With 10 candidates running for three school board spots, you have several choices when you head to vote next week. Hopefully you have been reading the articles in the Tribune, been visiting with candidates and following the Facebook pages of candidates.

If you are still wondering who your three picks are going to be, make sure you are informed on which candidates are aware of what’s happening in the district and have been actively involved in the education of our children.

If a candidate is saying that there isn’t a culture issue in the district, they are sadly misinformed. If you attend a board meeting, talk to a few teachers or visit with community members, you will see how negative the culture is. Myself, as well as a couple other candidates, have done this. We have been attending board meetings, long before we filed for school board. We have talked to both current and former teachers, and have visited with many community members. If someone hasn’t been doing this up to this point, why would they start doing it once they were elected? A school board member truly needs to be a voice of the teachers and the community.

The other thing a candidate who isn’t informed would do is keep things the same. The main reason we have a culture issue in the district is because the majority of the school board is not doing its job. I have heard the term “rubber stamps” used to describe the majority of the school board. They don’t do the work necessary to determine if a policy or program that is being proposed by the superintendent or administration is in the best interest of the kids. Only two of our current board members actually ask the questions that the community wants answered. The rest of the board does what the superintendent wants and does not hold him accountable. As a school board member, I will not be afraid to ask the tough questions that the community wants answered. I will hold the superintendent accountable for any actions that I don’t feel are in the best interest of our kids. That being said, I am willing to work with the superintendent. Along with my fellow board members, we will work with the superintendent to make sure our children are receiving the best possible education they can. We will not work for the superintendent — the superintendent will work for the school board and the community.

Please do some research so you can see which candidates are aware of the issues our district is facing and are actively involved in our children’s education. There are only a few of the candidates who have children in school. What better way to hear about what is happening on a day-to-day basis then from children who are living it? If you are wondering who I would vote for as my other two choices, please contact me and I will share with you. I can be reached at 507-377-6123.

Aaron Phillips

Albert Lea