District 196 Candidate Profile: Art Coulson

Four candidates are running in the District 196 (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan) School Board Election this year. There are three open spots on the board.

Patch asked the candidates about their experience, connection to the district and about the issues that they would focus on. Here is the response from current school board member and candidate Art Coulson.

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What leadership experience do you have?

I serve on several district, state and national education committees, including the Governor’s Education Finance Working Group, Native American Parent Advisory Committee and Curriculum and Instruction Advisory Council. I also chair the board’s Legislative Committee.

What other relevant experience do you have?

I am a parent who has been an active volunteer in my daughters’ schools, as well as a member of districtwide committees, such as the Curriculum and Instruction Advisory Council and Native American Parent Advisory Committee, before I joined the school board.

What is your occupation?

My wife and I own Redbird Media & Design, a strategic communications consultancy. I also serve as communications director for Ramsey County government. Finally, I am a writer. My first children’s book, The Creator’s Game, was published this month by the Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Where did you go to school?

Duke University. I graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s in Political Science.

Do you have a spouse, children or any other family members you’d like to tell voters about?

My wife, Laurie, and I have two daughters. Katie attended Highland Elementary, Falcon Ridge Middle and graduated from Eastview High School in 2010. She is in her senior year at Bemidji State University, majoring in elementary education and hopes to teach in our district next year. Jesse attended Highland, Falcon Ridge, Eastview and will graduate from the School of Environmental Studies this spring.

What is your connection to District 196?

I am a parent, taxpayer and business owner in the district. I also have served on the school board since 2008.

What issues are you most focused on?

a.         Working closely with our administration and employee groups to ensure that we keep the biggest share of every dollar in the classroom and that we stay focused on our primary goal: educating all of our students to their full potential.

b.         Building cultural competence so that all children learn at a high level. Working with our employee groups, teachers especially, we need to figure out strategies for ending the racial predictability of our achievement gap. We have opened three magnet schools and established equity teams in all of our buildings to focus on this goal at the building level. It is important to raise the achievement of all students while closing the gap.

c.         Passing our expanded operating levy this fall. The upcoming levy is important for the district. It will allow us to avoid further cuts next year and mitigate the budget adjustments we expect to make in 2015-16. We have been as open and transparent as we can be with the public. We have asked the administration to draft a list of cuts that will occur if the referendum fails, not to scare residents, but to be as forthright as we can about the impacts if our revenue is not increased.

Why should voters choose you?

Experience, strategic vision and a proven track record. I have worked collaboratively with the community, administration, staff and my fellow board members to tackle a number of financial challenges, adjusting our budget by 10 percent over the past three years while keeping the cuts, as much as possible, out of the classroom. Our district has among the highest academic outcomes in the metro area while keeping administrative costs and property taxes comparatively low. Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan is a destination district — new residents and businesses choose our district because of its high-quality schools and its well-educated workforce.