Four candidates for Rochester School Board seek election as a conservative block

Jun. 2—ROCHESTER — Eleven candidates have filed for the Rochester school board, including four who are presenting themselves as a block, with the goal of offering voters a more conservative alternative.

Elena Niehoff, Kim Rishavy, John Whelan and Rae Parker are running as a group, trying to change the school board to a more conservative philosophy.

If all four candidates of the block win their individual races, they would represent the majority of the seven-member governing body. As such, it would radically change the face of the school board and school district at large, which has a significant influence on the education of nearly 18,000 students.

Meanwhile, three of the four incumbent board members whose terms expire this year have filed for re-election. That means three-fourths of the available positions could become a show-down between the current direction of the school district and the proposed alternative.

The primary election will be Aug. 9. The general election will then be Nov. 8.

The fourth incumbent whose term is expiring, Melissa Amundsen, said she doesn't need to run again since there are other candidates she trusts. She specifically referenced candidate Justin Cook.

"Justin is tremendously competent and committed to education, and he has my wholehearted support, as do my School Board colleagues Julie Workman, Cathy Nathan and Jean Marvin," Amundsen said in a written statement.

Like Cook, there are other candidates who are neither incumbents nor associated with the conservative block, meaning there could be any mixture of opinions on the board after the election.

Cook said he's concerned about the financial issues facing the district, as well as literacy rates, among others. In addition to specific issues, however, he said he generally wants the best for Rochester Public Schools.

"It's kind of a perfect storm of circumstances that have made it a difficult time for public schools," Cook said. "I'm real invested in the future of Rochester and the performance of the public schools, for my kids if nothing else. And, I want to help them navigate the next chapter."

The four conservative candidates — Niehoff, Rishavy, Whelan and Parker — have developed a common website, which lists the various issues they would address if elected. Among others, the list includes "equity (manipulated outcomes)", and "policies influenced by critical race theory."

Niehoff and Parker declined to comment individually, saying they wanted the group of candidates to speak with one voice.

That "one voice" messaging occurred Tuesday when they announced their candidacies at a small rally at the Edison Building, the district's administrative hub.

"Together, the four of us will work hard," Rishavy said at the rally, which was filmed. "We're going to implement real policy changes that allow teachers and parents to take back the classrooms. Were going to take the politics out of the school and bring back academic excellence. We're going to stop the indoctrination of your children and my grandchildren."

The three incumbent candidates who are running for re-election this year, Nathan, Workman and Marvin, all have spoken about wanting to continue the work they started in their time on the board thus far.

"I'm really optimistic about the future of the district," Marvin told the Post Bulletin for a previous election story. "It's been a couple of really tough years. I feel like I've been around long enough and have enough experience that we can just get a lot of really good work done."

In addition to Cook, there are a number of candidates that aren't either incumbents or part of the conservative block.

One of the additional candidates, Patrick Farmer is running on what could likely prove to be the most controversial campaign idea, introducing gun safety into the school system.

"The reason I am running is because I am for school safety," Farmer said. "And I believe that gun safety and shooting should be in the curriculum."

Another candidates, A. Mohamed "Chief," declined to comment for the story at the time.

The final candidate, Abdullahi Yusuf, stressed his connection to the district as an alumni of the school system, graduating from Mayo High School in 2009. He also emphasized that he chose to attend college at the University of Minnesota-Rochester before moving on to earn a master's and his current doctoral candidacy.

"That experience shaped the passion I have for helping students succeed," he said about his education in Rochester. "I want to be able to serve an be an ally for the young students as they progress through the school system, and I feel like a recent grad can provide that kind of leadership and stewardship."

(as listed by the Minnesota Secretary of State)

Position 2:

* Justin Cook

* Rae Parker

* Abdullahi Omar Yusuf

Position 4:

* John Whelan

* Julie Workman

Position 5:

* A. Mohamed "Chief"

* Jean Marvin

* Kimberly Rishavy

Position 6:

* Patrick Farmer

* Cathy Nathan

* Elena Niehoff