South Washington County Schools, Minnesota, elections

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South Washington County Schools
District details
School board members: 7
Next election: November 4, 2025
Students: 19,360 (2023-2024)
Schools: 29 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

South Washington County Schools is a school district in Minnesota (Washington County). During the 2024 school year, 19,360 students attended one of the district's 29 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:

Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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• 2025
• 2023
• 2017
• 2015

South Washington County Schools, At-large

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for South Washington County Schools, At-large (4 seats)

The following candidates are running in the general election for South Washington County Schools, At-large on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Chad Borseth (Nonpartisan)
		Travis Dahle (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Elizabeth Bockman Eckberg (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Bryn Forstner (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Louise Hinz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Juan Huerta (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Lori Pecchia Michalski (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Katie Schwartz (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Sharon H. Van Leer (Nonpartisan)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Per our coverage scope, Ballotpedia does not provide election results for this particular race. Check your city or county government's election website for vote totals.

South Washington County Schools, At-large

General election

General election for South Washington County Schools, At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for South Washington County Schools, At-large on November 7, 2023.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Fekadu Kassa Ayichew (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Chad Borseth (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ryan Clarke (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Priscilla Kathryn Dimbo (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Melinda Dols (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Randall J. Johnson (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Jaime KoKaisel (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Anthony Mahmood (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Satonia Moore (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Simi Patnaik (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Molly Schaefer (Nonpartisan)

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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South Washington County Schools, At-large

General election

General election for South Washington County Schools, At-large

Incumbent Tracy Brunnette, incumbent Patricia Driscoll, incumbent Heather Hirsch, incumbent Sharon H. Van Leer, and incumbent Katie Schwartz won election in the general election for South Washington County Schools, At-large on November 7, 2017.

		Candidate
✔		Tracy Brunnette (Nonpartisan)
✔		Patricia Driscoll (Nonpartisan)
✔		Heather Hirsch (Nonpartisan)
✔		Sharon H. Van Leer (Nonpartisan)
✔		Katie Schwartz (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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South Washington County Schools, At-large

General election

General election for South Washington County Schools, At-large

Incumbent Ron Kath and incumbent Michelle Witte won election in the general election for South Washington County Schools, At-large on November 3, 2015.

		Candidate
✔		Ron Kath (Nonpartisan)
✔		Michelle Witte (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Election rules

View election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

School board general elections for all districts in Minnesota are held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years. According to the Minnesota School Board Association, 90% of districts held even-year elections as of 2022.

In districts not holding a school board nonpartisan primary, all school board candidates appear on the ballot for the general election held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years.

In school districts in which the boards pass resolutions to hold primary elections, school board nonpartisan primary elections are held on the second Tuesday in August every two years in either odd-numbered years or even-numbered years. School boards must pass resolutions to hold primary elections before April 15 in any year. A primary is only held if more than two candidates are running for a single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of open seats.

In districts holding a school board nonpartisan primary, the top two candidates per seat that receive the most votes advance to the general election held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in either even-numbered years or odd-numbered years.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A

Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts holding a school board nonpartisan primary election

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts holding a school board nonpartisan primary election. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

• Filing deadline date: June 3, 2025
• Primary election date: August 12, 2025
• General election date: November 4, 2025

Recent or upcoming election dates for school districts not holding a school board primary election

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for school districts not holding a school board primary election. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

• Filing deadline date: August 13, 2025
• General election date: November 4, 2025

Election system

School board members in Minnesota are elected through either a nonpartisan general election without a primary or through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election, depending on whether or not the school board passed a resolution to hold a primary election.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B

Party labels on the ballot

School board elections in Minnesota are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Minnesota Statute requires election clerks to "place the name of the [school board] candidate on the official ballot without partisan designation."

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A

Winning an election

If a school board passed a resolution to hold a primary for that cycle and enough candidates are running to require a primary election, the candidates with the most votes in the nonpartisan primary advance to the general election. A primary is only held if more than two candidates are running for a single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of open seats. In single-seat races, two candidates advance to the general election. In multi-seat races, twice as many candidates as open seats advance to the general election.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A and Minnesota School Board Association: The Importance of School Board Elections

Term length and staggering

School board members have four-year terms.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A

School board elections are staggered so that as close to half of a district's school board members as possible are up for election every two years.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B and Chapter 205A

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected at large, by sub-district, or through a combination of at large and by sub-district. The school boards of all school districts except those located within the four first-class cities in the state can put a question on the ballot for voter approval proposing the creation of or change to election districts (sub-districts). The proposal can include any combination of single-member districts, multi-member districts, and at-large seats. State law requires Minneapolis Public Schools to have six board members elected by sub-district and three members elected at large. As of 2022, 314 districts (96%) had board members all elected at large, nine districts (3%) had board members all elected from sub-districts, and five districts (2%) had board members elected through a combination of at large and by sub-district.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 123B, Chapter 128, and Chapter 128D

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

In districts not holding school board primary elections, the deadline for school board candidates to file affidavits of candidacy is 84 days before the November school board general election.

