Questions from Parents

Short answer: A listening ear, a long-term stake, the habit of doing the work, and 15+ years of making sure the numbers are right.

I bring a listening ear, first and most. I am eager for you to have this experience first-hand.

I bring a long-term stake. My kids are in 4th and 2nd grade this year, and both have attended Forest Lake Area Schools since before Pre-K; they were heavily involved in ECFE thanks to my wife Jenny. My kids have told me they want to stay in this district. I am leaning into that, and bringing the full weight of my experience and education to bear in a way that can support better outcomes for all kids. I will earn your trust. You will never have to wonder whether you should have voted for me; the track record I establish will answer that for you.

I lean into doing the work. I sit on the district's Policy Advisory and Curriculum Committees, I served on the Lino Lakes Elementary principal selection committee, I attend community events, I've built relationships with building and district administrators, and I throw as much support as I can behind the great teachers who are doing the education work. I had a full calendar year to think about running before the time came; I used it to get to know the people doing the work across the district.

Professionally, I have 15+ years in finance and financial operations, building and running the systems that make sure the numbers are right. Today I'm a Senior Principal Data Engineer in the finance organization of a Fortune 5 company; I'm one of three engineers who build and run a multi-million-dollar platform the business depends on to get its numbers right. Accuracy and getting-it-right are the daily discipline; a wrong number costs real money and there is no room to be wrong.

I have a propensity toward learning and an ability to assimilate information quickly. I research, I generate data or insights (formal or informal), I share what I learn with the people impacted, and we convene about the real implications of the question "as it stands." I use knowledge to advise my decision-making, and I encourage others to seek understanding and let facts and data inform theirs. Knowledge was made to be shared; my role is to unlock tacit knowledge and make it explicit, durable, and permanent.

I will bring families with me into every meeting. "How does it end?" and "Is this good for families?" are my guiding principles; questions that can be applied across the board as a litmus test for whether something will be well-received, is not a good idea, or needs enhanced communication in order to be understood well in the community.

Integrity and authenticity: you will not need to question what I'm thinking, and it will be directly reflective of the parent and community voice. I'm not afraid to learn, to do deep research, to check work, to have my work checked, to grow, and to share knowledge. These are the hallmarks of a leader who asks people to come along on a collaborative journey; not one who steamrolls through a political process to achieve an agenda.

Short answer: Lean the board into community, connect our schools to each other, give students low-cost ways to explore what's next and real experience before they graduate, protect music, and measure what we try.

Start where the kids are: elementary schools leaning into community. PTA and PTO participation, absolutely, but let's think bigger. I've heard how supportive the board collectively used to be: polar plunges, showing up at fundraisers, generating ideas and helping implement them. I believe the board can operate from a place of "come along leadership"; our participation sets the tone for district leadership to signal to the whole school community. I see an opportunity to collaborate with local businesses on ideas like a "School Betterment Day," where local contractors, donations, and community members come together to achieve an end goal. It could be classical, like finding a way to save money building a playground the way we used to as a community; this was part of my platform before Scandia and Columbus executed exactly that this summer, and they set the precedent for how it can be done. Or, for a place like Lino or Linwood with significant outdoor footprints, a Trail Maintenance Day where community experts lead the improvement under careful controls and guidance. It's all achievable; we just have to have the collective willpower to exercise creativity collaboratively.

Cross-pollination between our schools, and a unified student experience. Our buildings are full of learning acceleration and innovation that never leaves the building it started in. Cross-pollination between schools on learning acceleration and innovation, on information and knowledge sharing, and on consulting across the system. Scaffold that with an undertaking that unifies the student experience across grade levels at different buildings, and it becomes something bigger than any one school: a district identity. I support it fully.

