Wrenshall division escalates amid candidate forums

A teachers union-led candidate forum for Wrenshall school board had a kumbaya vibe Tuesday.

But conflict currently affecting the board wasn't far behind, as three current board members declined to attend. Instead, they authored a mailer telling residents that teachers were behaving "improperly" by being involved in the election process.

It didn't stop candidates Eric Ankrum, Mary Carlson, Kristin Reinsch and Ben Johnson from greeting roughly 70 teachers and members of the public.

The hour-long candidate forum inside Wrenshall School featured teachers asking a series of questions, as well as addressing controversy.

"We did not mean this the way it turned out," said Denise North, a teacher who organized the event for Educate Minnesota Wrenshall. "We're just going to roll with it."

North had previously met candidates at a board meeting earlier this month, inviting all of them to attend and assuring candidates the union wanted to deliver a fair process with no loaded questions.

But incumbents Jack Eudy and Deb Washensky, and board appointee Cindy Bourn, declined to attend. Their mailer outlined grievances with teachers.

"The board is the teachers' boss's boss," their letter said, referring to superintendent Kim Belcastro, a target of their ire for the past year. "It is not appropriate for them to be involved to this degree in the campaigns. It seems like undue influence."

Kelly Port has two school-age children and lives in Wrenshall. She attended the forum, saying, "I heard a lot of positives."

Port, 39, also received the letter, which she described as "unhinged."

"It's not based in reality," Port said. "We have real issues that need to be focused on."

The four candidates who attended shared similar thoughts throughout the night, each wanting to move beyond current tensions and restore focus on students and education.

"I'm proud of Wrenshall," said Johnson, a Duluth firefighter and board appointee seeking a permanent seat on the board. "I want to move forward. I want us to be positive and see this school fulfill its potential."

Reinsch, Carlson and Ankrum are all new to school politics. They're parents within the district who described themselves as compelled to change the current direction of the board. The seven candidates are vying for three seats on the board in the Nov. 8 election.

Ankrum, a pipeline technician and Wrenshall graduate, said he and his wife discussed the "hard choice" of migrating out of the district. Instead, they decided, "This is our home and we want to fix it," he said.

Responding to what she would do on the board, Reinsch, another Wrenshall graduate, told the audience, "What I would do differently is communicate more with you guys."

Carlson, a wedding planner, described Wrenshall as a place where everyone should feel welcome. She talked about how she's gotten to know the other candidates who appeared alongside her.

"This feels different tonight," she said, contrasting it with the bickering familiar to recent board meetings.

The candidates shared repeated concerns over Wrenshall's budget and the district's transparency, topics that go hand in hand as the current board and administration have failed to deliver details of what many suspect will be an operating deficit related to declining enrollment.

Meanwhile, Bourn, Eudy and Washenesky scheduled their own candidate event for Thursday, Sept. 22 at the park in Wrenshall. The event was held after the current edition of the Pine Knot News went to press.

"Their conduct has been dishonest and unprofessional," Bourn, Eudy and Washenesky wrote about teachers in their mailer. "We refuse to legitimize any of it."