Obituary: Scott Wenzel was a passionate voice for public schools

During the 18 years he served on the Anoka-Hennepin School Board, Scott Wenzel was unafraid to take on thorny issues and speak his mind, especially if he believed his actions helped students and teachers, colleagues said.

Wenzel, a longtime St. Paul public schools teacher, died unexpectedly on Nov. 8 of natural causes. His funeral was Thursday. He was 56.

"Scott was a problem-solver. He was a facilitator," said Roger Giroux, a former Anoka-Hennepin superintendent. "But most of all, he was an unwavering advocate for public education. And that's not a generality. That's who he was, a dedicated public servant."

The son of a sheet metal worker and a school cook, Wenzel was raised on St. Paul's East Side and graduated from Harding High School.

His wife, Julie, said his parents instilled in him a deep appreciation of education, which ultimately sent him on a career path to teaching.

He earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and the University of Southern Mississippi in Biloxi before landing a teaching job as a sixth-grade math teacher at Parkway Elementary in St. Paul. He later earned a doctoral degree from the University of Sarasota, taking classes in the summer so he wouldn't have to leave his teaching job or move his family from Brooklyn Park.

"He was very committed to helping people to learn to read," Julie Wenzel said. "The quote he lived by was, 'If you can learn to read, you can do anything.' "

In 1996, Wenzel was elected to the Anoka-Hennepin School Board. During his tenure, Wenzel provided excellent counsel during tough budget periods and helped guide the district as it worked to manage increasing enrollment, Giroux said. "He made a difference in the lives of almost 40,000 students," he said.

Colleagues also praised Wenzel for the courage he showed three years ago when he opposed the district's "neutrality policy," a directive that urged staff members to stay neutral if the subject of sexual orientation was discussed. It since has been scrapped.

"Tenacious and principled, Scott's tireless advocacy for students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, made the Anoka-Hennepin community a safer and more welcoming place," said Julie Blaha, the former president of the Anoka-Hennepin teachers' union. "Scott was able to fight hard for what he believed in while maintaining productive relationships with allies and opponents alike — a skill too rare in today's polarized political environment."

For the past two years, Wenzel worked at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul. There, he wore many hats — math specialist, data coach, testing coordinator. He also was a computer whiz, always willing to help his fellow teachers when technology went awry, colleagues said.

When news of his death spread, Principal Katherine Holmquist-Burks said students placed notes on his classroom door, expressing how much he meant to them.