Stillwater school board gets mixed message

Stillwater's 3 new school board members are surprised the district's levies weren't met with more goodwill.

By Ben Goessling, Star Tribune

Last update: November 7, 2007 - 9:08 PM

The day after Natasha Fleischman's first election victory, was, as it is for many political rookies, a mix of excitement, relief and sleep deprivation.

"I just need to take a step back and sleep in for a few days," she said.

But there was something else in the back of the newly elected Stillwater school board member's mind -- a dose of confusion.

Fleischman rode in on a surge that filled all four open board spots with candidates who supported the district's three levy referendums. But that momentum didn't extend to the levies themselves.

Only one of the three measures passed: a six-year levy that replaces an expiring $8.9 million levy with one for $9.9 million. The other two ballot questions, which would have given the district money to hire new teachers and bring back a curriculum review process, failed.

A day after the election, Fleischman and Stillwater's other two first-time board members were analyzing the message behind that vote.

"I was hopeful if we had a positive response to the levy questions, people would also vote for the candidates who were pro-levy," said George Hoeppner, a retired teacher who won the third of four open spots. "I'm surprised the candidates finished 1-2-3-4 and only one of the questions passed."

Hoeppner, Fleischman and Natalie Fedie -- who won alongside incumbent Scott Papke -- offered a variety of theories for how the vote played out, ranging from a need to communicate with more voters to the effect of a vocal anti-levy group.

Whatever the reasons, it's clear the new board members won't divorce themselves from the political side of the job anytime soon.

All three said the size of the district -- which spans 22 north-south miles from Marine on St. Croix to Afton -- made it tough to connect with voters.

Fleischman hypothesized that the sometimes-vitriolic campaign between anti-levy Citizens for Responsible Spending and pro-levy Yes to Kids left some voters struggling to separate fact from hyperbole.

That's a problem Hoeppner said will only go away if board members spend more time out in the community.

And Fedie said the new school board needs to be increasingly vocal with the Legislature.

She and Yes to Kids communication chair Bev Bergstrom are meeting with Sen. Kathy Saltzman, DFL-Woodbury, about the different approaches to education funding that are likely to be a hot topic during the upcoming legislative session.

In the meantime, all the new members hedged on whether they would go back to voters next fall for another levy, though Fleischman added, "I don't think any of us can imagine trying.

"We used every ounce of volunteer time and community goodwill we had," she said. "I don't know if we can recreate that."

Her energy will be spent on moving forward.

"Everybody was categorizing us as pro-levy vs. anti-levy," Fleischman said. "We have to play the hand we're dealt. We can't bring the levy with us."

Ben Goessling • 651-298-1546

Ben Goessling • bgoessling@startribune.com

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