In districts holding school board primary elections, the deadline for school board candidates to file affidavits of candidacy is 70 days before the August primary election.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A

In districts not holding school board primary elections, school board candidates cannot file affidavits of candidacy until 98 days before the November school board general election.

In districts holding school board primary elections, school board candidates cannot file affidavits of candidacy until 84 days before the August primary election.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A

School board member terms expire and the terms of newly elected school board members officially begin on the first Monday of January following the election.

See law: Minnesota Statutes Chapter 205A

 

About the district

School board

South Washington County Schools consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members

Name	Year assumed office	Year term ends
Louise Hinz
Eric Tessmer		2029
Sharon H. Van Leer	2013	2029
Katie Schwartz	2013	2029
Melinda Dols		2027
Simi Patnaik		2027
Ryan Clarke	2023	2027

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

South Washington County Schools

Office Name	Current Officeholder	Party	% School District Covered	% Other District Covered
Minnesota House of Representatives District 41B	Tom Dippel	Republican Party	28%	28%
Minnesota House of Representatives District 47B	Ethan Cha	Democratic Party	25%	83%
Minnesota House of Representatives District 41A	Wayne Johnson	Republican Party	20%	14%
Minnesota House of Representatives District 53B	Rick Hansen	Democratic Party	17%	60%
Minnesota House of Representatives District 47A	Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger	Democratic Party	11%	47%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Revenue
• Expenditures

Revenue, 2021-2022

SOURCE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Federal:	$22,702,000	$1,195	7%
Local:	$112,251,000	$5,910	34%
State:	$194,249,000	$10,227	59%
Total:	$329,202,000	$17,332

Expenditures, 2021-2022

TYPE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Total Expenditures:	$320,937,000	$16,896
Total Current Expenditures:	$254,172,000	$13,381
Instructional Expenditures:	$165,769,000	$8,727	52%
Student and Staff Support:	$18,459,000	$971	6%
Administration:	$23,371,000	$1,230	7%
Operations, Food Service, Other:	$46,573,000	$2,451	15%
Total Capital Outlay:	$35,081,000	$1,846
Construction:	$28,925,000	$1,522
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other:	$12,834,000	$675
Interest on Debt:	$13,226,000	$696

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."

• Mathematics
• Reading/language arts
• Graduation rates

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year	All (%)	Asian/Pacific Islander (%)	Black (%)	Hispanic (%)	Native American (%)	Two or More Races (%)	White (%)
2020-2021	52	58	33	34	<50	43	57
2018-2019	65	71	46	49	40-59	57	69
2017-2018	67	74	50	52	40-59	56	71
2016-2017	67	76	51	50	21-39	61	71
2015-2016	69	75	53	50	21-39	65	73
2014-2015	69	74	53	50	21-39	65	72
2013-2014	70	77	55	53	40-59	66	73
2012-2013	73	78	59	55	40-49	69	76
2011-2012	68	73	53	51	40-49	65-69	70
2010-2011	65	71	47	45	40-49		68

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year	All (%)	Asian/Pacific Islander (%)	Black (%)	Hispanic (%)	Native American (%)	Two or More Races (%)	White (%)
2020-2021	61	67	48	48	>=50	54	64
2018-2019	68	71	54	54	40-59	63	72
2017-2018	70	75	53	56	40-59	65	73
2016-2017	70	73	53	53	40-59	64	74
2015-2016	71	73	57	58	40-59	65	74
2014-2015	70	71	55	51	40-59	64	73
2013-2014	67	69	51	54	40-59	60	71
2012-2013	67	69	53	52	50-59	63	70
2011-2012	84	82	74	74	70-79	80-84	86
2010-2011	83	81	73	73	70-79		85

