10/20/2022
Submitted to Union Times 10-14-22
Family:
I have been married to my husband Chip for 42 years. We have 3 grown kids and 4 grandchildren. My 3 granddaughters open enroll in Princeton and they are all in the high school this year. My grandson is just 14 months but will be a future Princeton Tiger!
Education:
I graduated high school from Anoka Senior High. Later in life I went back to school to pursue an accounting degree. I went to MN School of Business and graduated with an associate degree in Management Accounting.
Current Occupation:
In April I will celebrate my 25th year working at Steinbrecher Painting Company in Princeton as their Business Manager.
Previous elected, appointed or volunteer positions:
I was first elected to the Princeton School Board in 1993. I have lost a couple of elections along the way which took me off the board for about 3ish years all together. Let’s just say - lots of years on the board.
I have done lots of volunteer work over the years including the Food Pantry Board, Interfaith Care Givers board and the Princeton Chamber of Commerce board.
I currently am on the deacon board at New Life Church. I have chaired for many years on the board of World Harvest Ministries International. They are a nonprofit mission minded organization that currently has Missionary Training Schools in Nicaragua and Senegal, Africa.
1. What motivates you to want to become a school board member?
What motivates me to continue as a school board member is my desire to be involved in the community I live in and wanting to make a difference. What better place to do that than being on a school board and being able to invest my time and talents into kids!
2. Every board and organization benefits by having individuals with varying skills and expertise. How might you contribute and add value to the board and district?
I bring experience and history to the board table through my prior school board terms. I bring a willingness to work with everyone - not just those who are like me or believe in the same things I do. I bring a genuine desire to see kids succeed while in school and after they leave us.
3. What do you see as the board’s roles and responsibilities?
A board members role is to be an advocate for kids. Our responsibilities are to hire a great superintendent, oversee budgets and make good financial decisions that support our mission, create good policies in which the district is governed by and to be an advocate at the federal, state and local level for legislation that benefits kids.
4. What are the major challenges facing the school district in the next year and beyond? How do you think the school board should address these challenges?
I believe the most important issue facing us like every other school district in our Nation is recovering from the pandemic both academically and emotionally. I think everyone was affected negatively one way or another by the pandemic. It was a stressful time for all of us - so full of unknowns.
Distance learning / hybrid learning models did not serve our kids well. I don’t believe it is because distance learning is bad but distance learning in combination with all the stress of a pandemic was bad for kids. It was bad for staff - it was bad for parents - it was bad for everyone. So now we find ourselves in need of making up for lost time. What we need to do and are doing here in Princeton is dig into the data to see where our holes are at and start to implement strategies to patch them up. The school board’s role is to support our staff and provide the necessary resources/time to accomplish that.
5. How can the board and its members be accessible to the community?
As board members I believe we are accessible to the community. We live here, we shop here, we go to church here, we attend games, meets and fine art activities here. Our phone numbers and emails are easily accessed on the district website. Our board meetings are public meetings so anyone can attend, give a citizen comment or talk to a board member before or after a meeting.
