"Change is the Only Constant”
I grew up in a small, rural town west of the cities in Minnesota - my graduating class was around the same size as our typical classes at MPHS…of course, this was almost 30 years ago (!) and now those same classes in my hometown number in the 300’s or more. Although, the town has changed in many ways beyond just the school class sizes.
When I was young, we bought everything at Duebers, a family owned convenience store that had everything we needed. I remember going with my mom to pick out the fabric for my Halloween costume and watched as the employee laid it out to cut it to our requested size - I loved the sound of the big scissors cutting through the material, but my favorite part was getting to pick out a piece of candy on the way out!
Duebers is long gone, and now the Super Target is where most people shop for the things they need….there have been big changes to the landscape of the town with the addition of new businesses, but the charm of our “little” lake town is still present. The neighborhood kids still cross backyard property lines without hesitation and play outside in the summer until they get called (or texted) to come home - my mom used to whistle so loud our whole neighborhood knew it was dinnertime at my house.
I’ve now lived in Grand County for almost 25 years, and in this time have seen our little community change too. We have different struggles than my hometown…housing affordability is a big one….the transient nature of our population is another. But one similarity among my hometown and my HOME is CHANGE. Our community is not the same as it was 25 years ago and I would say that despite some of these changes creating new challenges for us, we have risen to the occasion - we have attracted new residents and families, new professionals and public servants and have added some diversity, which is so important for a community like ours to thrive.
East Grand School District is part rural, part city, part conservative, part liberal and part somewhere-in-between. This melting pot is our community. And it's a community that, time and again, comes together.
The success of the East Grand School District is not a political issue; it is a community priority and my focus is on the same principles that shaped me: hard work, local pride, and ensuring every kid has the opportunity to thrive, just like I did in my small, changing hometown.
The school board's work is simply about our local children, our teachers, our local resources, adapting to change and determining the best way to move our district forward, together. I am running to bring the perspective of a dedicated, long-time resident, parent and neighbor to the table. When it comes to our schools, we all need to cross our theoretical property lines without hesitation and sit on the same side - that's the only side I'm interested in serving.
