School board candidates for the rural schools in Freeborn County agree that budgets will be one of the biggest challenges for school boards in the future.

NRHEG

Six people will appear on the election ballot for the four available school board seats at New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva School District. Rick Schultz and John Harrington are incumbents, and Joe Haggerty, Karen Flatness, Lis Korman and Ron DeShanne are filing for the first time.

“I’ve enjoyed the past five years and would like to continue to guide the school through these tough economic times,” Schultz said. “We’ve been very fortunate to have interest in serving on the school board.”

Schultz said it was positive for the school district to have candidates to select from for the school board. He also said he hoped there wouldn’t be more budget cuts in the future. The other incumbent, Harrington, said it was nice to see people interested in the school board and agreed that budgets were a concern for the district.

“Most school districts have pared everything down, and we just hope it doesn’t go any further,” Harrington said. “I think we’ve done a good job.”

Haggerty said he was running to give back to the district. He said he had a son go through the school and said he would be unbiased because he no longer has children in the schools.

“If I am fortunate enough to be elected it will be an opportunity to give back to the district and to try to be an asset,” Haggerty said.

Flatness said she was running for a school board seat for the first time for her kids. She said she knows budgets are a concern for the school, but the school board has been doing a good job.

“I’m just going in with an open mind and a willingness to listen to the public,” Flatness said.

DeShanne is running for a school board seat to bring awareness to the community about certain issues the school may be facing. He and his wife, Mary, have six children who went to NRHEG schools. He said his biggest concern is water quality in Ellendale. He has worked with state senators and done research on the chemicals that are used to treat water and is worried about the effect it may be having on children and adults.

“The chemical that’s used lowers the IQ of children and pretty much everyone,” DeShanne said.

He said he wants transparancy within the district and hopes to educate others about water quality and the possible negative effect it has on the population.

Korman could not be reached for comment.

USC

Five people are running for the three available seats on United South Central’s school board. Chris Olson and Kari Jacobson are incumbents, and Jon Feist, Sharon Parriott and Nancy Ulrich are also running for school board seats.

Olson said she’s running again because there are things she’d like to see accomplished and there are more challenges facing the district.

“I want to represent the children and adults in the rural areas,” Olson said. “I consider it a duty.”

She said budgeting will be an issue at USC with possible cuts in state funding. She also praised the leadership of Superintendent Jerry Jensen. Jacobson said she was running again because the board will need experienced members for future problems.

“There’s some things we’re working on that probabl require my financial expertise,” Jacobson said.

She said the school board was preparing for all eventualities, including funding cuts from the state. Parriott is running for the first time because she would like to help guide the school in the right direction.

“We need creative thinking to meet the school’s needs and to provide programs for the kids,” Parriott said.

She said it was good to see community members run for school board because “fresh faces bring fresh ideas.” Feist is another person running for the first time. He recently moved back to Wells after moving away for college and plans to raise a family there.

“I want to make sure there’s a healthy school district when my kids go to school,” Feist said.

He said the biggest challenges were the budget and infrastructure. He hopes to look for creative solutions to update the district’s buildings.

“We can look at other schools to see what techniques they’re using,” Feist said.

Ulrich could not be reached for comment.

Other school boards

Ryan Rasmussen, Bart Belshan and Steve Heideman are on the election ballot for the three available seats on Glenville-Emmons’ school board.

Douglas Johnson, Kimberly Knutson, Robert Korman and Wayne Olson filed for the four available seats on Alden-Conger’s school board.