Voters Choose Four Faces for West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan School Board

The four candidates chosen for the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan School Board have been decided: , , and will fill the four positions up for grabs.

Candidates , and fell in the bottom three vote counts from Tuesday's election.

Spurr is the only incumbent defending his seat. Robin Rainford, Laurie Tostrud and Cristina Gillette will be leaving the board in January.

Joining Spurr are two familiar faces in the district, and one newcomer.

Schwab is a former principal of , and Corbett retired at the end of last year from teaching English at Henry Sibley High School.

Mansur is a parent who got involved with the levy referendum effort after the board considered closing the school last winter.

“Nervous. Happy and excited,” is how Mansur described her reaction. “It’s a big responsibility. It’s a huge responsibility. Nervous, excited, thrilled.”

Candidates, most who worked together on the in some capacity, had a common message throughout the campaign emphasizing passage of the levy as a primary goal. 

Malen said the experience of running for school board and working on the levy ended up being a good way to meet people in the community where she is relatively new.  She also said that the candidates elected will do a good job serving the district. “I have a lot of faith in them,” said Malen.

Kellogg, another candidate that didn’t make the top four, had a similar message. “I’m ecstatic,” said Kellogg. “It’s a huge difference from last year,” he said, referring to the levy’s success and the community effort.

He said he was pleased that the candidates chosen would face an improved financial situation because of it and remarked on the support he encountered for the levy, not only from parents in the district, but from families with children in private school that he met and senior citizens that helped get the message out.