SLP School Board Candidates Talk Bullying, Park Spanish Immersion, IB in Forum

All five candidates for the St. Louis Park School Board spoke Tuesday evening during a forum organized by the League of Women Voters.

In the forum, which lasted about an hour and a half, candidates answered questions about Park Spanish Immersion Elementary, the role of community education in the city, the International Baccalaureate program, the district's bullying policy and pedagogical methods for addressing school quality. 

In just a few weeks, St. Louis Park voters will be able to weigh in on the three open four-year seats on the school board. (Board member Ken Morrison will run unopposed for a two-year seat. He was not invited to the Tuesday forum.)

The election will be held Nov. 5. All school board seats are at-large, meaning the entire school district will be able to vote for each seat.

Board chair Bruce Richardson and former chair Jim Yarosh are both seeking re-election. Christine Johnson, Karen Waters and Jim Beneke are also looking to join the board.

Johnson is a lifelong St. Louis Park resident whose son is entering the first grade. She works in Human Services in Ramsey County and has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Waters, a former board member of the Susan Lindgren Parent-Teacher-Student Organization, is a resident of the school district for more than 20 years. She is the mother of four children enrolled in the district.

Beneke is the father of two St. Louis Park students and one graduate. A working engineer, he's lived in the district for 20 years.