Melissa Field (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board At-large, Minnesota, candidate 2023)
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Melissa Field ran for election to the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board At-large in Minnesota. She lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Field completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Elections
General election
General election for Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board At-large (4 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board At-large on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jackie Magnuson (Nonpartisan) | 15.5 | 12,864 | |
| ✔ | Cory Johnson (Nonpartisan) | 15.4 | 12,734 | |
| ✔ | Sachin Isaacs (Nonpartisan) | 14.9 | 12,354 | |
| ✔ | Anna Williams (Nonpartisan) | 14.6 | 12,103 | |
 | Kim Bauer (Nonpartisan)  | 9.4 | 7,815 | |
| Melissa Field (Nonpartisan) | 8.6 | 7,159 | ||
| Lori Urkiel (Nonpartisan) | 8.3 | 6,898 | ||
| Teressa Schlueter (Nonpartisan) | 8.2 | 6,766 | ||
| Craig Angrimson (Nonpartisan) | 2.4 | 1,970 | ||
| Charles McCready (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew) | 1.0 | 831 | ||
| Leah Gardner (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.9 | 710 | ||
| Gina Swaney (Nonpartisan) | 0.6 | 520 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 150 | ||
| Total votes: 82,874 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Field received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Field's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.
Pledges
Field signed the following pledges.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Melissa Field completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Field's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Melissa Field and I’m running for ISD 196 to maximize and protect parental involvement, support teachers with a high expectation and focus on the basics of education, and ensure we have safe schools for all children. As a retired police officer and mom with a child in the school district, safety has always been at the forefront of my mind. But with the recent release of state and district achievement scores showing little to no improvement, especially when compared to neighboring districts, coupled with the increase of reports from students and teachers of increased safety concerns in schools, I think it’s time the school board asks itself “what can we do better”. As your next school board member, I am laser focused on the academic success and safety of each and every student by ensuring parental rights are respected and parent’s voices are heard, classroom policies are clear and consistent so teachers can focus on teaching skills to increase achievement scores for every child, and each and every child can learn in a safe environment.
- Parental rights and voices should always be heard to foster and maximize parental involvement.
- Teachers need support in ensuring there is a high expectation of focusing on basic education and safety in the classrooms.
- Productive learning can only take place if students and teachers have a sense of safety and security at school.
As a 20 year law enforcement veteran, I am personally passionate using the skills and experiences I've gained throughout my career as a police officer in the role of a School Board member. I've needed to learn and take into account perspectives of people who come from all walks of life (religion, race, ethnicity, personal beliefs) and understand that we, as a society, need to find a way to function better together. I have also had the opportunity to train kids ages 14-20 years old in the law enforcement profession and learned through their training they were most successful when there were clear, consistent, and reasonable expectations of them each and every day. Their expectations of the instructors were also met - the instructors were prepared and excited for the day, they met the mental and social needs of the kids to make the instruction fun, and they knew the instructors were there to see there personal success to the end. While this experience isn't quite the same as a K-12 teacher, I believe it gives me a sneak-peak into what it could be. Lastly, I believe children feel teachers are a "replacement" for parents during the school day. They should provide safety and security to relax their minds to allow room for learning. With increased safety incidents taking place in schools in MN and across the US, I strongly believe policies should be reviewed and security needs to be a priority for your school district.
My grandmother - she was the youngest girl raised in a tough part of the city with a family of mostly boys during WWII. She learned how to hold her own but raised all of her children and grandchildren with the fiercest love a woman can. She taught me to be polite but never back down from your convictions - that it is my right just as much as it is the next person's right to have theirs. She taught me what I can't do in strength, I can do with my mind. That gave me the mental fortitude (and maybe a little stubbornness) I have today. Most importantly, she believed children need discipline. That means knowing boundaries, knowing the difference between right and wrong (good/bad, kindness/hate), knowing there will be consequences (not necessarily punishment) for poor judgement. When children are shown gratitude for kindness, respecting boundaries, making good choices, and are putting their best foot forward, they are giving themselves the courage and motivation (with support from adults) to walk down a path of success.
That you remember that while you were elected by people who share like values with you, you also represent and needs to work with people who may not share some or all of your same values and ideas. It's important to try to find a common ground, even if it's to agree to disagree, but to always do it with thoughtfulness and respect for each other.
