Alyssa Melby
Please list any previous political office you’ve held. (if any)
None
Please list any civic, community, or professional organizations/clubs you’re a part of. (if any)
-Healthy Community Initiative board (6 years, including the last two years as Co-Chair)
-Northfield Public Schools Legislative Action Committee
-League of Women Voters Northfield Cannon Falls member (and recently stepped down from my position as Voter Services Chair on the board in order to run for office)
-WINGS member
What qualifies you for the office you’re running for?
First and foremost, I’m a current parent (rising 10th grader at NHS, 7th grader at NMS, and 5th grader at GVP). I’ve got an on-the-ground perspective that I believe is important to have well represented on a school board. Second, I have built deep and trusted community connections through my time as Executive Director for the Northfield Arts Guild and my current role as Director of the Svoboda Center for Civic Engagement at St. Olaf College, something I would continue to do as an elected school board member. Third, in both my professional and civic roles I’ve shown that I’m a strategic and mission-oriented thinker, creative problem solver, and connector of people and ideas–all of which are skills needed for good governance.
What inspired you to run for office? If you are running for re-election why do you want to stay in office?
Running for school board has been in the back of my mind for awhile as a way to serve my community and help strengthen our school system. I was approached to run in the past but it was never the right time. I’ve served on the school’s Legislative Action Committee for the past three years and have grown my understanding of the tremendous impacts state funding and policy decisions have on how our district operates. I observed the school board over the last year and half through the League of Women Voter’s Observer Program. What I learned as an observer was how well our school board functioned with civility and integrity. The most recent budget reduction process, while difficult, was rooted in community engagement while being transparent, robust, and thoughtful about ripple effects of cuts.
Flash forward to now–This year, with the numerous transitions in leadership at Northfield Public Schools, I was actually quite excited when all three incumbents filed to run because stability of the board is a gift for executive leadership, and I knew it would be a good thing for our district! But when the dust settled after the filing and withdrawal periods, only two candidates remained for three open seats, meaning: whoever would get the most write-in votes would win the third seat. Leaving this third seat open to possible chance like that did not sit well with me. We need people on the school board who are serious about the work of strengthening our schools, supporting our students and teachers, and working through ongoing financial pressures that will deeply impact the education for all that we promise our kids. After conversations with friends and family, I quickly decided now was the time for me to step up to serve our community as a write-in candidate for school board. My name will not appear on the ballot; instead, if voters would like to see me in that third seat, they will need to find the race (located at the bottom right of the ballot for most voters), fill in the oval next to a blank line, then write my name in!
What is something that you would like to accomplish while in office?
There are two big things I want to accomplish in office. The first is maintaining strong fiscal stewardship of district resources amidst mounting outside pressures (declining enrollment, state and federal funding uncertainty, rising health care costs) and with the least amount of damage to our core services as a district. Unless something drastically changes on the revenue side of the equation, there will be hard decisions that will have to be made, and I stand ready to prioritize deep listening to our community–including teachers, parents, and students themselves–to do what is best for our students. We have to keep our mission of educating all students at the center of our decision making process. I will strongly advocate that the community engaged process that occurred during the most recent round of budget reductions be replicated and built upon for future budget decision making.
The second is a reevaluation of technology use, in particular IPADs and the role of AI, within the curriculum that takes into account both evidence and research and the practical realities of what students will face. New technology should absolutely augment learning but shouldn’t be the sole tool for it. We are learning more every day about the impact of screens on brain development, but I also recognize that tech tools like IPADs have helped some of our students as an accessibility aide, so there are also positive benefits. With the rapid rise of AI, I also want the district to help our students navigate this new technology in developmentally-appropriate and responsible ways through policy and thoughtful integration. We need to equip our students with the critical thinking and decision making tools for the world they will encounter upon graduation, which will inevitably include AI and other emerging technologies.
What does being a leader mean to you?
I recently heard someone say that being a leader is a position, but leadership is a practice. I also have been mulling over the concept of “trustworthiness” and how one proves that they are trustworthy that my colleague Dr. Anthony Bateza recently brought up at a work conference. Together, these two ideas have me reflecting on my various practices that help prove my trustworthiness as a leader. These practices include deep listening, collaboration, thoughtful decision making based whenever possible on evidence, and integrity. I do what I say I’m going to do and when I can’t I am explicit about why. I hold fast to my core values of respect, dignity, and equity for every person, and when I don’t live up to those values, I own that and make amends. Particularly at a time when public trust in institutions is flagging, I see my role as a leader in helping to rebuild that trust through my practices of leadership.
