The window has closed for candidates of the November ISD 200 School Board election which means that three candidates will appear on the ballot in November: Marty Weber, Simone Rendon, and Elaine …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in, using the login form, below, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
The window has closed for candidates of the November ISD 200 School Board election which means that three candidates will appear on the ballot in November: Marty Weber, Simone Rendon, and Elaine Mikel-Mulder.
These candidates will compete for the seat left open due to the death of Jenny Wiederholt-Pine in February, which is currently held by Mikel-Mulder.
Winner of the election will be seated on the school board on Jan. 5, 2026.
Each candidate was asked to provide the Hastings Journal a brief written statement on why they joined the race and what they hope to accomplish on the board if elected.
Marty Weber
“After working with students for more than 15 years, I am deeply devoted to student success and their family involvement in their education opportunities.
“I advocate and work to accomplish the best outcomes for students every day and I want to continue that work to strengthen District 200's success and build for a future based on student success and teacher well-being. This is not about the next four years, but the next 40.
“Recent years have shown divisions throughout our community. I believe a School Board Director's job is to listen to community, families, and teacher concerns and help solve those issues. It is my intention to serve on Hastings School Board with an open mind and an open heart to solve problems and make our district the strongest district possible.
“We will build unity through community and I am committed to running for students to tackle the real issues: Declining enrollment, safety and bullying in our schools, building trust with our teachers, dealing with copious state mandates, and actually keeping politics out of our district. My campaign will unite around our shared values as community members. Everything I want to accomplish is for our students and teachers. Unity through community.”
Simone Rendon
“I put my name in for the school board for a few reasons.
“I like that the position is supposed to be nonpartisan. Which means the school board is supposed to think about every student, not just kids whose family votes the way they do.
“I also believe in keeping public schools open for the public. Which means everyone is welcome and should be supported.
“I am Ojibwe and Lakota. This allows me to bring a completely different perspective to the board. One that is neither left nor right, white nor black. I come with an open mind about our children and what they can learn.
“Being a public school means every kid is allowed to go. It’s where our children get to meet children not like them. Its where curiosity happens.
“And it’s the parents’ job at home to remind their children what their values and beliefs are. So if a kid learns that another kid has two parents of the same gender, it is not the school’s responsibility to shelter either kid from learning about the other.
“Public school is where children go to learn how to be good humans to people who are not like them. All while learning all the academic skills for working as an adult.”
Elaine Mikel-Mulder
“I think about education more than anything else. Further, I believe that when one stops learning, one stops flourishing. I think education is one of the most important gifts a community can offer its youth. I am not partial to any form of education. Whether it is public, private, or at home, I believe in any form that is offered well and in a manner that leaves students feeling confident in their ability to read, write, speak well, and engage with the problems they face in the world. I am not wired to be an educator by any means, but I do think I have a capacity to ask the right questions and steward an educational culture. Our public school serves the greatest number of children in our community; therefore, I believe it’s our responsibility to sew there.
“My goal is to ensure that the energy and resources of the district go towards fostering an atmosphere where students can genuinely grow in a love of learning, critical thinking, problem solving, and confidence in their ability to communicate well. My goal is to ensure that our district stewards every taxpayer dollar towards this end. Further, I would like to assist in bridging the gap of misunderstanding between the efforts of the board, the district staff and the community through transparency and intentional communication. I do not claim to know all that it takes to accomplish a thriving school district, but I am committed to asking questions and probing into how to continuously refine and improve the great system we already have in place.”
Civic Arena
School board officials continued to rail against the hike in civic arena ice time the city announced in July, saying they would look into other options for hockey beyond the Hastings Civic Arena in the future.
“Councilmember Vihrachoff talked about how we’re partners in this one endeavor. We’re really not partners. We’re a client and they’re a service provider,” said Director Mark Zuzek in reference to comments made by City Councilor DawnMarie Vihrachoff at the Monday, Aug. 11 Joint Powers Agreement meeting between the district and city.
“I think our voice was not heard,” continued Zuzek about the civic arena discussions during that meeting.
School board members decried the district being singled out for higher ice rates as compared to other users, even those who use more ice time.
“It just doesn’t seem fair,” said Carrie Tate, ISD 200 School Board Chair.
The district was singled out in part, according to City Administrator Dan Wietecha, because of the district’s first pick on ice times as well as its ability to take gate fees for attendees to events.
According to Jen Seubert, in fiscal year 2025, the district took in over $27,000 in gate fees. Those funds, however “don’t generally cover all of your costs,” said Superintendent Kristine Wehrkamp Herman.
Especially in a large deficit year, school board members disputed the district being singled out for its ability to generate income from gate fees.
“Gate fees aren’t profit,” said Director Biermaier.
The viability of future high school hockey was another concern from school board members.
As club sports have grown, they have boxed out participation in some school sports.
Because of this decline, financing a civic arena project across a decade or more was a concern for the sport which is already notoriously expensive as compared to other sports offered at the high school.
The ice time rate increase, which was recently raised for all users for “prime” ice time to $270 per hour, was raised again to $325 per hour solely for the district.
“In a roundabout way, we are just passing it on,” because the funds will have to come from the district’s levy, said Finance Director Jen Siebert.
“I don’t know what options we have,” said Zuzek about the increased ice times.
The city and district failing to come to an agreement on a civic arena contract would force Hastings hockey to play at a different arena outside of the city.
“They’re not on the right side of this,” said Director Philip Biermaier.
Superintendent goals
Wehrkamp Herman discussed a draft of her new superintendent goals with the board. Just over a month in the district, the superintendent’s goals are built in part from the district’s new strategic goals. They are:
“Now it’s just the work,” quipped Wehrkamp Herman.
The final goals will be voted on at the Aug. 27 regular school board meeting.
MSBA Legislative Goals
The board also discussed a number of legislative goals to submit to the Minnesota School Board Association. The goals ranged from ending underfunded mandates like unemployment insurance for temporary workers within school districts and earned sick and safe time to grants for technology, statewide pathways funding, and mandatory statewide mentorship programs for teachers.
Other requests included creating a lag time for legislation that would negatively affect school budgets via unfunded or underfunded mandates. The proposal would seek such legislation to be enacted at earliest in the next fiscal year to allow districts time to budget for new mandates and legislation.
