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    • Sartell-St. Stephen District 748 winners win in divisional battle
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    Sartell-St. Stephen District 748 winners win in divisional battle

    Online Niel Posted on

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    Sartell voters decided to keep Sartell-St. Stephen School District 748 Tricia Meling and Matthew Moehrle Incumbent. Newcomer Chelsea Thielen joins the two.

    The three successful candidates ran their campaigns to keep politics out of the school board. This comes after the board split political ideology 3-3 after board members Emily Larson, Jen Smith and Scott Wenshau won seats on the slate in 2022.

    The students say St. Cloud Times these tensions are “filtered” for students to notice, citing poor board collaboration. Disagreements nearly caused the board to miss a July 1 deadline to approve staff contracts last summer.

    The District 748 board will look relatively the same after this election, except for one board member, Jason Nies, who has decided not to seek re-election.

    Nies typically joined Meling and Moehrle in opposing the 2022 slate when he cast his ballot. During the campaign, his newly elected replacement, Thielen, expressed a similar sentiment of keeping politics out of the decision-making process.

    Candidates Aaron Alexander, Michael Ringstad and Michael Gruber also ran, but did not receive enough votes to fill the three open seats.

    Meet the winners

    Name: Tricia Meling

    Age: He did not offer

    Occupation: Stay-at-home mom, ISD 748 substitute teacher and current ISD 748 Board President

    What needs to be changed: Bringing politics into our boardroom. The role of a board member is non-partisan and must return to being just that. I think it would be great if everyone remembered that everyone involved wants what’s best for the students. Encouraging people to address a problem directly with a teacher first and then following the communication chain.

    Name: Matt Moehrle

    Age: 44

    Occupation: Part-time attorney at RGP Law, Ltd., current member of the District 748 School Board

    What needs to change: We have facilities projects that I would like to see completed. Replacing the 1960s-era air handling system at Riverview Intermediate School is one of our biggest facilities needs and is one that has been communicated to the public since approximately 2015. Additionally, we, in partnership with the other five school districts in area that make up the Benton Stearns Education District, which provides special education services, must replace old and inadequate facilities. Finally, our high school sports and physical education complex needs completion, and I hope to see this project, along with Riverview’s HVAC project, put to a public referendum in early 2025. I also hope to improve the capacity our school board. to function as a coherent unit.

    Name: Chelsea Thielen

    Age: 40

    Occupation: Senior manager, HR Technology

    What needs to be changed: Our district must come together and resist the division caused by fringe groups. We need to restore confidence in our educators and administrators by trusting in their expertise and fully supporting them. It is essential that we allow our teachers to work without harassment or micromanagement, demonstrating our commitment to their well-being and professional autonomy. We need to truly listen to the majority of the community, not polarize factions, respecting their input when asking for feedback to create a more united and supportive environment.

    The population of Sartell-St. Stephen communities is approximately 18,000 and the school district has approximately 4,000 students from preschool through 12th grade.

    Online Niel
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