Tuesday evening, Becker PTSA hosted a candidate forum for aspiring school board members. Mayor Tracy Bertrum served as the moderator.

Four candidates are hoping to serve on the board for the year of 2021. Connie Robinson, Lawrence Giebenhain, Sarah Schafer and Cindy Graham are all running for school board positions.

There was more agreement than disagreement among the candidates. They all agreed that student safety was the first priority of the school board, but that they would do as much as possible to make sure the kids got to have face-to-face time with their teachers and peers.

Mayor Bertram commented that their agreement on most of the issues was a good thing, as three of these candidates will be serving on the board together at the beginning of the year. “It’s great to hear that there is harmony between the functioning of the board.”

Below is a sample of the answers given by the school board candidates. The question was regarding whether or not the candidates would support bringing students back to school full time.

Schafer: “My belief is that we need to follow the guidelines of the Minnesota Department of Education as well as the Minnesota Department of Health and, on a local level, Sherburne County. We would have to follow direction and guidelines and adhere to the direction they have given the district, and in turn follow in step with what the superintendent brings to the board.”

Graham: “Obviously, as a retired educator, I am passionate about kids being in school face-to-face everyday, enjoying recess and phy ed, going to lunch, reading and learning and spending time with their peers. I think all of that is just vital. But even though I’m passionate about that I know there’s many layers to this decision, and layers have to be examined. Experts need to help. Just because Cindy Graham is passionate about something does not mean that it happens. I have a grandchild who’s doing hybrid learning. It breaks my heart every day to see her go through such a hard time. I understand the impact, but I really do think this decision has to come from a team, and as a school board member, I would be one person on that team, along with a lot of other experts.”

Robinson: “I agree with both Sarah and Cindy. In-person is the best way to learn, but we have to listen to our experts — the scientists, the department of health, the department of education. I know our superintendent is working closely with all of those groups. I believe that as a board member we have to take those recommendations and make the safest decision based on those statistics. Whether we like it or not, we need to keep our students and staff safe. We have to listen to our superintendent, who works closely with these groups, and follow his recommendations.”

Giebenhain: “I agree as well, I think in-classroom and face-to-face is the best possible education that kids can get. I think there is kind of a vacuum and we are losing some of the social skills, face-to-face interpersonal skills as far as communication goes between the kids. I think it’s sad to see that but we really don’t have the control or the authority to say ‘everyone’s back in the classroom.’ For me, personally, I would say my stance is to encourage the board to bring them back to the classroom as soon as we possibly can.”