Patch Candidate Profile: Marge Lindberg For ISD 833 School Board

SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY, MN — This fall, Woodbury and Cottage Grove residents will vote on school board members for South Washington County Schools.

Marge Lindberg is one of nine 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): 66

Position Sought: ISD 833 School Board Member At Large

Family:

Husband and 2 adult children 2 grandchildren

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

Education:

BA In Elementary Education
MSE in Education/Counseling
MA Certificate in Educational Leadership/Administration

Occupation:

Retired Teacher. 42 years experience

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: None

Campaign website: Vote4marge833

Why are you seeking elective office?:

I am seeking a seat on the School Board because change is needed in our leadership. All voices need to be heard. There is a lot of distrust in where our board has led us. Trust in our leadership seems to be at an all time low. Policy and programming is seemingly decided upon partisan funding and union input. Two of our incumbents have served for two terms and it is time to get new faces and ideas.

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

Transparency in decision making and spending.

We need more input from all stakeholders in our district education. This might mean surveys, focus groups run by non biased facilitators, more creative methods of education such as classical discussions, cross curricular learning, more cost effective testing and teaching tools. A three million dollar budget for our equity program seems very high because we are spending money on high cost trainers, speakers, administrators and programming. We keeping adding district administration to the cost of $5M in the current budget. This seems especially important in light of an $18M deficit we had last year with no explanation. We need to revisit these items. We promise more for teachers and support staff with every levy but it does not happen. We say our levies will increase student achievement but it. steadily decreases. We need to do all we can do to increase teachers and support staff. This is the number one indicator for academic achievement.

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

I realize that other candidates do not agree with me on some of my views. I do believe we all want to do the best by our learners but our methods are different. I have a more traditional view of education as it reflects the importance of parent choice and family values and classroom teacher expertise. I also think I have a more conservative view on spending where we value accountability and responsibility. I.e. if we are spending too much, we make cuts and this does not mean teacher/support staff cuts. I know, from conversations with our teachers and support staff, that they feel undervalued and are not respected for their expertise. Our student achievement is not dependent on teaching to the test, constant testing, student achievement specialists, equity specialists and never ending training workshops, all of which are expensive. We have Quality Teachers and it is time to give them respect.. They do know how to teach to standards using their talents and their “heart and art”!

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

I believe our board has listened more to the voices of those who are more in line with government policy. I believe the board has not acted as if they work for the constituents of this district. They are paid by taxpayers, not the district. Student achievement is declining, budgets are climbing, Our parents feel the district has overstepped its responsibilities, Sex education and character values are parent responsibilities. Teachers feel under valued and disrespected. I realize these are tough statements but I hear them from concerned citizens and businesses. Furthermore, our district is not alone in this assessment. The education system needs to make changes. Our district had a deficit of $18M dollars this past year. Why? How? How is it being righted? This problem has seemed to disappear.

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

This has been a difficult time Of that there is no doubt. The 2020--21 school year brought challenges to school districts across the board. Hybrid education seemed to be a good compromise but the logistics were not thought out. We had learners going to a class where the teacher was missing. Teachers were online during class while substitutes proctored. Most of our teachers worked very hard but some put in half time hours for full time pay. Was this monitored and recorded? I understand why some teachers did not want to be in the buildings because of health or age risks. I think we could have worked on early retirement with full benefits for those people. A doctor’s note should have been required for those who simply did not want to be in school because they were afraid. Why is it that liquor store employees were essential but not teachers? How much was the power of unions used in these decisions?

As for this year, I believe the mask mandate was too much too soon. A choice was not given. There was no transparency in how the decision was made. When I asked a school board member what the parent feedback was , she replied that it was very close but had no “data” to back it up. With such a crucial and controversial decision, data was necessary.We did not look at other factors. We did not give parents credit for common sense health decisions. Personally and professionally , I think masks for preschool - primary grades is dangerous.Why not see how the first weeks went and then make a decision? Most Non masked schools have not reported an increase in Covid. We have reports that say the highest occurrence of cases are in older students. Why are they not wearing masks? I had someone ask if I would close schools if 250 students were diagnosed with Covid. Again, there are other factors. Our district has 18,000 students. 250 divided by 18,000 is .014 %. That would not require closing school. But if it were 250 in one school , yes, I would recommend closure. There should be clear directions to parents. If your child is sick do not send them to school. I can’t tell you how many times, during my career , learners were sent to school sneezing and coughing, with a fever, having vomited the night before. A Tylenol was given and to school they were sent. Does a mask cover up some of those same symptoms? We don’t know… we need to weigh factors before making a decision and setting such a nebulous policy. I am quite sure this answer will not be well received. But we are not going to please everyone in these situations.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform:

Spending, the levies, the feelings of teachers and the fear to speak up because of backlash, negotiations and the power of the union, CLRT/CRT ( not the goals but the methodology)

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

42 years in the world of education, my approachability, authenticity , and practicality, my standing in the community, national, state and district teaching awards

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Everybody has a story. Listen to them.
Look at the big picture; myopic decision making can be impaired.

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

I dedicated 42 years of my life to education. For me, it is all about what is best for our learners. My beliefs are not all popular, I understand.
Please know that I will do my best to bring quality education for our learners.