again to fill the vacant seat.
Jan. 8, 2021 7:58 p.m. Update: The applications for Dean and Hill are available in the agenda for Monday’s school board meeting. The League of Women Voters also has details on the other applicants.
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Full disclosure: One of the applicants is the spouse of West St. Paul Reader founder and editor Kevin D. Hendricks.
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