Curated micro-learning for exploring what's next. I'd like to see kids introduced to structured micro-learning earlier; the shape of it gets worked out with the committees and the curriculum director, but here is the idea. Example: we offer an agriculture class over a semester. A student isn't sure if it interests them and isn't sure how to research it; we offer them introductory topical videos or a blog about what the course is about, with citations and links for deeper learning, before they decide to spend credit hours on it. Smaller, faster micro-curriculums catered to a topic at a certain precision (say Trades → Auto Mechanic): vetted, researched, potentially multi-media, delivered to the student so they can explore. Low/no cost, low commitment, never required. This is the unifier: curated knowledge delivered to students, timely and intentionally. These are the decisions they will have to make about their own development after leaving our system; we should give them the research methods now. Where it goes from there: the same curated approach becomes the front door to the experience-augmentation work below, so a student can explore a field in an afternoon, try it for real in a semester, and graduate with documented hours in it; and every step is measured, so we know what worked. That is the launching point.

Experience augmentation in high school, through community and business partnership. Not another PSEO, and not a PSEO alternative; a practicum-like experience where students get to conduct the work of the discipline they are exploring, or approximate it as closely as possible. This could be observational in a setting like healthcare delivery, more hands-on in a trade or in computer work, or a hybrid in the case of a small business. With any technology-aware and self-aware district, the opportunity is here to introduce advanced entrepreneurship, at a college-like level, in high school. This is another area where community creativity and inputs could be prioritized; the main point is still to do as much as we can with as little as is required, not to increase spend.

Polymathic education: teach the layers. The notion that "digital" and "mechanical" are separate silos, and that you can make a career out of one versus the other, is antiquated. We have to teach layered thinking; the ability to move in and out of digital and non-digital spaces. Protect the STEM and Trade pathways, de-silo them, and enhance current offerings with robust program supports before and after. Not for the prestige of an academic program, but to make kids who are highly self-sufficient problem-solvers. Parents have been saying a version of this for years, in a lot of different words: kids need to be resilient. I think the need underneath it is simpler. We give kids the quiet confidence that their effort is what moves things, so that when help does arrive it is a gift and not an expectation. Call it the shift from expectation to effort.

Protect and grow music, at every level. Continued protection for music programming across all levels, namely through protection of funds and opportunity, and an increase in engagement with music in the broader community. In addition, enhancing "advanced opportunities" in the music arts at the high school strategically, through the right partnerships. I come at this as a musician who has played for thousands of people across festivals, churches, bars, and band tournaments, and who got into recording and production in the years right after high school. Those experiences were transformational for me, and at the time they were basically relegated to college-level training. This is one area we can both protect and enhance. We keep and protect the music structures in place today, which are critical to how a good many kids unlock creativity and find a deeper sense of identity and belonging; and I believe our exceptional music programs can be given additional tooling that unlocks another distinction for Forest Lake.

Technology is a tool, not a lifestyle, while also chasing leadership in technology capabilities at the high school level. The full treatment is in Question 8.

Data-driven decision-making. I'll push for the district to lead in gathering meaningful longitudinal data in support of the programs and approaches we take: implementations and programming designed around the need to prove whether a program has been effective, using just-in-time data points gathered from student surveys, teacher surveys, competency measures at strategic points in time, and aggregation and reporting that shows the effect of the choices that were made. Prove the results and make them available more broadly as proof of success. Use the data to celebrate victories, make adjustments where things are less effective than expected, or end something that simply isn't being proven to work.

Short answer: I'm not a special-education parent and I'm not an expert; I'm learning it in the open, with the people who do the work, and I'll protect the staffing and funding that SpEd quality depends on.

I'll be straight about where I am. I am not a special-education parent, and I do not take my familiarity through friendships with teachers and paras for granted; it is incumbent on me to learn and be able to function clearly in this space. I met the President of FLAEP, the association that represents our paraprofessionals, behavior intervention specialists, and health office staff, about three weeks ago, and she has given me things to attend, consider, and listen in on in the near future to further acclimate myself to the special-education space specifically.

