Thomas Peterson, two-year term candidate
Brainerd School Board election
Age: 56.
Address: South Brainerd.
Occupation: Customer experience representative for Atomic Learning Inc., an online professional development and training company.
Thomas Peterson
Education: Master's degree in educational technology and library at St. Cloud State University; bachelor's degree at University of Minnesota, Morris, with a secondary teaching degree in speech theater and history and a high school graduate of Morris.
Family: Married to Le Ann Schoenle; four adult children, two stepchildren; eight grandchildren.
What specific qualities or experiences will make you a good choice for school board? "I have a deep commitment to education. I have 30 plus years of experience as a teacher, coach and businessman. I've worked in large school districts and managed departments with multimillion dollar budgets. I'll bring fresh, out-of-the box ideas to the board while emphasizing leadership, fiscal restraint, planning and community involvement. I believe the district can make more efficient use of technology to lower costs and save money. I have direct experience with school technology for administration and instruction. I want to emphasize increasing student performance, incorporate 21st century skills into the classroom and sound fiscal planning."
The school district is considering options to address possible growth in the elementary school population. What options do you support? Should increasing class size be on the table? "I'd support re-opening Whittier School to house one section of classes and the enrichment program. I would have a priority of maintaining the lowest class size we can afford in the elementary grades. This issue shows a continued pattern of inadequate long- and short-term planning, we just closed the building and moved the furnishings in 2007. Now we're making a decision in a too short time frame without a clear long-term strategy for minimizing yearly attendance boundary changes and uprooting students. Community input has been minimal and the long-term fiscal implications need more in-depth analysis."