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year	All (%)	Asian/Pacific Islander (%)	Black (%)	Hispanic (%)	Native American (%)	Two or More Races (%)	White (%)
2019-2020	92	90-94	85-89	85-89	PS	85-89	94
2018-2019	93	>=95	90-94	85-89	>=50	80-84	94
2017-2018	92	>=95	85-89	85-89	PS	>=90	93
2016-2017	92	>=95	85-89	80-84	>=50	80-84	94
2015-2016	93	>=95	90-94	85-89	>=50		93
2014-2015	91	>=95	85-89	80-84	>=50		92
2013-2014	93	>=95	90-94	85-89	>=50		93
2012-2013	90	90-94	80-84	75-79	>=50		91
2011-2012	91	90-94	80-84	85-89	>=50		92
2010-2011	91	90-94	80-84	85-89	PS		92

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Enrollment
• Demographics

Year	Enrollment	Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024	19,360	1.0
2022-2023	19,159	0.9
2021-2022	18,994	0.0
2020-2021	19,001	-1.6
2019-2020	19,298	1.7
2018-2019	18,966	0.2
2017-2018	18,924	2.3
2016-2017	18,485	1.6
2015-2016	18,187	0.2
2014-2015	18,143	0.0
2013-2014	18,137	0.5
2012-2013	18,048	1.1
2011-2012	17,858	2.3
2010-2011	17,456	1.5
2009-2010	17,194	0.6
2008-2009	17,087	-0.3
2007-2008	17,137	4.0
2006-2007	16,451	1.3
2005-2006	16,238	2.0
2004-2005	15,907	1.7
2003-2004	15,629	1.5
2002-2003	15,400	1.7
2001-2002	15,138	1.2
2000-2001	14,953	1.3
1999-2000	14,756	0.0

Racial Demographics, 2023-2024

RACE	South Washington County Schools (%)	Minnesota K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.3	1.8
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	13.0	7.1
Black	9.8	11.8
Hispanic	9.8	11.5
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	7.9	6.4
White	59.2	61.4

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Other staff

As of the 2023-2024 school year, South Washington County Schools had 1,143.21 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 16.93.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten:	52.63
Kindergarten:	57.50
Elementary:	519.75
Secondary:	483.95
Total:	1,143.21

South Washington County Schools employed 25.00 district administrators and 51.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators:	25.00
District Administrative Support:	31.13
School Administrators:	51.00
School Administrative Support:	66.08

Other staff, 2023-2024 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides:	324.54
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors:	73.77
Total Guidance Counselors:	33.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors:	0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors:	33.00
Librarians/Media Specialists:	18.53
Library/Media Support:	10.37
Student Support Services:	348.17
Other Support Services:	282.73

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

South Washington County Schools operates 29 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

List of schools

SCHOOL NAME	NUMBER OF STUDENTS	GRADES
Access	10	10-12
Ages 3-5 Early Childhood Special Ed	561	PK-PK
Armstrong Elementary	308	PK-5
Cottage Grove Elementary	421	KG-5
Cottage Grove Middle School	972	6-8
Crestview Elementary	418	PK-5
East Ridge High School	2,042	9-12
Gordon Bailey Elementary	655	KG-5
Grey Cloud Elementary	774	KG-5
Hillside Elementary	424	PK-5
Lake Middle School	1,160	6-8
Liberty Ridge Elementary	804	KG-5
Middleton Elementary	583	KG-5
Newport Elementary	275	PK-5
Next Step Transition Program	95	12-12
Nuevas Fronteras Spanish Immersion	533	KG-5
Oltman Middle School	1,002	6-8
Park High School	1,957	9-12
Pine Hill Elementary	521	KG-5
Pullman Elementary	378	PK-5
Red Rock Elementary	626	KG-5
Royal Oaks Elementary	473	KG-5
South Washington Alternative Hs	92	7-12
Sowashco Online 9-12	41	9-12
Sowashco Online K-5	0	KG-5
Valley Crossing Elementary	727	KG-5
Woodbury Elementary	462	KG-5
Woodbury High School	1,948	9-12
Woodbury Middle School	1,098	6-8

About school boards

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See also

School Boards	Education Policy	Local Politics	Minnesota
List of school districts in Minnesota Minnesota school board elections, 2025 School board elections, 2025 School board recalls School board authority in Minnesota	Minnesota Department of Education Public education in Minnesota	Municipal government Local courts Local ballot measures Recalls	Minnesota Minnesota elections, 2025 Minnesota State Legislature Minnesota state executive offices

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