by Kara Hildreth
Thisweek Newspapers

Three Farmington residents filed to run for school board this week to fill the three open spots that will be vacant at year's end.

Incumbent Terry Donnelly filed along with John Kampf and Bob Heman. Board member terms expiring are those currently held by Donnelly, Dan Privette and Craig Davis.

Kampf, who filed on Tuesday's deadline day, served on the School Board from 2000 to 2004 and served as the school board chairman for the last two years of his term.

Kampf decided not to run for a second term on the school board a couple of years ago because at the time he was going through a job change and he did not have the time to commit to serving on the board. Kampf currently works in the insurance industry for Vaaler Insurance/HCIS Health Care Insurance Services in Minnetonka.

Kampf said he spoke with current board members who are leaving and voiced his interest in serving on the board again.

"I knew that nobody else was filing,î Kampf said.

"My belief is that the school is experiencing quite a bit of growth, and I thought my experience could be beneficial.î

Heman also filed Tuesday and served two terms on the Farmington school board four years ago in the late 1990s.

He said he is ready to return to the board and put forth his time and energy to be part of the "fresh ideasî taking place now in the district.

"They are starting a new era of working together more and I think it is a time for community members to get involved, and help the district achieve the goals they have already started,î Heman said.

"I am re-energized and want to be a part of the whole endeavor right now,î Heman said.

Donnelly said he is ready and eager to serve a second term.

Donnelly worked as the board clerk and served on many committees during his first term, including working on the technology subcommittee, negotiations and planning committee and the personnel subcommittee.

"I don't want to quit before I see it through,î Donnelly said. "It is kind of an exciting time and we are making a lot of progress and I want to see it through.î

Seeing the groundbreaking and the completion of the new Farmington High School to be built off Flagstaff Avenue in the next couple of years is one building project that Donnelly looks forward to in his second term.

District's progress
"Now we have better relations with the city ñ we are over that hurdle,î Donnelly said. "We have a great staff and administration in the district. It is an excellent group of people who are easy to work with.î

Donnelly cited many positive accomplishments the board and administrators have made together during the past few years.

"There is a lot more trust among the teachers and administrators,î Donnelly said, commenting on how the last couple of rounds of teacher contract negotiations have gone more smoothly than past years.

Hiring both Linda Goers as the district's new human resources director and Dale Sundstrom as the district's business manager have given the school district strong leadership and guidance with hiring teachers and staff and directing the district's budget, Donnelly said.

The district's school budget is in good, solid shape, Donnelly said, as the Farmington district is not finding it necessary to make "massiveî budget cuts like other school districts around the state.

As an area farmer and a software engineer for General Dynamics in Bloomington, Donnelly said he was able to use his "common senseî kind of thinking on the board.

"I usually only talked when I have something to say,î Donnelly said.

Other district accomplishments include adding more AP classes to the high school curriculum and increasing staff development over the past couple of years, Donnelly said.

Learning curve
When he first started working on the school board, Donnelly said he learned how there is a huge learning curve and changes are made more slowly that he anticipated from the start.

"You want to change it and fix it, but Rome was not built in a day,î Donnelly said.

Understanding how important it is to work together within the board and the educational system and learn the complicated financial world of the district budget.

"It (the district) is not run like a business,î Donnelly said, because there is no profit.

The school district's profit comes from making sure the "kids are educated so they can be useful citizens in a changing world,î he said.

Donnelly said he took his time to make the final decision to run for a second term as he filed his candidacy July 10.

"It weighed on my mind a lot,î he said of the four-year commitment and how it cuts into family time with many evening meetings.

"It is a real balancing act, and you do what you think is necessary,î he said.

"The biggest reward is the commencement ceremonies when you see all the smiles on the faces. Ö I wouldn't miss it for the world.î

Donnelly strongly recommends that people serve on the School Board.

"I think it is challenging and it has its rewards,î Donnelly said.

He says it is important to remember that you cannot change the world in a day, and you need to put in the time and be a good listener.

"I want to say -- as I think we have our ups and downs in the high school project -- that the new high school is going to be a facility the whole community will be proud of,î Donnelly said.

"It will be a real gem,î he said.

During the litigation and mediation over the location of the new high school, Donnelly said, the School Board stood strong and worked together.

"We have such a good group who worked together to do what was right for the kids. We worked it out and put personal interests aside,î he said.

Kara Hildreth is at farmington.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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