Like grandma said, it's ok to stand your ground. While you should be respectful of people who disagree with you, you were voted into a position because of the people who have like-minded values, morals, ethics, and ideas.
Like grandma said, it's ok to stand your ground. While you should be respectful of people who disagree with you, you were voted into a position because of the people who have like-minded values, morals, ethics, and ideas.
To ensure quality and excellent education for all children of District 196
To be a fair and desirable employer to all staff
To be a good steward of taxpayer money
To ensure the parent/teacher/student relationship is held in the highest regard
I would like people to think of me as someone who was always considerate of others even though I stood by my convictions. I'd like other to see me as balanced - firm, but fair. I'd like residents to know they can come to me with concerns and know they will get an honest and thoughtful answer in a respectful manner, even if we don't see eye to eye on a matter. I'd want people to have a sense that the position of a School Board member isn't to say "I'm right, you're wrong" or "My way is better" but rather to say that we hopefully left the district a little better than the way we found it. That's the definition of success and and that's how we move forward.
The first memorable and impactful event I recall was Desert Storm while I was in elementary school. The school staff were very supportive of the parents and students who were affected with loved ones who were deployed overseas, especially during the holidays. I clearly remember a soldier/parent coming into lunch one day to surprise their child. The kids were excited for their friend and all the teachers had tears in their eyes - it was a moment I'll never forget.
My very first job was babysitting at 12 years old for family and close friends of family. But my first "real" job was when I was 16 years old. I was a telemarketer who took telephone orders for a sporting goods outlet store. I worked there for about 10 months before moving on to my next job. It was a great opportunity to learn how to talk to people from all over the US and to learn good customer service skills with unsatisfied customers.
To serve as a non-partisan official to assist with making the following decisions:
How state mandated curriculum will be implemented
Ensure the safety of all students and staff in each facility
Ensure all district services are available to all students
Management of Administration and Staff
Management/fiscal responsibility of district budget
Working relationship with involved unions
Meet transportation needs of all students
All current district residents and perspective district attendees
Communication is key. Parents and teachers need to have open communication to discuss each child's needs to ensure they are receiving the education each individual child needs to succeed. That may be through specific teaching techniques/styles or additional or specialized lessons or instruction time. In any case, the information needs to be shared openly between the people who will be implementing it (teachers and parents) and then needs to be communicated to administration and the school board if assistance acquiring the additional resources is needed.
Open houses, community events, social media, and newsletters can be a start. Exhausting all means of open communication is key to delivering a message to the community at-large.
I think it's important to extend an invitation to all organizations who share the common goal of seeing our next generation of leaders succeed have the ability to be involved and volunteer their services in some capacity. If there is a specific need for a very specific service and an organization is willing and/or able to provide that service, I would always welcome their input for consideration.
I think it's important to extend an invitation to all organizations who share the common goal of seeing our next generation of leaders succeed have the ability to be involved and volunteer their services in some capacity. If there is a specific need for a very specific service and an organization is willing and/or able to provide that service, I would always welcome their input for consideration.
Teachers should always strive to be attentive to each individual child. It is a daunting task but one they willingly and honorably take. This can be measured through participation, knowledge retention, and behavior. Kids participate when they are interested and engaged in a topic. They are also more likely to retain the information because they've found something interesting in the topic. They will also tend to have better behavior because they will want to participate in the topics/activities they are enjoying. Support for advanced teaching approaches doesn't always have to come in the form of monetary funding. It can also be through volunteer work through local organizations and through parent involvement (such as parents available during the day to assist with programming).
I would love to see rotating occupational training be made available to interested students. This could be through the school day as an elective (in lieu of leaving school early as a junior or senior once all credits have been completed) or as an after school club. I'd also like to see basic skills re-implemented as I've began to see many basic skills forgotten in the younger generations such as Home Economics, Mechanics, Industrial Tech, etc. While I think it's important to be innovative and progressing with current times, it's also important to never lose the important skills we've learned as a society in the past.
