SD49 Republican Recommended Candidates

We are recommending that you vote for the following candidates on or before Election Day (November 7).  They reflect our values, they have supported our candidates in the past, and we believe that they will best serve our communities. 

Edina School Board Candidates

We will be sending out sample ballots soon for your consideration.  In the interim, please check out their websites and the information we have posted below.

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Faisal Deri for Edina School Board - Introduction

Faisal_Deri.jpgFaisal Deri, candidate for Edina School Board, provided this brief introduction and summary key issues.

His campaign website is www.Deri4Edina.com

Faisal has lived over 20 years in Minnesota and has been tremendously involved in community building and engagement. If elected, Faisal will bring his extensive experience in working with diverse populations to his position on the School Board.

Faisal has over 15 years of public accounting and corporate governance experience assisting audit teams with complex accounting issues and helping clients on strategic planning, due diligence, finance transformation, budgeting and forecasting, internal controls, policy & procedure development and compliance. Faisal has a Bachelor of Science degree and will earn an MBA in December 2017 from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

Faisal and his wife, Samira, are the parents of five children and currently have a daughter and a son enrolled in Edina public schools.

Campaign Platform

Accountability and Transparency

  • Ensuring school board and district accountability, transparency and integrity.
  • Adopting a fiscally responsible budget that allocates resources based on the district’s vision, goals and priorities for student achievement
  • Engaging community members and parents by seeking divergent perspectives in decision making process to enrich the quality of education.
  • Ensuring the board is accountable and open to the public interest and the public trust.

Academic Excellence

  •  Ensuring students are supported and inspired to succeed in academic achievements.
  •  Providing high quality educational experiences, including rigorous curriculum, technology and high-quality facilities.
  • Recruiting, retaining and supporting quality teachers, administrators and other staff and providing for their professional development.

Accessibility and Engagement

  •  Promoting and expanding outreach efforts, to engage a cross-section of diverse students, parents, staff, community members and various organizations.
  •  Ensuring students, parents and other members of the school community are welcomed and valued.
  • Providing and maintaining a safe and secure environment for all students and staff.

 

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Chad Bell for Edina School Board - Introduction

Chad_Bell_Profile.jpgChad Bell, candidate for Edina School Board, provided the following brief introduction and summary key issues.

His campaign website is www.chad4edina.com  and on Facebook: @Chad4EdinaSchools

Chad Bell has 2 children and he and his family have lived in East Edina for 12 years. Professionally Chad is a corporate ventures veteran who has worked in both small and large organizations helping them chart their path to future growth. Chad has extensive experience in the Edina community. He has spent 6 years coaching boys and girls soccer and is beginning as a softball and flag football coach. He is co-Cubmaster and den leader for pack 62. In his spare time, Chad likes to read and is learning to become a bike mechanic, and is approaching his 20th year coaching track for The Blues Special Olympics team.

Why I Am Running: Our school system is the crown jewel of our city. We have a long tradition of excellence but it is not a right that it continues that way. It is imperative that we challenge ourselves to continue to provide a world class learning environment for all of our kids. This means being open to innovation, challenging orthodoxy and being prescriptive with how we spend our money. I will bring that to fruition by collaborating with fellow board members, teachers and of course, parents!

Accountability

  • Rebuild trust with our parent community by holding myself and our board to the highest of standards
  • Make myself available to our parents through monthly open forum discussions
  • Use a critical eye when creating and approving new policy
  • Reduce use of outside consultants and focus those dollars back into the classroom

Collaboration

  • Work with our parents, board members and teachers to solve problems and accentuate opportunities
  • Connect with our business community to create hands on learning initiatives
  • Give teachers the freedom to teach and not overload them

Excellence

  • Assure our schools have programs and resources that address the learning needs of ALL of our students
  • Narrow the percentage of Edina graduates who need remedial classes while attending college
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Owen Michaelson for Edina School Board - Introduction

Small_Owen_pic_Tree_DSC4862.jpgOwen Michaelson, candidate for Edina School Board, provided the following brief introduction and summary key issues. 

His campaign website is www.owen4edina.com

I have four children who have been through or are in the Edina Schools. I have deep community connections through eight years as Cubmaster of Highlands Pack 123, five years as an Assistant Scoutmaster of CPC Troop 62, eighteen years as a Sunday School teacher at Wooddale Church, six-year participation in the Edina ECFE Dad’s class, seventeen-year member of the SD-49 Republicans—serving as Caucus Convener (Edina Precinct 8) three times in recent elections. Education (Univ. of Minnesota): Political Science (BA); Human Resources (MA). I founded and ran GopherData, a database consultancy for eighteen years. I’m an Eagle Scout.

Key Issues and Themes

EDUCATION FIRST!

Equip our students with skills and knowledge to be college ready, workplace capable, and engaged citizens.  Teach students how to think, not what to think!

Curriculum Focus:

Support personalized learning by interest and ability level, by incorporating expanded curriculum choices, and full-spectrum instruction which includes all relevant perspectives. Encourage an environment that fosters learning and focuses teachers efforts on subject-matter instruction.

Voice and Choice:

Support parents and students in their academic pursuits.  Promote more transparency and accountability from the administration, teaching staff, and School Board to the parents and students in Edina Public Schools.  Seek more collaboration between parents, students and teachers aligned with the personalized learning mission of Edina Schools.

Academic Responsibility:

Support efforts to ensure that all future decisions regarding academic initiatives, policies, and changes made are supported by research, are measurable and results-based.

Fiscal Responsibility:

Support efforts to ensure transparency and accountability of all our financial resources. Full analysis and disclosure is imperative.

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Edina 2017 Offices on ballot

Edina School Board Elections – Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017  (Pre-registration deadline –Tuesday, October 17, 2017)

Edina actually contains six school districts, but only has citizens residing in the following four districts that will be holding elections November 7, 2017.

School District 273 (Edina) General Election

Edina School District 273 will hold their regular board election to fill four spots on the Edina School Board.

School District 270 (Hopkins) General Election

Hopkins School District 270 will hold their regular board election to fill three spots on the Hopkins School Board.

School District 280 (Richfield) General Election

Richfield School District 280 will hold their regular board election to fill three spots on the Richfield School Board.

School District 283 (St. Louis Park) General Election

St. Louis Park School District 283 will hold their regular board election to fill three spots on the St. Louis Park School Board.

For further details about City of Edina School Board Elections CLICK HERE

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