MPR: Race Profile: St. Paul School Board

Campaign 2001

Race Profile: St. Paul School Board
By Tim Pugmire
Minnesota Public Radio
October 15, 2001
Part of MPR's online coverage of Campaign 2001

Real Audio

New faces on the St. Paul school board could bring new challenges to Superintendent Pat Harvey and her wide ranging school reform efforts. Six candidates are running for the three school board seats on the November 6th ballot, and only one incumbent is seeking re-election.

. Becky Montgomery, the chairwoman of the school board, is running for a fourth four-year term. But her re-election bid comes without endorsements she's previously enjoyed from the DFL Party and the St. Paul Federation of Teachers.

Board members Mary Thornton Phillips and Gilbert de la O are not seeking re-election. Becky Montgomery, the chairwoman of the school board, is running for a fourth four-year term. But her re-election bid comes without endorsements she's previously enjoyed from the DFL Party and the St. Paul Federation of Teachers. She's faced harsh criticism over her support of Superintendent Pat Harvey's tough accountability measures, including a controversial 1999 board decision to place 11 low performing schools on academic probation. Montgomery defended that action at a recent candidate forum.

"The purpose of putting schools on academic probation was to get those schools, and in particular the teachers, additional resources and training and data necessary so that they could develop school improvement plans and improve their curriculum, and thereby improve student achievement. And I'm really pleased to say that has worked," Montgomery said.

The three candidates who did win the DFL and teachers endorsements are John Brodrick, Toni Carter and Elona Street-Stewart. Local Republicans endorsed Georgia Dietz and Carol Hugley. All five challengers are campaigning on the need for change, and they offer a variety of criticisms of the current administration.

Despite district boasts of rising test scores, students of color in St. Paul are falling further behind their white classmates. Elona Street-Stewart, an administrator for the Presbyterian Church USA, says that's one of the main reasons she's running for school board.

"I think that the achievement gap between those students who are doing well and those that are not is absolutely unacceptable and unconscionable in St. Paul. I want to ensure that the education students get from St. Paul schools will prepare them to reach their full potential," Street-Stewart says. Several candidates are also critical of the size of the district administration, and Harvey's creation of "area superintendents." Toni Carter, a part-time teacher, actor and arts education consultant, says the leadership structure needs reconsideration.

"To the extent that our area superintendents continue to be perceived and are actually another buffer or level of complexity between our communities, our schools and our district, then they are not helpful," says Carter.

St. Paul voters passed a five-year, $105 million levy referendum last fall, but school finances remain a top concern in the district. John Brodrick, a retired St. Paul teacher, says he wants to get adequate funding for special education. "We all know that both the federal and state governments need to be reminded that they must support their own mandates and recognize the special needs of our school district and in particular it's special needs of special education in our school district," Broderick says.

Carol Hugley, a teaching assistant who ran unsuccessfully two years ago, says she wants to improve the relationship between the district administration and the teacher union.

"Any time there's a problem with the schools, it's not the teachers' fault. It could be the school board of the administration. And we need to pay our teachers. The teachers teach our children, not the administrator," Hugley says.

The candidate promising to make the most waves is Georgia Dietz, a former teacher who owns a residential cleaning service. She says the school district's central office needs a house cleaning.

"I know there's a lot of programs in St. Paul. We also have a lot of waste. I think there's a lot of administration that could be cut at 360 Colborne and our students would never really know the difference," she says.

School board members in St. Paul oversee a more than $500 million budget. The state's second largest school district has 44,000 students and nearly 7,000 employees.

Toni Carter, a part-time teacher, actor and arts education consultant, says the leadership structure needs reconsideration.

John Brodrick, a retired St. Paul teacher, says he wants to get adequate funding for special education.

Carol Hugley, a teaching assistant who ran unsuccessfully two years ago, says she wants to improve the relationship between the district administration and the teacher union.<

The candidate promising to make the most waves is Georgia Dietz, a former teacher who owns a residential cleaning service.

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