Carmen Anderson Candidate for Kingsland School Board
1. Tell us about yourself.
My name is Carmen Anderson I am married to Tyler Anderson, who is the Director of Retreat Services at Good Earth Village. We have three young children and two sweet dogs. We moved here four years ago from Florida as we felt a spiritual calling to be in this beautiful state of Minnesota. I am a flight attendant but also enjoy working at a local brewery, where I get to engage with other local people. I am currently in school acquiring my Master of Science in Counseling (MSC). I love spending my extra time making memories with family and friends.
2. Why are you running for office?
After being approached to consider running for office, I found this to be a great way to serve my community. Many have expressed to me the importance of communication when it comes to the school board and community members. Communicating effectively is key, and I know that with my skill set, I can help improve this relationship. Lastly, I want people to feel included, that they are a part of the Kingsland District. As well, I want the voices of Kingsland parents and families to be heard regarding policy and topics that are passionate to them.
3. What do you hope to accomplish if you get elected?
Being in my master’s program and learning so much about mental health, I strive to help students and individuals gain education, awareness, and resources in helping to remove any stigma where mental health is concerned. In my support of mental health awareness, I also advocate for resolution efforts regarding bullying behavior. This is why I plan to be active in prevention programs to help those that have been bullied and those doing the bullying. I am willing to do the work and research to serve the Kingsland community best.
Pam Freet Candidate for Kingsland School Board
1. Tell us about yourself.
Hi! My name is Pam Freet. I grew up in eastern Iowa and attended Iowa State University, graduating with a degree in English and a minor in History. I have worked in public transportation, education, and healthcare. In 2007, I moved from Jacksonville, Fla., to Spring Valley with my husband and two then-young girls. I currently reside in rural Spring Valley and have grown to love Bluff Country. Among my many interests are martial arts, music, gardening, and being outdoors. I am active in my church, Yennie Martial Arts, and the Bluff Country Singers.
2. Why are you running for office?
I am a current Kingsland School Board member, which started with an appointment on January 1, 2021. My experience since that time has led me to develop a desire to continue serving during this exciting time at Kingsland. Although my youngest daughter will graduate this year, I would like to be a part of continuing the good work of Kingsland with our community’s children. While I feel that Kingsland has a lot of good going on, there continue to be ways to improve.
3. What do you hope to accomplish if you get elected?
I am very passionate about building relationships through communication and positivity within the board as well as outside of the board. Through solid relationships, we can work together to continue the work of running our school. I believe we can have differences of opinion while still having strong and respectful relationships. As we gain an understanding of each other’s perspectives, we can understand the push behind their views. In my opinion, this builds up respect and allows for all to work together for the good of our kids!
Kyle Rader Candidate for Kingsland School Board
1. Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in the district, and I am a husband and father to three wonderful kiddos. I work at the Mayo Clinic in the department of Trauma Critical Care General Surgery as a Physician Assistant. My wife Kristina works for Think Bank in Rochester and serves on the Spring Valley Library Board as well as the regional SELCO board. My two oldest kids are entering the fifth and third grades, and my youngest is in kindergarten. It has been exciting to watch my children learn and grow in this community, exploring the many opportunities present here.
2. Why are you running for office?
I am finishing up my first four-year term on the Kingsland School Board and am excited to be running for re-election this November. Serving on the school board has been an honor and privilege, supporting both the school and the community. Within this term, I have served in positions ranging from Director to acting Chair. While we have done good work these last few years, thanks to the generosity of our local citizens, there is still work to be done. Going forward, we strive to continue the development of educational opportunities and build stronger community relationships.
3. What do you hope to accomplish if you get elected?
One of the things I am passionate about is continuing to develop a school system that helps foster well-rounded and capable young people ready for the next phase of their lives. This may be working in a tech or trade type field versus pursuing further collegiate education. In order to help our students grow, they need to have a safe and supportive learning environment that allows them to explore the opportunities in front of them. Kingsland is ahead of the curve in some of these areas, and I would like to continue to support that journey.
Steven Tammel Candidate for Kingsland School Board
1. Tell us about yourself.
I grew up on a farm near Cherry Grove that I bought from my father and still live at. Graduated from the Wykoff School and served three years in the army. Then I worked in the Rochester area for several years, starting as an apprentice carpenter and working my way up. After that, I started my own construction company. My wife and I raised two children whograduated from Kingsland. I was a coach for Kingsland for many years and drive bus as needed. The past 17 years I have been the gambling manager for the Kingsland Athletic Booster Club.
2. Why are you running for office?
I am running for office because I believe the school board represents the community and is responsible for the educational upbringing of their children. The public trusts them to have the best interests of the students and use its budget and resources wisely, focusing on academic achievement for every student. Reading, writing, history, math, technology, and science should be at the forefront of every student’s education. The school board’s choices should help set a strong foundation for our children so that they may succeed in life and become responsible and productive citizens. The students always come first!
3. What do you hope to accomplish if you get elected?
If I were to be elected to the school board, I would like to develop working relationships between the school, city, and community programs to better communication and better utilize resources to meet the needs of our students. I would like the school board to communicate current topics to the parents and community on a more frequent and regular basis. This way, parents and community members are more aware what is going on and able to actively participate. Children are more likely to succeed when their parents and community are more involved in their education.
Jeff says
As a Kingsland parent I have to say Kingsland has grown into a great institution. I find that there has been more communication and community involvement from our school board then there has ever been. I was a Kingsland graduate and now I have kids attending. I ask that our community members choose wisely because we have had a great thing going with lot of improvement over the last few years. With Mrs. Horseman leaving there is a big hole to fill because she improved the relationships of the school and for the first time since I can remember provided transparency with the school board. This is something I think should continue at Kingsland and I think it will if we vote wisely.. I support Kyle Rader as I think he has stepped in and at least tried to fill those big shoes and is doing a pretty good job. I don’t feel like I know Carmen or Pam enough yet to say. I do know Steve Tammel and he was my coach in high school. At that time he was a ok coach but did care more about winning then the student athletes. He also called my teammates from Wykoff a Wykatt and refused to call them Knights, that bothered all of us and that still sits with me and is concerning because I think he will probably undo a lot of bonding that has been done between our towns in Kingsland. I have talked to him and he is a nice person but he complains about the school board and the school but is really out of touch with them both. He gave example in his comments above about communication and relationships. I receive so much communication from the school that it can actually be TOO much and overwhelming but I consider that good and a big improvement and like I said I have never felt as involved or aware of what the school board is doing as I have the last 4 or 5 years. They give updates several times a month and even multiple times a week so that tells me he is out of touch and complaining about things he hasn’t looked into. In my talks with him most of the topic centered around sports and a community sports group, that is not every or all student like he mentioned in his write up. I have some big concerns as a parent if Steve is elected. That could cause a problem for our school board as happened recently with a board member elected last time (Cindy Seabright). Please Kingsland community, think about who you are voting for so we can continue down a good path.