A legitimate dilemma.

Susan Mills * Debra Kiel * Gary Willhite * Daniel J. Erdman * Frank Fee * Robin Brekken * Reverend Daniel Wolpert have all filed to run for the position of Crookston School Board Member. But only 3 will ultimately take their seats after the election.

First of all they should all be saluted! It seems to be a thankless job, punctuated by stressful areas including declining enrollments (translate declining budget) at the same time that more variety of services, more technology, pretty much more everything is being demanded. I remember as far back as the 1970's when things were pretty much still on the up-swing, how my Aunt Barb would go on about how frustrating it was to both try to make the best decisions for the school district, and to try to satisfy a barrage of parents calling over issue after issue after issue! This was before computers, when distance learning meant you got on a school bus to get to a remote classroom, when teachers were still in some way the respected controllers of their classroom domains. But now literally EVERYTHING has changed. You can even decide to go to a school in a neighboring town, which provides some losses and some gains for our local school each year.

So how do I as a caring concerned voter make a choice between these candidates? Being liberal or conservative really should have no part in it, Male or Female shouldn't be a deciding factor. I'm sure that each and every one of them care a lot about the school district and the kids that go there, and I wouldn't know how to judge one better or worse on that criteria anyway. Most of them, I believe had a lifetime, or almost a lifetime of understanding the nuances of Crookston and all it's uniqueness. I think that all are parents who have had kids in the School District 593. They all have published phone numbers, and I'm guessing email addresses.

I suppose we could subpoena their dental records to make sure that they're brushing regularly, and find out how often they change oil on their vehicles. Perhaps get some soil samples of their yards to see which ones use Miracle Grow and who uses the cheap imitation knock off. Perhaps a spelling and geography bee, after all they're going to be responsible for our young people excelling in those areas. All in all this is a dilemma. I'm hoping there won't be any more yard signs, or Daughters of the American Veterans debates.

Sadly any winners are going to leave a legacy of budget cuts, staff reductions, and a shrinking economy. Maybe the best thing to do would be to increase the size of the school board to include ANYONE who has the courage to run! I wish you all well in your campaigns, you leave us all with a legitimate dilemma!