KAXE contacted every candidate twice using contact information submitted to the Secretary of State's Office to invite them to participate in our Election Guide.
Candidate responses have not been edited and are published as submitted.
As necessary, our news team added contextual information clearly marked with an "editor's note" and in italics, though responses have not been uniformly fact-checked. With our small team of three, we are unable to proactively fact check every statement made by candidates. But we will make every effort to make note of inaccuracies if they come to our attention.
Please contact our news team at news@kaxe.org with questions or comments or to report any errors.
KAXE's Election Guide only includes candidates in contested races. Visit our full list of who's running for office in Northern Minnesota to see who else is on the ballot.
Louis Bonneville
Incumbent: Yes
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Beth Dinger
Incumbent: Yes
Age on Election Day: 44
City/Township of residence: Barnum
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
I am a 6th grade teacher at East Central Elementary in Finlayson, Minnesota.
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I am currently finishing my first term on the Barnum School Board. In that role, I have received training specifically for school board members, and gained experience in the role which will both help me be effective in a second term. In addition, I am a teacher in another district so I have expertise in the field of education and working knowledge about what is best for students. Further, I have volunteered and served on a number of committees in the Barnum District for the last 18 years as my husband and I have raised our children in the district, so I have extensive experience in many facets of the district.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
School board members have many roles and responsibilities including ethical leadership, creating and maintaining a balanced budget, establishing and reviewing policies, creating goals to guide the direction of the district, evaluating the superintendent, maintaining facilities, and advocating for schools and students. All of these are part of the responsibilities of school board members to ensure that students in the district receive a high quality education.
Why are you running for office?
I am passionate about the Barnum District and providing students with a quality education.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific goals.
My priority is for the Barnum School District to remain solvent and to continue to provide the same quality education and opportunities for our students even as our enrollment and funding continue to decrease. As a school board, we have begun addressing this challenge by reaching out to neighboring school districts and collaborating to save money while still providing students a quality education. In addition, we have begun looking at other ways we can garner a higher enrollment, including offering online options. I plan on continuing to pursue and encourage initiatives that will draw students to the Barnum district, including online options and our nature preschool.
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing your district, and how do you plan to overcome them?
Financial stability is a huge challenge. The census shows a reduction in the number of children in our district for the next several years. It is difficult to remain solvent and continue to provide the same quality education and opportunities for our students when our enrollment and funding continue to decrease. As I stated, as a school board, we have already begun addressing this challenge by reaching out to neighboring school districts and collaborating to save money while still providing students a quality education. In addition, we have begun looking at other ways we can garner a higher enrollment, including offering online options. I plan on continuing to pursue and encourage initiatives that will draw students to the Barnum district, including online options and our nature preschool. My priority in a second term is directly related to what I believe to be the district's biggest challenge.
High taxation is a concern for many Northern Minnesotans. Please share any specific opinions you hold related to taxation, and how you plan to ensure tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
High taxation is a major concern. In the Barnum district, we as a board have historically kept our levies at the lowest level possible, and have been lower than comparable sized districts in the state and in our area. Last year, we did need to raise taxes to complete maintenance on several areas of the school that were original and needed to be replaced, including the boilers. I do understand that no one wants to pay higher taxes, myself included. Times are really tough for families and people living on limited incomes with inflation so high right now. I will continue to vote to keep our local levy at the lowest possible level to try to limit the amount of taxes citizens are paying due to the school, and to ensure that we stick to our budget so that we do not need to come to the citizens for more tax dollars than they are already paying.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in your school board?
I do my best to respond to all inquiries that I receive from constituents and stakeholders in a kind and professional manner, and encourage people to attend our school board meetings and read our posted agendas and minutes to stay involved in the district.
Stephanie Ferrin
Incumbent: Yes
Age on Election Day: 51
City/Township of residence: Barnum Township
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
Tax Consultant, KJH Tax Services, and Substitute Teacher
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
Substitute teacher for 8 years and School Board member for the past 4 years.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
The roles and responsibilities of a school board member include reviewing and implementing school district policy, overseeing the financial health and budget of the district, long term facility management, and working with the Superintendent in strategic planning and setting goals for the District.
Why are you running for office?
I am running for office so I can continue to facilitate strategic planning as we work together as a school board and administration to keep Barnum a high performing school district. I am passionate about planning for the future and making the decisions that will help Barnum stay strong as a school district for the students.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific goals.
My priorities are financial stability, growth, and collaboration. We have gone from a district with a low fund balance to one with a growing fund balance. I will continue to make wise financial decisions to keep the district budget strong and reach our goal of a 2-3 month fund balance. I will continue to collaborate with area districts to find ways to maintain strength. We have found ways to share at the District level and my goal would be to merge at the District level which would create increased long term financial and growth stability and provide increased opportunities for our students.
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing your district, and how do you plan to overcome them?
Our biggest challenges as a district are similar to other rural districts, financial stability caused by a decreasing student population. This is a national issue and especially difficult for small rural districts. This is why as a board member I have been willing to not just talk about this problem but make out of the box decisions to address this issue, which led to us collaborating with the Willow River school district by sharing a Superintendent and Business Manager. My goal is to continue this collaborative effort. I also plan to address growth by increasing our offerings and building up an online school to meet the needs of students in a broader geographic area.
High taxation is a concern for many Northern Minnesotans. Please share any specific opinions you hold related to taxation, and how you plan to ensure tax dollars are used efficiently and effectively.
I am also very concerned about taxation , and as a trained tax professional have an in depth understanding about taxation and tax law and how it impacts families in the area. I will continue to strive to make sure we are very conservative in our budgeting and make sure we are wise with how we spend our tax dollars. We have had to address our aging facility and make difficult decisions that affected the tax base. The importance of doing the work when we did saved tax payers in the long run as things have just gotten more expensive and the needs would just get more urgent. It is important to address facility maintenance issues when it’s not an emergency, otherwise the cost would end up being exponentially more expensive and that cost would be passed to the taxpayers. I am not afraid to make those decisions.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in your school board?
I am going to advocate for more listening sessions to provide the public and opportunity to come and voice their concerns and opinions. I also am going to advocate for interested parties from all stakeholder groups to be part of planning committees so they can be part of the process. Collaboration and communication is key to any successful organization, and is especially important for a school district.
Mike Orn
Incumbent: No
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Patrick S. Poirier
Incumbent: Yes
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Still have questions for the candidates? Contact information for all those who've filed to run for office can be found at candidates.sos.state.mn.us.
