Dottie Seamans
Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
I am married with three adult children who have all graduated from the school district. Two of my sons are married and I have one granddaughter. We have been long-time residents of the school district - 25 years. I am a native of the St. Cloud metro area.
What experience do you have that prepares you for public office?
I have been a Sauk Rapids-Rice school board member for 11 of the last 13 years and also have volunteer for a few committees in the district before first being elected in 1995. I have also volunteer and served on various boards not related to the school district.
Work experience includes regional director of the American Heart Association where I had the opportunity to visit nearly all of the schools in a 13-county area.
Undergraduate degree in organizational management and communications and currently pursuing a masters degree in Leadership from SCSU.
Why you decided to run for this office.
During my tenure on the Board I've experienced more comfortable economic times and the stressful economic times we find ourselves in right now. I am choosing to run again because, with administration, I want to be able to work through the challenges we will be facing and continue to work to keep academic opportunities for students.
Additionally, I feel that I am willing to listen to conflicting viewpoints, weigh the options, use past board experience and help make the best decisions possible.
Top three issues you would tackle, if elected.
I can't change the funding from the state. I can only work with other school board members to communicate to legislators the affects of the current funding formula on districts. This is an issue that needs to be tackled but not on a local level. On a local level three of the issues would be:
· Making sure academic opportunities are available for all students. The state of Minnesota makes sure special education receives the funding they needed to achieve their mandates but sometimes at the expense of other students. We need to continue to work to make sure all of our student population is served appropriately.
· Safety - from bussing to feeling safe on the playground or the halls and classrooms in the schools. This is not to say that students may not feel safe in those places but I would work to ensure that student safety remains vigilant.
· Open communication with the public. The school district has made strides in this area but instituting listening sessions where we share dialogue with community members who may want to address the board. Another communication tool I think could be started is communication sessions (for the lack of a better term) where Board members can articulate what went into the decisions that were made. Sometimes community may not understand everything that went into the decision. This would provide an opportunity for Board members to let community understand the rationale.