Some things I'm looking at right now, brought forward by a community member: Minnesota Statutes section 120B.122 (the dyslexia specialist requirement) and chapter 125A (special-education programming and oversight, and its implications); technology access for students in need, where the case example was dyslexic learners; and the special-education reading curriculum standards. I'm also doing informational learning on the Orton-Gillingham approach and how it is used today; several of its core tenets are embedded at the elementary level, and I know less about the specific special-education implications. I've gone through 125A and 120B and I'll keep reading. This is ongoing learning. I am no expert, and I don't think this seat needs an expert; it needs a listener with a high aptitude for learning and knowledge assimilation, and I'm willing to say that openly.

For the community: the district's Special Education Advisory Council (SEAC) is hosting a Family Education Night on Special Education IEP Basics, with guest speakers from the PACER Center, on Monday, September 14, 2026, 6:00 to 7:30 PM, in the Forest Lake High School Media Center. Topics include how to read and understand your child's IEP, parent rights in the special-education process, and the supports and resources available to students and families. I'll be there to listen, and I'd love to talk with any and all of you who want to, there.

On the money: Special Education is this district's single largest program category at $3,192 per student; federal dollars cover $236 of it. The other 92% is carried by state and local funds, and Minnesota's statewide cross-subsidy has grown from $1.8B to $2.7B in five years, with a $250M cut trigger now live at the legislature. Federal Medicaid cost-shifting puts school nurse, OT, PT, and speech reimbursements at further risk. I won't pretend a board member controls Congress or St. Paul; what a board controls is how it plans and what it protects. That means budgeting for the cross-subsidy as a known structural fact rather than an annual surprise, and treating mandated services as last in line for cuts when uncertainty hits, not first.

It also means protecting the people who deliver those services; SpEd quality is staffing. Paras, behavior intervention specialists, and health office staff are losing to retail and clinics on pay and hours right now. What I'll push for is concrete, inside a budget that can carry it: wage floors benchmarked to the local labor market, benefit-eligible hours, paid training before day one, safety reporting that produces visible follow-through, and time-to-fill and vacancy data reported to the board on a cadence.

I'm endorsed by FLEA, the teachers' association, and by FLAEP, the association that represents the paraprofessionals, behavior intervention specialists, and health office staff who do this work every day. I am right with and behind all of these professionals.

ISD 831 already had the right answer in its own policy and history. Explicit bans on hate symbols were added after a documented 1997 racial assault on school grounds, and our superintendent and high school principal both said to keep them. The board changed the policy anyway. What has kept those protections usefully in effect since then is building leadership, not the board; and nobody explained to families what had actually changed until after the community had already reacted. The problem was not only the decision; it was that the communication never articulated what actually changed. Decisions like that should start with the people doing the work, not end with them finding out from a policy vote.

The same principle applies to student-led spaces. Clubs like Open Minds serve LGBTQ+ students and students with IEPs and disabilities alike, and the research links them to better attendance, mental health, and academic outcomes. I have personally observed it: these are safe places where kids have a more "open arms" view of others, and they carry that into spaces that aren't a club event; they welcome and include people immediately. I've witnessed this multiple times, first-hand, this past school year; we could all learn something from those kids, and I did. The club restructure went through. Reputational damage was done by how it was approached; at the end of it, the students are still protected. In future, I'll work to protect student-led club access at every grade level and, where possible, enhance its accessibility and appeal.

Staff safety is student safety. For behavior intervention specialists and paras especially, injury and assault reporting has to produce visible follow-through. If reporting changes nothing, people stop reporting, and then they leave. This population of educators is one of the most engaged groups; they are also the one at most significant personal risk during their daily work, and we must acknowledge that reality with protections that address the root problems.

On anything that touches protected community history or identity, the board's job is to listen to the superintendent, staff, and community before acting; not after a walkout or a packed meeting forces a retreat.

On bullying, discipline, and building security specifically: I'm not going to hand you a policy I haven't earned yet. I am interested, and I am pursuing lines of questioning through the proper channels that enhance my understanding; when I can say more, I will say it here.

Email me at andiforschoolboard@gmail.com or use the form on this site. I have already opened my door to, and responded to, parents who have contacted me. I am a citizen now, not a board member; I should hear from citizens and parents about their concerns, and I may someday be able to bring those to the table. My years of business experience taught me to close the loop on open items; if I don't have the answer, I'll tell you that, go find it, and come back.

