Election 2011: Meet Ted Kellogg, District 197 School Board Candidate

Editor's Note: Each candidate for the submitted their answers to the following questionnaire. The candidates had 125 words or less to respond to identical prompts. Their responses will be printed in their entirety one a day for the next seven business days, in alphabetical order. Those answers that exceeded the word count will be edited for length.

The Basics

Name: Ted Kellogg

City: Mendota Heights

Education: B.S. North Dakota State University

Where do you work? I work in the computer technical support field.

Questions for District 197 School Board candidates:

Patch: Why are you qualified to sit on the District 197 School Board?

Ted Kellogg: As both a property owner and father of two children in the District, I have a vested interest in our schools. I am sensitive to our taxpayers’ interests as well as ensuring the District is able to continue providing a top notch educational experience for our students. Over the last year I have become proactive in our district by attending and presenting speeches at our school board meetings, been selected to serve on committees through the district and have talked to our citizens to gain their insight on our districts strengths and weaknesses. I believe our District must remain focused on its educational mission, but also continue to provide enriching extra curricular activities which benefits the individual as well as our community.

Patch: Where do you stand on passage of the operating referendum that will be on the ballot?

Kellogg: I support the current levy proposal for ISD 197. Since 2005, our district ISD 197 has made $8 million dollars in cuts to our budget. Even with the implementation of our district’s cost saving measures and continued cuts since 2005, we are now seeing class sizes increase rapidly.

With a modest increase of $35/year (less than $3 a month) per $100k home we can ensure quality in the school system and continue to make our district a desirable place to live and work, as well as a place where businesses will choose to locate. ISD 197 will continue to be the lowest taxed district in comparison to our neighbors and ensure a quality future for our community.

Patch: What is the most important step the district must take to address financial pressures?

 Kellogg: Preparation is vital to address the financial pressures our district is experiencing. Recently the State of Minnesota used accounting shifts to balance the state budget which impacted schools. With the lack of notice schools were unable to plan for these shifts in their budget and will be forced to borrow money and pay back the loans with interest. Our district is taking a progressive role with preparation by implementing a Strategic Redesign Advisory Committee (SRAC). The goal of the SRAC is to develop and evaluate strategies for redesigning our approach to delivering educational excellence more cost effectively. Variables include looking at community-wide benefits and educational benefits for students. 

Patch: Aside from the budget, what is the most important issue facing the school district?

Kellogg: The immediate issues of importance that I see for our district are the passage of the levy, continued monitoring of our finances and looking for ways to redesign our schools to benefit our district as a whole. I am actively working with our levy team as passage of the levy is of vital importance for our community. By continuing to monitor our finances we can find areas to reduce costs. Recently our Superintendent was able to reduce cost by not filling vacant administration positions. Being selected to the (SRAC) has been a great opportunity for learning and hearing of possible approaches to learning that could be implemented in our schools.

Patch: What area of education are you particularly passionate about?

Kellogg: I am passionate about the success of our students in the classroom and how they will be able to contribute to the success of our district and communities.