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School board forum to be held tonight

Three candidates, Sabrina Herrmann, Andrew Dittus, and former school board member Mitch Kraft, are all running for two open positions on the Minot Public School Board in the June 14 election. Current Incumbents Miranda Schuler and Laura Mihalick have both decided not to run again.

The Minot School Board Candidates Forum will be held today at 6 p.m. at the Minot City Hall. People can also participate virtually on the City of Minot YouTube channel or the City of Minot Chamber EDC Facebook page.

The Minot Daily News asked each of the candidates to respond to emailed questionnaires last week.

Andrew Dittus

Dittus, who is a Minot High School and North Dakota State University graduate, has young children who will be attending the Minot schools in the future as well as a stepdaughter who is currently enrolled in the school system. He currently works as a senior staff production engineer for Hunt Oil Company. He is also active in the community.

He decided to run for the board because he has an interest in serving the district.

“There isn’t really one simple answer but more so a multitude of things,” he wrote in the email. I think it will be a good opportunity for MPS to have some younger leadership to help make rational decisions to help with the education of our youth. MPS is going through some major growth phases and I felt my background may be able to help make economical decisions to better the MPS system.”

At Hunt Oil, Dittus wrote, he oversees a 2022 $30,000,000 operating expense budget but (is) also involved in the 2022 $180,000,000 capital expense budget so he has extensive financial management skills.

Dittus wrote in the email that he feels the most important issues facing the school district are the space constraints within the high school and the middle schools.

Voters in the district passed a bond issue last fall that will fund the renovation of an existing building at the former Cognizant property in northwest Minot, as well as new construction at the site of the new North High School that will be a 9-12 high school. Other projects will include renovation of Magic City Campus into a 9-12 high school and of Central Campus into a third in-town middle school. This will give Minot two 9-12 high schools instead of one high school spread across two campuses and a third middle school that will ease overcrowding at the two existing middle schools, Jim Hill Middle School and Erik Ramstad Middle School.

With those changes will come changing school boundary attendance lines, which were just approved by the school board at its Thursday meeting.

“In regard to the school boundaries I have heard a lot of mixed opinions, and unfortunately more bad than good,” wrote Dittus in the email. “When parents/kids get comfortable going to a school then all of a sudden they find out they have to move schools, there is going to be some turmoil and I get it. I do feel the board and MPS have done a great job reaching out to the community to get their feedback regarding different boundaries, school names, mascots, and different stances within the community. I have many friends and family members that work within the MPS system so reaching out to them, getting their professional feedback based on their experiences will be imperative to leading conversations to decision points that will better serve the community.”

Sabrina Herrmann

Herrmann, a Minot High School and Minot State University graduate, is currently the director of communications at Ackerman-Estvold, a local engineering and architecture firm. She also has a background in business and has worked in that field in different capacities at different local businesses and has been active in community organizations. Both of her children are graduates of Minot High School.

0She wrote in response to t0he emailed questionnaire that she decided to run for the board because the timing is now right and she has a lot to offer.

“I have had a few people reach out in the past 8 -10 years asking about my having interest in running, and the timing wasn’t right,” she wrote. “But when I was approached again, I really considered it seriously and decided to look at what I could offer MPS by sitting on the board. The things I believe could provide: someone willing to listen to all sides, use logic in making the best decisions for all parties, being responsive, and working hard at bringing people together for the greater good of MPS and the community.”

Herrmann said overcrowding, one of the largest challenges facing the district, will be addressed by the passage of the bond issue and construction of the new facilities.

“I believe the most exciting opportunity is the new high school that was approved by voters last fall, but there is a lot to be done and there will be challenges along the way,” wrote Herrmann. “I also see safety and security in the classroom as something we need to focus on and continue to look at recruitment and retention of staff.”

Herrmann also has heard people in the community express concerns about how redrawing the school attendance boundary lines will impact students and which services will be provided by each of the two new high schools. Others have expressed concern about staff burnout due to the challenges of the pandemic.

“People are passionate about these issues, and I understand why,” said Herrmann in the email. “In your youth, education is effectively your job, and the majority of your time is spent in these spaces. As a parent you want the best for your child and their needs to be met. Redistricting is never an easy task, which is why you want to get it right. I believe the current board and administration have done a good job at listening to feedback and have gone back and adjusted things a few times after listening to parents. I have heard people are excited about the new high school and renovations will give much needed space, this space can provide some much-needed breathing room to dispel other issues. The naming of the high school has also been a hot topic lately and making sure that people have the information to make an informed decision, allow input and listen to concerns is what needs to continue.

“With being a lifelong resident of Minot, I have a vested interest in seeing the community thrive, I want the best there can be for community for far into the future. I also have the ability to visit with people and get to the heart of their concern and understand I am hearing them. While not every need or want can always be met, most people truly want to understand what happened and why. Even if it wasn’t the answer they had hoped for, people want to know someone understood their concern. Communication and collaboration are the key to helping people find common ground to make a collective goal become a reality.”

Mitch Kraft

Mitch Kraft, a graduate of Minot State University and manager at Prairie Supply Co., previously served on the Minot Public School Board and is running again for a seat on the board. He and his wife have two daughters who currently attend the Minot Public Schools. He has also been active in community organizations.

“I enjoyed my term on the school board,” said Kraft in the email. “I still believe that the board should have more parent members than non-parent members … As a parent with students currently enrolled, with teachers and staff as friends and acquaintances, and as a taxpayer, I have an obligation to listen and do what will be best for the future of Minot Public Schools.

Kraft recalled some of his most memorable moments when he previously served on the board.

“The first will be talked about in history books: the start of the pandemic. The second one is all the work that went into developing and planning for two individual high schools was nice to see come to fruition. The week before that vote, I sent a text message to (former school board member) Mark Lyman that said … the school bond would pass with higher than 80% yes vote…and it did. That was great to see.”

Kraft said he can foresee the needs for a future building project too.

“One of the things we need to plan for (is) a future elementary school,” said Kraft in the email. “Minot continues to grow and more students continue to move in.”

He also said students, teachers, staff and parents are also still dealing with the challenges presented by the past two years and the hurdles they have presented.

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