I said this on the record at a board meeting last summer, and I'll say it again: I love this district, and what makes it isn't the operations; it's the people. The welcoming, high-quality, genuinely inclusive culture I experienced as an ECFE parent is rare at this scale. As more families with different backgrounds, languages, and life experiences choose ISD 831, the district's job is to make sure that welcome reaches them just as fully; through how we communicate, how we staff family-facing roles, and how visible different communities are in our schools' day-to-day life. Throughout the few years my kids have attended Lino Lakes Elementary, I've heard repeatedly, from them, about a new student they are excited to meet and bring into their class. Kids who arrive mid-stream are welcomed quickly by teachers and peers alike. The board's role is to set that expectation from the top, not assume it happens on its own.

Protect the culture that makes this district work, and get out of its way. The people in these buildings are the reason ISD 831 is good; the board's job is to give them a stable budget, clear policy, a superintendent it trusts, and a decision process that doesn't blindside them. My test for every item is two questions: how does it end, and is this good for families? If a policy can't be explained to a parent in two minutes, it isn't ready. The board governs; the superintendent runs the district; the teachers teach. When those lines blur, kids pay for it.

Integrity and authenticity first: you should never have to wonder what I'm thinking, and what I'm thinking should reflect the people I represent. Then the habit of listening before deciding; getting to the root of a disagreement, which often isn't one. Then coachability. I've been wrong in public before and fixed it in public; a leader who can't be told "that isn't working" isn't leading, he's steamrolling. And finally the willingness to decide. Once the collaboration thresholds are met and the input is in, it is incumbent on me to vote yes or no. Elected officials who can't get to a vote aren't representing anyone.

One where a kid walks in wanting to be there. That means the academic, social, and emotional pieces are woven together on purpose, the way this district already does it, not bolted on as separate programs. It means safe places to belong, including student-led ones. It means teachers with the pay, the staffing, and the trust to run the model at full capacity. And it means learning that moves between the digital and the physical, so a graduate can troubleshoot a machine and a spreadsheet, and leaves with documented hours in something real. Add time outside; not every answer comes from a screen.

Short answer: Two non-voting student representatives, chosen by students, in a mentorship with the board. It's a starting point for students, staff, and families to shape, not something one board member adopts.

For a brand-new idea, I wanted to see people's first reactions before putting a structure on it. Draft-then-feedback makes sense when you're changing an existing policy. Here the reactions were open, curious, and optimistic, so here's a first draft, a v1, with the doors wide open to change.

Purpose: A mentor/mentee relationship between the Board and student representatives. The goal is an enriching experience that gives students exposure to how governance works, including what it means to represent a group rather than just yourself.

Objectives: Student representation at board and committee meetings. A two-way link to the student body, so knowledge and insight flow in both directions. One more channel for the student voice to reach the board.

Student role: Non-voting, ex officio, similar to Hopkins and Minneapolis. Full participation in public discussion; not included in closed sessions.

Seats: Two students, one each from 10th and 11th grade. One term each if interest is high, so more students get the experience, with the option to serve again if the need is there and the students want that.

Selection: Student-led, likely through an open nomination process or as part of an existing student body election. Any student can run. Student council certifies the results. The Board plays no role in choosing.

Commitment: Meetings are after school and after business hours, so the commitment is similar to other extracurriculars like sports or marching band.

I led with "explore" because the timing questions need more work: how selection lines up with the board calendar and the start of the school year, term length, training and onboarding, single or repeat terms, and warm hand-offs from one student rep to the next.

If elected, I would bring this to the board as a proposal, a starting point for students, staff, and families to shape the details before anything is drafted as policy. No single board member gets to adopt any of this. We'd also report back on how it's working, including from the students themselves.

This idea came out of a community conversation, and that conversation already made it better.

Sources:

• Minn. Stat. 123B.09 (school board powers; subd. 1b encourages student representation)
• Hopkins Public Schools: School Board
• Minneapolis Public Schools: School Board