School Board Candidate Profile: Molly Lutz

The South Washington County School Board has five seats up for election in 2013.

Four members will be elected to four-year terms; one will be elected to fill the vacancy of the two-year term expiring Jan. 4, 2016.

There are 14 people vying for the four-year terms and three candidates for the two-year term. The election is Nov. 5.

Molly Lutz, of Woodbury, is vying for a four-year term.

Check back on Patch for more candidate profiles.

Patch: Why are you running for school board?

Lutz: My experiences in many different areas within the district have given me a perspective on how we can improve education in our schools.

I believe in fiscal responsibility along with student education and achievement. I am running as a non-partisan candidate and believe political agendas should not be involved in school board elections. I believe the school district has a responsibility to listen to our community.

I want to listen. I want parents and taxpayers to know that the people of our district are represented prior to decisions being made.

Patch: What qualifications do you have?

Lutz: I am currently PTO President at Woodbury Middle School. I have also been PTO President at Woodbury Elementary and a parent representative on their Site Team. I have served on the District 833 Communicators Team since 2006.

I served on the interview committee for hiring three of our school principals and attended the final Superintendent interview. I am a regular attendee of the Parent Advisory Council at Woodbury High School and of our district school board meetings; in addition I attended community budget meetings (spring 2013) and referendum meetings (fall 2013).

I have been a volunteer coach for WAA in soccer, softball and volleyball, and have been a catechist at St. Ambrose for 10 years. As a stay-at-home mom with no young children, I have the ability to be involved directly with schools during school hours. I feel this is important because students and teachers also need to be heard.

Having daughters in middle school and high school provides me with a district and community network allowing me to hear and see the impact of administration decisions. (I am also the mom who does a lot of carpooling to events.)

Patch: How are you voting on the three ballot questions? Why?

Lutz: I support the three referendum questions; however, the increased budget also increases the importance of selecting school board members who will oversee how district administration spends our tax dollars and be responsible to the community.

Question 1: Failure to pass this would severely impact education in the classroom. It needs to be passed in order to keep us at the same level of funding as the current year.

Question 2: I believe the safety and technology goals of the question are warranted. However, I am concerned that the entire $6.9 million annually for 10 years will be put into the general fund balance and could be reallocated to other areas at the discretion of administration.

This is specifically why we need a school board who will scrutinize the spending of this money and make sure it is spent as laid out in the referendum question. I will listen to our community. (More information on this question can be found at http://www.sowashco.k12.mn.us/HotTopics/Election2013/Question2.asp)

Question 3: Houses continue to be built and our district continues to grow. I support purchasing land for a new school today and thoughtfully planning for an expansion instead of waiting until our existing classrooms are even more beyond capacity. Having the time to select the right piece of land and negotiate the right price is the fiscally sound thing to do.

Patch: What is the biggest challenge facing District 833 Schools? How would you address it?

Lutz: Fiscal responsibility to our community.

In recent years, the district has intentionally spent down our fund balance (Window on Education – Feb. 2013) to be within the fund balance policy set by the school board.

Now the district is in a financial situation in which it needs additional revenue from taxpayers to maintain current programs and services.

Last spring, the district presented their three prepared budgets to the community and a new process using the Service Matrix for Budgeting. Two options were clearly preferred by the community. Both of these options maintained class sizes and walking distances.

The administration then presented a fourth “Hybrid” option to the school board for approval. This Hybrid budget was approved, even though it increased both class size and walking distance—doing exactly the opposite of what the community said was important to them.

The school board needs to hold the administration accountable to the taxpayers and parents of our community. The fiscal stability of our district directly impacts each and every student academically. We need to make sure that our children are being taught core education.

Increasing walking distance and laying off teachers is not what the taxpayers told the district they wanted (http://www.sowashco.k12.mn.us/Departments/Communications/2013%20Bd%20Pres%20Survey%20Results.pdf Page 8 – 78 percent support maintaining class sizes )

Another challenge is the communication between the district and the community. The district needs to be forthcoming and transparent about issues. One recent example is when the district decided to end “Class Rank.”

Instead of holding input sessions to find out how this would impact families, the administration held community meetings at 6 p.m. on a weeknight to inform parents that a decision had already been made. This form of communication is not successful.

• I believe in fiscal responsibility of taxpayer dollars.
• I believe student education and achievement needs to start with the core education for all students.
• I believe the district has a responsibility to listen because important decisions impact the lives of students and taxpayers.
• I believe the district needs to be forthcoming and transparent to the community.
• I will communicate.
• I will be a voice for the community.

Patch: Anything else you’d like to add?

Lutz: How can people reach me? Email Molly at MollyLutz833@gmail.com

Previous Profiles

Tracy Brunnette

John Griffin

Katie Schwartz

Mike Thissen

Katy McElwee-Stevens

Frederick E. Hess

Susan Richardson

Wayne Johnson

Michael Edman

• • • •

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