Congratulations to Greg Madsen, Marre Jo Sager, and Jon Tynjala on being re-elected to the Mounds View School Board.  They certainly know what it takes to flourish politically in the District 621 attendance area.  Congratulations also to the voters who turned out in high numbers to ensure that quality programming and manageable class sizes are preserved for many years to come.  Ya’ done good for the students of Mounds View Public Schools.

My forward campaign did its very best to connect the interests of educational stakeholders by making outreaches of many kinds, through the trying out of ideas, and in frequent attempts to serve as a liaison between parties on issues needing to be worked through.

Life is too short and the education process too important not to have made these efforts.

To those voters who saw what my being on the board offered, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you also to those who stepped outside their daily lives to provide a suggestion, worked to persuade voters using their own time or turf, or supported the campaign in ways that fit their skills and talents.

Unfortunately, we didn’t shock the world ala Jesse Ventura, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue working on changing a corner of it.

You may have noticed the administration determined it worthy to begin incorporating the World’s Best Workforce legislation (aka Minnesota Statute 120B.11) that was central to this campaign– at the last school board meeting.  The administration’s plan to perform a “side-by-side analysis” between it and the district operational plan is something I– and hopefully you– will follow.  At its most fundamental level, this broad statute amounts to the Legislature giving more every day educational stakeholders the permission & authority to be at the table on matters of strategy, curriculum & technology.

The key ingredient to being heard on these things, though, is people caring enough to get involved.  For all the Keep Out signs I endured during this campaign, I still believe the district will accept– and respond to– the educational inputs of residents who choose to care.

One way my caring will continue is as a writer for the education advocacy group called MinnCan.  If you’ve found value in any part of my platform this campaign season (even if you didn’t vote Hakes) I encourage you to look up my work a time or two in the months ahead.  The slate of possible topics is currently wide open, and if you would like to suggest a topic or theme you’d like to see explored, I will consider it.

Finally, and most importantly, my deep thanks go to those of you who, during the campaign, somehow displayed the kind of zeal that made me feel understood– and the causes I was advancing to be worth pursuing.   While I may not be the type of people person folks normally associate with politics, your contribution truly helped  me ‘go’.

I could not have made the run I did without you, and hopefully, we’ll continue seeing you down the road.