District 196 School Board Candidate Steven Butler

Editor's note: The seven candidates running for four seats on the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district board of education responded to questions posed by Patch to help Patch readers learn a little about them.

To promote fairness, we asked each candidate to limit responses to 200 words for each question; we reserved the right to edit for clarity and length if necessary.

The general election is Nov. 8.

Tell readers a little about your background.

I grew older in Stillwater, MN, having moved from Ohio in the late '70s. I graduated in 1980 from Stillwater Senior High and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1990 with a bachelor's degree, after a tour of duty with the U.S. Army. I have been in sales since 1990 in the paper industry, living in Chicago, and moved back “home” to Minnesota (Eagan) in 2000. I have been active at our local elementary school level (Northview), serving four years on Site Council, as well as becoming a Minnesota licensed on-call substitute teacher.

Why do you want to be on the District 196 school board?

I have four daughters who have gone through and still going through the ISD 196 school system—their education and personal development is very important to me, and I want to make sure this continues. I want to make sure we attract the best teachers we can to the district and, given the demographic changes that will be occurring over the next decades, I want to be a part of that to make sure ISD 196 remains strong and committed to its goals. I also believe that Eagan as a community needs to be fully represented on the school board—with the resignation of our lone Eagan member it should be important to everyone in our district to be fully represented.

What would be your top three objectives as a school board member?

Maintain ISD 196 as one of the best places to educate our children in Minnesota, as well as the nation, through attracting the best teachers who love to teach kids, while meeting the challenges of the demographic changes in ISD 196.

Represent our Eagan community on the school board, responding to their educational needs and the needs of our parents as a whole.

Ensure the revenues we receive from our customers (parents) is spent wisely on the best teachers, in tight times as well as good times.

What opportunities do you see for any future cost savings or additional revenues in the district?

As the demographic changes take place in our district, it will be more important than ever to have contemporary leadership on the board to make the necessary decisions to ensure the district has the resources to meet its primary goals.

Do you have any specific changes you would want to make to district policies, curriculum, staffing or programs?

“Educating our children to reach their full potential” means different things to different people/our parents. It will be very important in the coming years take into consideration that what might have worked over the last 20 years might not work today or be applicable—to that end the board should have the courage to make hard decisions that affect the district's policies, curriculum, staffing and programs.

What is the purpose of public education?

The purpose of public education is to allow all students to be in a position to benefit from their teachers' wisdom, insight and knowledge, as well as provide the environment for each student to become a well rounded and functioning member of society. This assumes that all the information available to each student is accurate and meaningful as the student moves through life from child to adult. This way each generation ensures the next will be equally as well off, if not better.