Campaign Website & Social media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593262810248;
unitedfornorthfield.com
Ben Miller
Please list any previous political office you’ve held. (if any)
School Board
Please list any civic, community, or professional organizations/clubs you’re a part of. (if any)
N/A
What qualifies you for the office you’re running for?
I have served on the Northfield school board for the past four years, which has covered several budget cycles, contract negotiations with our educators and staff, and the transition to a new superintendent. Before joining the board, I spent much of my career at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, where I directed the division responsible for food and feed programs, led outbreak response, and now serve as Chief Operating Officer of a consulting firm. Both roles involved the same categories of work a school district manages, including budgets, personnel, regulatory obligations, and public accountability. My academic training is in public health and epidemiology, and I try to bring that discipline to board decisions. Both of my children have attended Northfield Public Schools, so I also come to this work as a parent who has watched district decisions play out in classrooms.
What inspired you to run for office? If you are running for re-election why do you want to stay in office?
My mother taught in Minneapolis Public Schools for 30 years, and I grew up with a clear sense of what public education asks of a community and what it returns. I first ran in 2022 because I thought the board would benefit from a member with an operational and analytical background who was willing to do the homework on the district’s finances. While I will continue to bring that lens to the work, I am also running again to support the district is in the middle of a superintendent transition, with Dr. Tim Anderson beginning his tenure. The board has several multi-year issues in progress, including considering later start times for our middle and high school students, the district’s enrollment projections, and upcoming strategic planning. Four years have been enough time to learn how the district operates, and several of those decisions will not be resolved until well into the next term. I would like to see them through with a board that retains some institutional memory.
What is something that you would like to accomplish while in office?
I have two goals for the next term. The first is to slow, and if possible reverse, the district’s enrollment decline. A meaningful number of families living in or near the district have their children enrolled in neighboring districts or homeschool arrangements, and many of them may have never seriously considered Northfield Public Schools. The academic programs and the breadth of extracurricular opportunities here compare well with any district in the region, and I would like the district to make a direct and organized effort to invite those families to look at what we offer and to make enrolling as easy as possible. Enrollment drives our funding, so this is also the most durable way to protect the programs that make the district attractive in the first place. The second goal is to keep pressing on academic progress and rigor for every student in the district, at every level of preparation. The measures of success are whether more students are meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations each year, whether the students who arrive behind are catching up, and whether the students who are ready for more are being given it. I want the board to ask for that evidence regularly and to hold ourselves and the administration to it.
What does being a leader mean to you?
To me, leadership on a school board begins with preparation. I read the packet, I ask the administration questions before the meeting, and I try to understand the trade-offs before I take a position in public. It also means accepting the board’s decision once the vote is taken, including the votes I lose, and being able to explain that decision to the community. The board’s job is to set policy, approve the budget, and hire and evaluate the superintendent. Day-to-day operation of the schools belongs to the administration, and part of leadership is respecting that boundary while still expecting results. Finally, leadership is being willing to take a position that some part of the community will not like when the evidence and the interests of students support it, and then remaining available to the people who disagree.
Campaign Website & Social media
www.unitedfornorthfield.com
Jeff Quinnell
Please list any previous political office you’ve held. (if any)
Current Member of the Northfield School Board
Please list any civic, community, or professional organizations/clubs you’re a part of. (if any)
Current and past experience on non-profit boards. Served as a member and/or adviser for numerous public, private and professional groups and organizations.
What qualifies you for the office you’re running for?
Currently the longest seated member on the Northfield School Board. I was born and raised in the Northfield area. I attended K-12 in Northfield Public Schools and graduated from NHS. I am a former 3 sport athlete at NHS and a former college football player. I strongly support the districts sports and activities programs. I know the Northfield area culture well, the history of the school district and school board. Which helps me make informed decisions.
What inspired you to run for office? If you are running for re-election why do you want to stay in office?
The “Reimagine Project” for NHS will take time. I want to see that project through until it is completed, as a board member. It will be a new chapter for the district. As well as a state of the art building and grounds for students, staff and families. Including seniors, the general public and many community groups. For many years to come.
What is something that you would like to accomplish while in office?
One of my most enjoyable memories for me over my years on the board is being able to be at commencement and watch a new class of NHS grads walk across the stage and receive their diploma from a school board member with a smile and a hand shake. We have a very high graduation rate at NHS compared to many public schools across the state. Let’s keep it that way! I encourage students to stay focused on completing their graduation requirements and visualize themselves walking across the stage with their NHS diploma, in hand, on their graduation day. Let’s all work together and make that happen!
What does being a leader mean to you?
I believe a leader is one who uses their time, talent and treasure to serve others, while creating a future vision that includes moral and worthy goals. Helping everyone across the finish line, to the best of their abilities.
Campaign Website & Social media
N/A
