I can still recount the very moment a few years ago my mentor, Dale Brandsoy, walked into my office and put down in front me the list of Superintendent competencies. This also happened to be my first year as a Principal, so I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by placing that piece of paper in front me. However, the light bulb clicked and I realized his intentions - for me to return to school to get my Superintendent’s license. I distinctly recall taking my pointer finger, placing it firmly on that paper, and sliding it right back across to him and telling him, “Absolutely not - no way, never gonna happen.” Well, never say never. I think what made me hesitate the most was not quite understanding the entire governance model of a school district. I knew Superintendents and Board Members worked very closely together, but beyond that, I wasn’t sure what it entailed. 

Fast forward to a few years later - proving myself wrong yet again by saying never - and enjoying yet another School Board Recognition Week. This has undoubtedly been one of the areas I have learned most about, and enjoyed most, from the office of the Superintendent. I can’t really say that over the years Social Studies was my favorite subject area. As such, I hadn’t really enjoyed studying governance models in high school and college. Yet that is exactly what my career entails today - working with school district governance. And, I couldn’t be more humbled by the dedication and hours contributed from these individuals who I have had the honor to work alongside during my tenure as Superintendent. 

School Board members are elected or appointed to make decisions on behalf of the entire student body. They are responsible for, to a list a few examples:

Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;

Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;

Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;

Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;

Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;

Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and

Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.


School Boards achieve the above tasks by attending monthly meetings, committee meetings, work sessions, attending professional development, and studying board packets all in attempt to do what is best for our children and our communities. They put forth countless hours to understand current issues, trends, and questions facing our youth today. Without their dedication to public education, we would not have the quality public schools that we do, and our students would not enjoy the many opportunities before them. 

It takes strong schools to build a strong community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child learn at a higher level. They make the tough decisions every month and spend many hours studying education issues and regulations in order to provide the kind of accountability our citizens expect. That is why we extend our gratitude to our Blue Earth Area School Board Members: Susan Benz, Frankie Bly, Sara Hauskins, Stacey Beyer, Kyle Zierke, Susan Rosenau, and Jeff Eckles. We also salute school board members all across this great state of Minnesota. 

 Strong Schools = Strong Communities, and we simply could not do this without the efforts of the BEA School Board Members, and for that, we thank you all!