contributed photo Three of the nine candidates for St. Stephen-Sartell School Board all share similar viewpoints and a campaign website. They are (left to right) Emily Larson, Scott Wenshau and Jen Smith.

(Note: Three of the nine candidates vying for the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board have a collective campaign website. The candidates are Emily Larson, Jen Smith and Scott Wenshau, who are all running as a “trio” slate of candidates with similar viewpoints. The following three stories are comprised of paraphrases and direct quotes from their campaign statements and from responses to a Newsleader questionnaire. The other six candidates are Amanda Byrd (incumbent), Nate Crowe, Ryan  K. Dale, Katie Hilger, Kris Lawrence and Molly McCann. There are three seats to be determined in the Nov. 8 general election.)

When Emily and Nate Larson moved their family to Sartell from St. Cloud in 2018, it was because of Sartell’s reputation as a topnotch school district.

They enrolled their son in kindergarten. Unfortunately, Larson said, not long after that, “chaos” ensued.

“I watched as leadership in the district began to fall prey to the divisive, destructive and politically charged ideologies that come veiled under the guise of ‘equity’ – redefined.”

Larson said the school board “made an ineffective and fiscally poor decision to bring in an outside party to conduct their first-ever equity audit.

“I felt for the children whose struggles were leveraged as justification for this decision and for the parents and community members whose voices were discounted throughout the process.”

Larson said she “un-enrolled” her son from the school and placed him in a private school.

In 2020, the school board hired a company called Equity Alliance MN, Woodbury, to conduct an equity audit of Sartell schools to learn best how to formulate policies regarding diversity inclusion and fairness issues. The equity study caused a firestorm of controversy among some parents, including Emily Larson.

She and Jen Smith (another of the “trio” candidates) formed a local organization called “Parents Over Politics.” Its members attended school-board meetings, met with school officials and gave speeches against equity efforts they claim open the doors wide to “politics in the classroom.”

The school board then stopped its ties with the Equity Alliance company. Instead it formed a 90-member committee in the school district to explore issues and remedies that include topics such as bullying, curriculum, school culture and social media.

Parents Over Politics’ members accused the school board of allowing the politicization of education with issues that could now or eventually include critical race theory, race “shaming,” sexual-orientation discussions, certain “questionable” books available for students, gender identity and a neo-Marxist anti-American bias.

Larson commented about recent controversies at schools throughout the nation, controversies that include accusations of teaching critical race theory, “shaming” of white students, GLTB issues and socialistic, anti-American biases.

“That is why, as a parent and as a candidate, I have been advocating for transparency in curriculum and proactive two-way communication with parents and community members to avoid the “controversy” on the backend. 

The greatest strength in Sartell schools is its dedicated teaching staff, Larson said.

“Their commitment to educational excellence is evident as they work with each student to motivate them to reach their highest potential . . . Where there can be improvement is in the school-to-home communication and encouragement of parental engagement.”

That could be enhanced with more parent-teacher partnerships that provide parents easy access to curriculum, Larson added.

0n the subject of school security, Larson said all doors should have locks that can be locked from the inside. She also thinks reporting apps should be used widely by students, staff and district families to report to law enforcement concerns about social media posts, in-person comments or drastic changes in the mental health and behavior of a classmate.

Born in Minneapolis, Larson attended many grade schools in Minnesota. Her family moved to St. Cloud. She graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School in 2005 and pursued a degree in sports marketing at St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

Eventually, she chose another path and has worked for Granite Logistics for 10 years. As a team member, she works with transportation logistics along the vast supply-chain network.

Larson said her skills at problem-solving, leadership and effective communication, empathy, humility and patience would make her an ideal school-board member.

Larson is the mother of a 7-year-old son and a 19-year-old stepdaughter.

“I have decided to run for school board, along with Emily Larson and Scott Wenshau, because I believe our district is moving away from traditional education,” said candidate Jen Smith. “There appears to be a push for political ideologies within our classrooms in place of prioritizing proficiency in reading, writing, math and building critical-thinking skills.”

Smith is a medical sonographer (ultrasonic diagnostics) who earned her degree in 2009 from Argosy University in Eagan.

As the parent of a child with dyslexia, Smith said she grew increasingly frustrated that there were not enough resources in the school district to give her son the reading help he needs. The district, she said, has a waiting list of students who need access to academic interventions.

Smith grew up in Sauk Rapids. She and her husband, Nic, have four children. She said in 2016, the family moved to Sartell because of “the academic standing of the school district and the overall quality of the community.”

After researching district resources and meeting with many school officials, including school-board members, Smith is passionate now about advocating for all children in the district in need of additional academic help.

“I strongly believe every child should have equal opportunity to access the academic resources they need to find their own individual success,” Smith said.

Her goal if elected to the school board is this: “I want to restore transparency within the school board and most importantly – restore and encourage parental involvement within the district.”

