Stillwater Loses Pro-BOLD Majority on the School Board who Closed 3 Schools

On the Horizon of New Beginnings for Stillwater Area Public Schools, Loss of Lehmann Jeopardizes BOLD Plan

STILLWATER, MN - A Stillwater Area Public Schools Board Special Meeting was held early July to appoint an interim school board member to fill former Stillwater School Board Member, Tom Lehmann's vacated seat. In a tabulation vote performed by the remaining six school board members, the vacant seat was won by longtime educator and former Stillwater Junior High

Principal, Donald G. Hovland. Mr. Hovland was selected from a pool of nine candidates and he brings 47 years experience in education, including secondary and post-secondary education. In addition to serving as principal at Stillwater Junior High, Hovland has worked as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, and for school districts in Montana and North Dakota. He has volunteered on the Human Rights Commission for the Stillwater City Council and is currently working with the "One Room Schoolhouse" project in Oak Park Heights. Mr. Hovland has resided in Stillwater for more than 45 years.

Beloved, Closed Schools (Withrow, Marine and Oak Park Elementary) Sit Vacant and Tug Heart Strings of Stillwater Area Public School District Residents

Mr. Hovland's school board seat appointment will last until January 2019. Hovland ran for a school board seat in the 2016 election and finished in seventh place out of ten candidates. Mr. Hovland made clear during the 2016 Stillwater Area Public School Board Election that he was against the Stillwater School District Administrations BOLD (Building Opportunities to Learn and Discover), which called for the closure of Withrow, Marine and Oak Park Elementary Schools. Hovland joins School Board Member's Mike Ptacek, Sarah Stivland and Shelley Pearson who were against the BOLD plan.  

School Board Members Paula O'Loughlin, George Hoeppner and Shelley Pearson up for Re-Election This Fall

School Closing Advocates and Pro-BOLD School Board Members Paula O'Loughlin and George Hoepnner are up for Re-Election in November, along with Shelley Pearson, and Don Hovland's newly appointed seat. The filing for dates for candidates to register will be held July 31st to August 14th. Newcomers in the race and declaring candidacy early are Stillwater Township Resident, Tina Riehle and Grant Resident Liz Weisberg. 

-Shannon Bryant

Proposed Mahtomedi Ice Arena will Violate Purchase Agreement if Built on Former Dump Site

By: 
Shannon Pohl Bryant

NOTICE: To the taxpayers, community and Mahtomedi Hockey Parents, we the taxpayers of the Mahtomedi School District request you immediately STOP and cease giving any further donations to Rinc 2 Inc. to build a private hockey arena on the former Bellaire Sanitation Site, directly west of Wildwood Elementary. 

For one many taxpayers have many concerns about the safety of this site. But most important is the 2004 Sales Purchase Agreement between Seller Waste Management of Minnesota, Inc. and Purchaser Mahtomedi School District.
(here's a few pages of the 60 page document) 

The purchase agreement contains a "perpetual" and never ending restricted covenant on building ANY structure requiring footings or foundation over the "MMDA" Mixed Municipal Disposal Area, this is the exact location of the proposed hockey arena. 

Community members strongly feel that it is in the best interest of the taxpayers of ISD 832 to not get in to litigation with multi-million dollar company Waste Management, who did not end on good terms with this school district after the school district refused to give back their $400,000 escrow deposit. 

This group feels terrible for the hard working families that already donated significant dollars to this project. WE don't understand if this is ignorance on the part of Mahtomedi School District or dishonesty, as the school district is attempting to collect a $500,000 escrow deposit for this project. However, the lease for the proposed hockey arena to Rinc 2 Inc. was approved by the School Board in September. 

School Board Members Kevin Donovan and Judith Schwartz served on the school board in 2004 when this contract was executed and signed and should have known these important details. As current and former Zephyrs, it is in our best interest to honor contracts we made, not to risk health and safety of our children, and not to risk expensive litigation with Waste Management. Please share with other community members that have a vested interested in this school district