I believe a successful school district will always properly fund itself as parents are willing to pay for the education their children are receiving. However, the school board also needs to do their due diligence to ensure each penny is being appropriated in a fiscally responsible manner. Extra dollars can always be procured through fundraising, grants, and potential voter-approved levies.
Due to my career in law enforcement, I have had the opportunity to undergo many hours of training in tactics and awareness as it relates to safety in schools. I've had the opportunity to speak with teachers who are concerned with the growing number of students who show little regard for authority at school and often cause disruptions throughout the day with little recourse by school staff. I've also had the opportunity to speak with and listen to police officers who have been involved in school shootings. I have personally trained many hours in how to respond to an active shooter incident at large and small schools. I understand that a student's feeling of safety and security in school can be detrimental to their well-being at any level, whether it's a bullying incident or an active shooter incident. All incidents need to be addressed swiftly with appropriate consequences fitting the incident for the most appropriate outcome. Schools are an environment for education and violence, at any level, will be handled appropriately.
As one of the major counties in Minnesota, Dakota County offers numerous resources for mental health needs. There are also numerous private clinics in the area that contract with businesses/organizations to provide personalized services for a fee. As a public school, I believe the county has a duty to provide as many services as possible to the children of ISD 196 while they are attending school. I would also support a full-time mental health professional position(s) as the budget allows as I see the importance of having a specialist available for someone in mental health crisis. However, this should always be done with the knowledge of parents. Also, as a former police officer, there are specific laws in place that in regard to mental health services that we must be cognizant of when seeking to help students, faculty, and staff. Services should always be made available when someone is in crisis, but we must always be aware of the basic rights of one another, including parents, when time allows.
Did you hear that Norway was putting barcodes on the sides of their entire naval fleet?
Yeah, it's so when they all come back to port they can just scan da Navy in....
Yeah, it's so when they all come back to port they can just scan da Navy in....
While I do believe it's important for all children to learn how to play together at a young age, I do believe there is a time where it's acceptable and expected to separate women's and men's sports as these can affect the opportunity for college scholarships and possible professional careers. As of now, ISD 196 is allowing kids to play on opposite-gender sports teams. I believe this is not appropriate and put our female athletes at a great disadvantage for advancement for educational and professional opportunities.
MN Parents Alliance
School is a place where there are mentors - trusted adults who you know have your best interest in mind and genuinely care for you and your success.
School is a place where you gain social skills - you learn how to communicate with people you wouldn't necessarily be friends with but you can still be friendly. You can be kind to anyone out of mutual respect for each other.
School is a place to learn - there are things in life that are necessary to know so you can build on that knowledge to expand your thoughts to even greater ideas and knowledge. Sometimes it's "boring", but we've all been there. And hopefully we're all better people because of it.
While I understand no one in our generation has had to deal with an issue like this before, I do think it could have been handled better as time went on. I believe it was unnecessary to keep kids out of school for an entire year and I do not believe it was necessary to have a hybrid schedule either. I also believe the curriculum and expectations were lacking for the amount of time that was spent out of school. With the technology that was available to all kids and the amount of federal money that was made available to the state (some of the 2023 surplus), there are few reasons to excuse why kids could not have had a quality education during the pandemic.
If there's hasn't been already, there needs to be a table-top exercise
If there's hasn't been already, there needs to be a table-top exercise
Parents should always have the opportunity to contact their elected officials. Again, open communication and regard for parent viewpoints will always be my goal. I'd also like to see the parent/teacher relationship become stronger as well. Unfortunately, it seems the trust and communication between educators and parents has become less and is the basis for many of the issues we're seeing today. Once we can bring back this trust, I believe we'll begin seeing more positive outcomes being reported from all school districts.
While I'd like to keep a positive outlook on recruitment and retention of school staff, many public sector occupations are having difficulty hiring and retaining employees right now. I would take a close look at what the current hiring practices, wages, incentives, union contracts, employee rights and responsibilities are to see if there is anything administratively that needs to be addressed. Then I would conduct an anonymous survey of staff so I can understand what the work environment is like at each location. Bottom line is employees need to be happy at work or they will not do a good job. And when they enjoy going to work, they tell their friends how much they like their jobs and tell them they should work there as well. We need top quality educators who want to come to work each day - our children and our future depend on it!
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Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Field completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
Footnotes
