Starting Tuesday, August 2, the filing period is open for the Nov. 8 school board election. The filing period is open through Aug. 16. The school board is made up of six members who are elected to four-year terms. Drew Scherber and Carol Steffens’s seats are up for re-election this year, as well as the seat formerly taken by Doug Birk, who resigned from the board last month in order to take an administrative position within the school district. Incumbents Scherber and Steffens have said they both plan to run for re-election. Those interested in filing for candidacy can find more information on the school district web site.
As for the currently vacant school board seat, a familiar face to the St. Michael-Albertville school community will soon fill it. The board nominated Chuck Lefebvre, former school board member of 18 years, to serve in the vacant seat until the newly elected school board members begin their terms in January 2017. Lefebvre served from 1992-2010. He said he has no plans to file for a permanent position on the board.
He fills a position left open by Doug Birk, who resigned from the board to take a position within STMA School District.
“I’m just going to pitch in and use my experience to fill that seat,” Lefebvre said. “I don’t have an agenda or anything, just to do what we’ve always said: ‘do what’s best for kids.’ That’s the motto we used when I was on the board, and that’s what I’ll use as a guiding principle for these few months that I’ll be on.”
Despite the short time frame he will be on the board, Lefebvre will be part of at least one big decision, determining if the school district should bring a bond referendum in front of voters next winter and, if so, what to include in the bond. Though Lefebvre cannot join the board for 30 days past his nomination to fulfill the required comment period, he said he plans to attend the upcoming community input meeting on Aug. 22 to keep himself informed and up to speed on the bond referendum issue.
“We need someone to sit in that chair and help us get business done through to January,” board member Jeff Lindquist said. “We need someone competent, and I can’t think of anyone more competent than Chuck.”