St. Paul school board chair diagnosed with COVID-19

October 25, 2021 at 9:24PM
573513341
St. Paul School Board Chair Jeanelle Foster was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. (Provided/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

St. Paul school board Chair Jeanelle Foster has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is recovering at home after being hospitalized Friday, the district announced Monday.

Foster, who is fully vaccinated, said in a statement she came down with "concerning symptoms" late last week and will be in quarantine until her doctor says it is safe to return to work.

The district currently is engaged in discussions about a proposed Envision SPPS plan that would close and leave vacant five schools, as well as merge others.

"I want to assure you that, although my illness prevents me from participating fully in these conversations, I will watch them online, as I am able," she said.

Foster also is on the ballot next week as a late entrant aiming to fill the remaining two years of the board seat vacated earlier this year by Steve Marchese. She is competing with Clayton Howatt, a parent leader at Galtier Community School who won the DFL Party's endorsement before Foster filed to run.

about the writer

about the writer

Anthony Lonetree

Reporter

Anthony Lonetree has been covering St. Paul Public Schools and general K-12 issues for the Star Tribune since 2012-13. He began work in the paper's St. Paul bureau in 1987 and was the City Hall reporter for five years before moving to various education, public safety and suburban beats.

See Moreicon

More from No Section

See More
FILE -- A rent deposit slot at an apartment complex in Tucker, Ga., on July 21, 2020. As an eviction crisis has seemed increasingly likely this summer, everyone in the housing market has made the same plea to Washington: Send money — lots of it — that would keep renters in their homes and landlords afloat. (Melissa Golden/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT58
Melissa Golden/The New York Times

It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.