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.
Ashley McFarland
Incumbent: Yes
Age on Election Day: 41
City/Township of residence: Hermantown
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
Vice President and Technical Director of the American Malting Barley Association
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I have worked in higher education, and currently serve as a national nonprofit executive. My accumulated professional experience in scientific research, community education and outreach, administration, budgeting, and advocacy provided me with a critical approach to decision-making that served me well throughout my first term.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
School board members provide accountability to their community on the management of the schools within the District. This includes drafting and execution of vision and mission, oversight and management of fiscal resources, and setting expectations for student and superintendent performance.
Why are you running for office?
I am seeking another term on the school board because we have accomplished much together the past few years, and I would like to continue supporting initiatives we have made strategic investments in. The experience I have gained and relationships I have built while serving on the board are invaluable, especially as we look to the future of the Hermantown District. I am passionate about public education and the pursuit of a robust educational experience for my two children is my WHY.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific goals.
I initially campaigned to expand the Career Technical Education (CTE) offerings within our district, and I am proud of the progress we had made together, recently securing grant funding to hire a part-time coordinator. I want to continue to support that role and explore other opportunities to provide more diverse experiences for our students to ensure they are workforce ready. I am also very invested in the work being done to strategize purposeful growth within the district, primarily as it relates to our infrastructure. As education evolves, we need to have functional spaces for our educators and students to thrive in. I believe this will mean reimagining existing and considering new buildings and environments. Finally, I want to retain the excellent educators we have and ensure they feel supported and challenged. We need to strengthen relationships throughout the entire district to build trust and accountability.
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing your district, and how do you plan to overcome them?
I believe our approach to smart growth within the district should be our number one priority. Hermantown has long been a destination district that has allowed us to keep our classrooms full and budgets funded, but there is a delicate balance that must be struck to maintain this, that only someone with experience on the school board can fully understand. We strive for healthy and manageable class sizes in the elementary, but use open enrollment so that we can support a consistent number of classes year to year. Several students in the high school now opt to take advantage of college coursework offerings off-campus, which at times pulls funding away from the school, but lowers the infrastructure needs onsite. Each of these scenarios adds to the complexity of decision making that a board member faces each day. I want to apply the knowledge gained in my first term to make sure our schools are a reflection of the needs of our community.
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.
One of the most important roles of a school board member is the management of funds entrusted to us by the community. I believe investment in public education is extremely important and should not be compromised. However, there must be accountability that not only are funds being invested appropriately, but that there are expectations for performance and processes in place to show a return on investment through student achievement.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in your school board?
I have seen public engagement at school board meetings increase significantly through my tenure on the board as we have tackled significant issues related to the pandemic and teacher contracts. I welcome the public’s attendance, but also strongly encourage citizens to reach out directly to their school board members to engage in civil dialogue around their concerns. You only see a fraction of an issue come to light at a meeting. When community members of our District have reached out to me over the past four years, I have done my best to communicate with them in a timely manner and explain to them the facts and approach I used to make critical decisions for our schools.
Jodi McShane
Incumbent: No
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Eric Griffith
Incumbent: No
Age on Election Day: 46
City/Township of residence: Hermantown
Where are you currently employed, and what is your role?
Nurse Practitioner in Pediatric and Adult Endocrinology/Diabetes
Please share any prior experience that you believe qualifies you for office.
I have a vested interest in Hermantown Schools as a Hermantown graduate, the parent of two Hermantown middle-schoolers, and the son of a retired Hermantown Teacher. I also highly value education and continue to mentor and precept in the medical community. Finally, over the past one-and-a-half years, I have worked to actively organize Advanced Practice Providers in our region into a single collective bargaining unit. This required a tremendous amount of teamwork, data gathering, the dissemination of information across a large region, and the ability to work towards a common goal despite multiple obstacles.
Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.
In general, school board members are responsible for policy development, budget approval, promoting academic excellence, community engagement, and the continued success of our public school system.
Why are you running for office?
I am running for office because I truly believe in the importance of a good education. Hermantown School District has a legacy of providing an excellent K-12 education and I want to ensure that this continues. When my family moved back to the Duluth area, it was the Hermantown Community and Hermantown Schools where we chose to live and raise our children. My goal is for other past-graduates to look back fondly upon their time at Hermantown and consider sending their children to Hermantown as well.
What are your priorities, if elected? Please describe specific goals.
I have two priorities. My first is to ensure that all students are given the support and resources that they need to succeed. This will include addressing class sizes and teacher to student ratios. My second priority is our teachers. We absolutely can not afford to lose good teachers to burn-out. They need support from the school board to ensure that they have the facilities and resources in place to educate and mentor our students, and prepare them for life after graduation.
What do you believe are the biggest challenges facing your district, and how do you plan to overcome them?
The biggest challenge facing our district at this time is class sizes. The community of Hermantown and thus, the class sizes at Hermantown School have continued to grow. While this is a testament to our community and schools, it is also reaching a point where we need to look at our current infrastructure. We need to prepare for the continued growth in our community, so that we are not in the same position 10 years from now.
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 do not believe that I am alone when I say, "I hate paying taxes." However, I also realize that taxes are necessary. My goal would be to review any approved spending within the district to ensure that the money is "not being wasted," and is being used in a way to support all students and teachers within the district.
How do you plan to improve transparency and trust in your school board?
The answer to this question is communication. It is actively listening to concerns from the community and then reporting back to the community on what is being done regarding those concerns.
David Lokke
Incumbent: No
KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.
Russ Salgy
Incumbent: No
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.