In response to a Newsleader questionnaire, Smith gave the following comments:

Strengths of the school district: “Teachers are a great strength to the Sartell-St. Stephen school district and to the children who fill the classrooms . . . They (teachers) have worked tirelessly through burdens that COVID placed on them and did so with smiles on their faces and love of children in their hearts.”

Weaknesses in the district: “I believe the wedge being driven between the parents and children is creating weakness within our district. Instead of school administration, board members and government agencies embracing parental involvement, there appears to be a doubling down approach of painting parents to be the villains.”

Reaction to controversies swirling around local and national school boards (i.e. critical race theory, “shaming” of white students, LGBTQ+ issues, the banning of books, accusations of “socialist” agendas, etc.)

“Children shouldn’t be burdened with the complex controversies that most adults struggle to comprehend because of the fluidity of these topics. For this reason, the learning environment and curriculum need to be apolitical. Moral conversations should be taking place at home with parents and/or caregivers. The focus of our district should be to provide resources to all children so they can learn how to critically think instead of learning what to think.”

School security: “I would consult with the community, district staff and local law enforcement to identify current security weaknesses within each building and get collaborative input on what assets beyond our resource officers (who do a great job, thank you!) would be available to the district. I would also want to review current district policies and protocols to make sure they are concise and actionable, and I’d consult with attorneys who can ensure any security plan being discussed will fall in line with state and federal laws.”

As for her skills suitable for the school board, she said she is a good listener, a quick decision maker, an efficient team member and an effective coordinator who is very detail-oriented and well organized.

“Students should not be pawns of ideologies and political agendas,” Wenshau said. “Restoring transparency and encouraging parental involvement is paramount for repairing community confidence.”

There are a number of reasons why Wenshau said he decided to run for school board and to join Larson and Smith in their efforts. He described the women as “two kindred spirits” whom he met at a school function.

“I admire their warrior, servant hearts and their love for these kids and for this community,” he said.

Equity agenda. “It is,” he said, a “faulty presupposition that unequal outcomes point to a corrupt and discriminatory system that needs changing.”

Curriculum: “Teach kids how to think, not what to think.”

Parental rights/respect: “Parents and their children must be respected, even when views and opinions differ.”

Bullying: “Harassment and disrespectful behavior toward students, staff and parents should be handled with effective policy and enforcement. Policies need to be upheld in a just, appropriate, consistent manner with proper and fair investigations.”

Safety: “Schools are soft targets, and I will work hard to change that. Our kids deserve the same protection that airports, banks, sports stadiums and politicians have.”

“The experiences I have had with the district in recent years have not matched up to the school system I once loved and trusted with my children,” Wenshau said. “Strong schools are the backbone of a healthy community.”

Skills that would make him an effective board member he said are patience and humility (learned as a father), leadership (his time in the military) and humility and  compassion (his role as a police officer). Wenshau describes himself as an outside-the-box thinker and problem solver who considers multiple perspectives while seeking truth.

The son of a World War II refugees from Latvia (a country facing the Baltic Sea in northeast Europe), Wenshau is a first-generation American who grew up believing in “second chances, the love of God, the value of service and sacrifice, and the love of country.

His immigrant father was a Vietnam veteran who joined the U.S. Army “to give back to the country that gave him and his family a second chance.”

Wenshau joined the Army at 18 and was wounded in 1989 during the brief U.S invasion of Panama. Later, he was deployed and served in the first Gulf War.

After his military service, Wenshau was a semi-truck driver and carpenter and since 2008 a police officer for a local agency. In addition to patrol, he does officer field training, firearms instruction, lead crime-scene tech, drone operator and armorer.

His two oldest offspring also serve in the military – his oldest daughter in the B-229 and his oldest son is an 82nd Airborne paratrooper.

Fourteen years ago, he, his wife and their six children moved to Sartell because of the schools. Their four oldest are Sartell graduates who were “blessed to be instructed by caring and qualified teachers.”

Wenshau added this: “I feel a sort of kinship with teachers for two reasons: they are fellow public servants and my wife of 28 years (the love of my life) is a teacher.”

Larson, Smith and Wenshau on their campaign website have posted the following opinions: putting parents back into the equation, ensure accountable and transparent leadership, create actionable policy and protocols to address bullying; restore apolitical classrooms, promote parental rights and improve safety and security in all district buildings.

Dalman was born and raised in South St. Cloud, graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School, then graduated from St. Cloud State University with a degree in English (emphasis on American and British literature) and mass communications (emphasis on print journalism). He studied in London, England for a year (1980-81) where he concentrated on British literature, political science, the history of Great Britain and wrote a book-length study of the British writer V.S. Naipaul. Dalman has been a reporter and weekly columnist for more than 30 years and worked for 16 of those years for the Alexandria Echo Press.

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