District 196 is Innovative, Say School Board Candidates

The Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted a school board candidates forum for the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District earlier this week. 

There are four candidates, three of whom are incumbents.

• Art Coulson (incumbent)
• Gary Huusko (incumbent)
• Mike Roseen (incumbent)
• Craig Angrimson

Candiates were asked about “change” in the education system in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District:

“The current education system has remained unchanged in its infrastructure for decades and many believe it is an antiquated model. Innovation and change will be necessary in the future. How will you foster change to ensure a sustainable model that is results-oriented in education?”

Gary Huusko

Huukso spoke first and immediately disagreed with the idea that District 196 has an “antiquated” system.

“I don’t necessarily agree with some of the premise of that question,” Huusko said.

He stated that the district is innovative in the education that students receive in the district and in what the district provides to teachers.

Huusko added that he brings creativity and innovation to the board and that he would continue to work towards bringing more technology to students.

Technology is expensive, he said, but relationships with businesses in the area could help address the cost issue.

Mike Roseen

“I don’t think the system is antiquated at all,” Roseen said.

He described the district’s education system as dynamic and said that education has changed in terms of technology and the programs offered.

“I don’t think there’s a person in this district that would be unwilling to look at something that they felt would be a change for the better,” he said.

Craig Angrimson

Angrimson said students have great experience in technology. He described such technology skills as the “wave of the future.” He suggested that the district obtain more laptops for students and move away from books.

Although he said that the district does a good job meeting arts and technology needs, he added that the district could still do more to focus on those areas.

Art Coulson

“Our district has done quite a bit to keep the classroom fresh,” Coulson said.

He described his daughter’s Advanced Placement calculus class, which uses a flipped classroom model. Class lessons are taught by video, he said, which gives the teacher more time to work individually with students on their specific problem areas.

The district also has a technology committee, Coulson said, but at the same time, the board and district administration want to be careful that the technology brought to the classroom serves a purpose.