Why I'm running for School Board
I believe that better communities are built through service and cooperation. Division and divisiveness evaporate when neighbors work together toward common goals. Since joining the Farmington School Board in January of 2021, I have helped lead our district with purpose and positivity.
A few of the accomplishments during Board service I am proud of include:
Increasing focus on academic growth and development. And helping to establish objectives-based performance measurement and reporting methodologies.
Enhancing policies that reduce distractions in the classroom and elevate expectations for conduct, performance and results.
Improving equity in health benefits among employee groups, as well as compensation that reflects the quality and value of educators and staff across the district to improve recruitment and retention.
Working with legislators (and helping to unite districts across Minnesota) to reduce the impact of unfunded and underfunded mandates, and to fix laws improperly enacted in 2023 that eroded school safety and local management of our public schools.
During the pandemic, ISD 192 kept our kids in classrooms longer and returned them from closures faster. And we were the first in the metro area to bring back normal operations to our schools faster (e.g., ending the mask mandates, etc.).
Elected to serve as Treasurer in 2021, as Board Chair in 2022 and 2023, and as Clerk in 2024.
My promise in 2020 was the same as it is today: To listen and provide a strong, objective voice for parents and community members; to communicate clearly about the issues; to seek balanced solutions to any problems we face, and to continue to improve transparency and inclusion in the decision-making processes.
The Issues
I believe communication, transparency and accountability are essential to good governance. Communication and accountability also are key to obtaining the community support needed for our schools. Going forward, Farmington Schools have an opportunity to build on our reputation for innovation, to deliver on the promise to help our students achieve more.
My priority areas of focus are:
Academic Excellence: Ensure that classrooms and teachers have the tools they need and that our facilities provide safe environments for learning.
Students and Families: Support partnerships and engagement among students, families, and teachers to enhance experiences that meet personal learning goals.
Fiscal Responsibility: Ensure the adequate and efficient use of funding. Continue to oppose State legislation that misdirects property tax dollars and undermines local decision-making.
Performance and Transparency: Improve how we measure and showcase quality. Ensure transparency in decision-making and outcomes.
I support public education. And I bring care and dedication to finding balance in meeting the priorities of students, parents, educators and taxpayers. I'm proud of my leadership and advocacy for ISD 192 and our families these past four years. And I humbly ask for your support for another term this November.
About Kyle
Lisa and I moved to Farmington/Lakeville in 2008. We have three kids in Farmington Schools. I'm currently a marketing director with a Minnesota-based healthcare IT and services company. I served in the Minnesota National Guard for 9 years (1990-1999). And over the past 12 years, I’ve coached Farmington youth baseball and basketball teams, led Cub Scout programs at North Trial Elementary School, served on the Patriotic Day Committee since 2020, and volunteered countless hours to other youth and community programs.
As a leader of the Parent/Teacher Partnership at North Trail Elementary, Lisa helped transform fundraising for extra academic programs. Today, she is an administrative assistant to the principal of NTES. Together, we’ve all experienced the rewards and challenges of raising kids in a fast-paced, digitally dependent environment.
Our daughter, Ella attends Dodge Middle School. Our sons Joshua and Evan attend Farmington High School. In all, we and our kids have had great experiences in Farmington Schools, and we’ve dedicated much of our time to helping other families enjoy the same.
My promise is simple: To listen and provide a strong, objective voice for parents and community members; to communicate clearly about the issues so we find balanced solutions to any problems we face, and to continue to improve transparency and inclusion in the decision-making processes.
Q&A
Following are answers to key questions I received from voters and media outlets when I first ran in 2020. I will update these as more are asked during this upcoming election:
What qualifies you to hold this position?
As parents and taxpayers, we all want quality, well run schools. I don't complain about problems, I help solve them. That includes digging into the data, seek input from other and helping build consensus. These are skills that will be needed to address impending financial challenges and to ensuring all students what they need to thrive and succeed.
I bring over 25 years of business marketing and communications leadership to this role. Throughout my career, I’ve demonstrated skill at connecting ideas and people to create new opportunities. I'm also known for analyzing data, seeking perspective from others and forming a clear point of view. I keep an open mind and a curious heart, which means I am unafraid to ask questions and challenge assumptions in search of greater understanding.
These are skills required to help to ensure safe, financially responsible, and well-run schools for our students and community. And I have put them to work for our district the past 4 years. I will continue to be a strong voice for our students, educators, and taxpayers as we face the challenges of the coming years.
What Experience do you have working with a decision-making group? Why should people trust that you will make decisions in the best interest of the district and its residents?
At work, I lead programs that bring together the insights and perspectives of many business leaders and colleagues. Where there are conflicting priorities, I serve as mediator. This means driving consensus toward agreed upon objectives, and ensuring all stakeholders ideas are heard and tested out. The answer seldom is “no,” but rather, “yes, and…” This approach usually leads to more effective answers.
As a school board member over the past 4 years, I have similarly helped drive decisions that include perspectives from all stakeholders. And we've delivered solutions reflecting balance and compromise, without losing focus on students, staff and families.
What metrics do you use to measure the effectiveness of educational programs in District 192? What benchmarks are you looking for? How should those metrics inform decision making in the district?
In business, there’s a mantra that you can only manage what you measure. The same goes for education programs. Through effective measurement of the most important factors – academic improvement and applied critical thinking – we are giving our educators better tools for working with individual students and to manage their classrooms. These are also the keys to help administration evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs.
Overall performance can best be measured through individual student progress bench marked by NWEA tests, as well as the results from advance placement, and college and career readiness exams, and ultimately graduation rates. These are quantitative measures of proficiency in certain subjects, but these tests also illustrate individual growth over time. In addition, it's important to see how well students apply what they learn to real-world situations. That’s a more holistic way to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs.
What will you do, if elected, to address harassment, bullying and/or intimidation? (Voter Question)
The responsibility of the School Board is to hold school personnel responsible for upholding the Districts very clear, very comprehensive anti-bullying and student discipline policies, and to support personnel acting within their frameworks. I’m aware of ongoing concerns about bullying in our schools. I will work to better understand these concerns and where any gaps in upholding these policies may be occurring. I will also seek ways to improve on these polices and procedures, as well as how Farmington Schools are communicating, in accordance to State and Federal law, with parents about incidents and their resolutions.
Here are links to the policies. Let me know what areas you think may be improved: