Patch Candidate Profile: Marcus Hill For ISD 197 School Board

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN — This fall, Mendota Heights, West Saint Paul and some Eagan residents will vote on school board members for ISD 197.

Marcus Hill is one of 10 candidates running for School Board in the Nov. 2 election.

Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles over the coming weeks.

Are you running for School Board? Contact Morgan Reddekopp at morgan.reddekopp@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

Age (as of Election Day): 56

Position Sought: ISD 197 School Board Member At Large

Family:

Wife of 20 years, age 50, Son 18 yrs. old in College, Son 12 yrs. old in 6th grade, daughter 10 yrs. old in 4th grade

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?: No

Education: B.A. Business Administration

Occupation: Sr. Mgr., Marketing Data Strategy & Solutions

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: School Board Member, ISD 197

Campaign website: vote4hill.com

Why are you seeking elective office?:

My family and I have lived in West St. Paul for 15 years, and we LOVE this community. It has been my honor to serve on the School Board this past year, and I would like to continue my service to this community, our teachers, and the staff of ISD 197. I genuinely believe that together we can help every child reach their greatest potential.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it:

COVID-19 will continue to dominate the conversation and our actions for this year as the single most pressing issue facing our district. Keeping our children safe and healthy while continuing in-person learning will, in my opinion, continue to take precedence over all else.
That said, we must continue the work of educating our children.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?:

While I realize that there may be some similarities between the other candidates, I bring many strengths based on my lived experiences that qualify me for the school board. Please see my responses below regarding my accomplishments and qualifications.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency):

(Didn't answer)

How do you think local officials are performing in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?:

(Didn't answer)

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

Should I be elected to the school board for a full term, the other areas of focus I would like to impact are:
- Support teachers, staff & administration by providing critical resources
- Maintain current class sizes and existing programs
- Recruit, hire and retain top talent that is more reflective of our community
- Support Social-Emotional Learning
- Support implementation of the district’s Equity plans
- Implement the Goals of the District’s Strategic framework

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?:

Based on my lived experiences, I bring a diverse perspective to the school board that will be helpful as we work to implement systems of equity aligned with the district's strategic framework. I'm a parent of children whose educational needs ranging from special needs to college student, and I've learned a lot about what it takes to unlock the potential of children with a diverse set of conditions.

For the past four years, I've been the Chair for the Black Employee Resource Group at work, where we transformed the group from 200 members to over 1200 today. We accomplished this by driving user engagement and building a solid group of allies across the organization. I'm an aspiring ally to the LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, LatinX, Disabilities, and other groups that require a voice of representation in our district.

I believe in the human element of our work but bring a data-driven focus to support decisions, goals, and objectives. Data Analyst mindset; Define and set goals, measure progress against them, course-correct if/as needed. Finally, I've lead multi-million dollar programs that require cross-team collaboration with a great deal of success. I will bring all of these skills and experiences to my role as a school board member should I be elected.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Words and Hate can only live off of the energy you decide to give them. Choose to give meaning and power to those things most important to you. ~ Madeline Hill (my mom)

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?:

If elected, I will work smart and hard for the ISD 197 community.