Tag: westonka school board election

Vote on Tuesday November 7!

If you’re in the Westonka school district there’s a whopper of a reason to get to the polls on Tuesday, November 7: Nearly $200 MILLION DOLLARS of debt, which includes MORE THAN $77 MILLION DOLLARS in interest alone on the new facilities $93.4M bond question #2.

Property taxes will be rising, regardless of the Westonka referendum, given both Minnetrista and Mound have indicated double digit percentage increases for their 2024 tax levies.

Also on the ballot are four school board seats. There is only one “parent endorsed” candidate on the Westonka ballot, endorsed by the Minnesota Parents Alliance in their voter guide. Voters do not need to cast four votes if they don’t support four candidates. Voters may cast just one vote for school board if they wish and their ballot will still be valid and counted.

GET OUT AND VOTE!
Tuesday, November 7
Polls are open 7am to 8pm:

Westonka Educational Service Center, 5901 Sunnyfield Road E, Minnetrista, for voters in Independence P-01, Minnetrista P-1, Mound P-1, Mound P-2 and Orono P-03.

St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2451 Fairview Lane, Mound, for voters in Minnetrista P-4, Mound P-3, Mound P-4, Shorewood P-1 and Spring Park P-01.

Use the pollfinder if you’re unsure of your precinct.

Call for Westonka School Board candidates!

Today, August 1, is the first day candidates for Westonka School Board can file to be on the ballot for the upcoming election. Early, absentee voting begins Friday, September 22 with Election Day on Tuesday, November 7.

There are currently four seats on the board up for election and it’s critical to find competent, parent-supporting, fiscally responsible candidates focused on academic improvement. According to the MN Department of Education Score Card, Westonka schools have shown a continuous decline, since 2019, in the number of students meeting standards in math. Westonka’s students are also performing worse today than they were in 2018 in all three core areas of math, reading, and science.

School board members meet once each month and are currently paid $2,400 annually. If you’d like to contribute to the betterment of our community and our childrens’ future, please consider running.

Below is the election filing information from the Westonka website:

  • 2023 School Board ElectionFiling to be a candidate for school board in the November 2023 Westonka school board election will open Tuesday, Aug. 1 and will close Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 5 p.m. at the Westonka Educational Service Center.
  • In order to be a candidate for school board, an individual must be eligible to vote in Minnesota, be at least 21 years old, and be a resident of the Westonka School District for at least 30 days by the time of the Nov. 7 election.
  • If You Are Interested in Running for School Board
    • Information packets will be available beginning July 24 at the Westonka Educational Service Center, Suite A.Candidates may file Monday through Friday Aug. 1-15 during regular business hours (8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.). Filing will close Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 5 p.m. Prospective candidates need to file a notarized Affidavit of Candidacy and a $2 filing fee. There is usually a notary available at the district office; however, please confirm prior to arriving.
    • Affidavits of Candidacy and the filing fee can be filed at Suite A of the Westonka Educational Service Center, 5901 Sunnyfield Road E, Minnetrista.
    Westonka elects half of the school board every two years during an odd-year election. This year filing will be open for four four-year terms. The seats currently held by Kelle Bowe, Ralph Harrison, Heidi Marty and Brian Roath will be up for election.
  • For more information about serving on the school board, contact Superintendent Kevin Borg, borgk@westonka.k12.mn.us. For information on filing or to confirm a notary will be available, contact Emily Labuz, administrative assistant, labuze@westonka.k12.mn.us or (952) 491-8007.

Vote NOW for Westonka school board!

This school board election is one of the most important votes you will ever cast and will determine the curriculum and values taught to our students for years to come.

There is literally NO EXCUSE not to vote. You can vote any weekday between now and the official “election day” of November 2 by going to the school district offices (doesn’t matter what precinct you’re in) at 5902 Sunnyfield Rd. E, Minnetrista. Bring an ID with you because technically this is absentee voting, but it’s “no excuse absentee voting”. Between Oct. 26 and election day the process is a bit more simple and voters can feed their ballot directly into the voting machine intead of putting it in a sealed envelope to be processed by the absentee ballot board.

Challengers to the school board incumbents are:

Rachael Myers: https://www.facebook.com/RachaelMyersforWestonka email: rachm82@hotmail.com
Dr. Gregory Snyder: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100073424764260 email: greg@snyderemail.com
Kathleen Olesinski: https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen-Olesinski-for-Westonka-School-Board-108677431555264
Katie Holt: https://www.facebook.com/holt4westonka/

The above challengers are focused on education, not politics, and making sure our students get the skills they need to become productive adults in our communities. In my opinion any of them would be preferrable to the incumbents below. GET OUT AND VOTE!

Current school board incumbent candidates (running again) are:

Brian Carlson: Unable to locate candidate FB page or website at time of publishing
Loren Davis: Unable to locate candidate FB page or website at time of publishing
Gary Wollner: Unable to locate candidate FB page or website at time of publishing