Jean O'Connell for St Paul School Board

Jean finished second in the race for three seats on the St. Paul School Board.  She wants to thank her supporters for voting, calling, dropping literature, mailing postcards, displaying signs and attending or holding Meet & Greet events.  With an 82 vote difference between second and third place and 394 votes between third and fourth place, every contact with a voter made a difference!  Thank you.

“For schools, start with O’Connell”

We are looking for urgent approaches and strong leadership skills for the St. Paul School Board. Jean O’Connell, a retired business executive with a passion for her hometown’s public schools, fits the bill. We strongly endorse her for a four-year term on the school board in Tuesday’s election…..Of the six members seeking four-year terms, Jean O’Connell strikes us as the strongest candidate. Her background in community affairs, manufacturing and business operations for the 3M Co. and her volunteer work within the St. Paul school system give her both experience and perspective. As a Central High grad and lifelong St. Paulite, she has convinced us, as she convinced other groups in the community, that she would be the kind of independent leader the board needs.”

http://www.twincities.com/opinion/ci_13670654

The Star Tribune endorsed Jean on Friday, October 23 saying:

“One of the most impressive candidates in the field is newcomer O’Connell, 57, a retired 3M executive. Among the first female engineers at the company, she is a smart, strategic thinker with a track record of successfully managing change. The St. Paul native, who is running as an independent, has a long history of community service, including volunteering in the schools. She led advisory teams for the schools and helped develop the district’s current five-year strategic plan. She would bring a much-needed independent, business perspective to the board.”

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/editorials/65684067.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UthPacyPE7iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

A forum hosted by the Highland High School PTA was held Monday, October 19th.  About 65 people were in attendance and the discussion focused to a great extent on the PTA’s question of equitable Title I funding for schools.  Currently Highland and Central High Schools are not eligible for Title I federal funds due to the School Board’s funding formula.  The parent’s concerns centered on large class sizes (over 40 in many classes this year) and what having the Title I funding distributed to all high schools might do to alleviate that situation.  I was surprised that no other candidate had taken the PTA up on their offer of a tour of the school prior to the forum,  I visited Highland last week and saw the overcrowding first hand.  Having 35-45 students in an IB science course which includes lab time is almost impossible for a teacher to deal with.  Something needs to be done in this school year for these students and the incumbent board members responses were focused on making changes in the next couple of years.

The League of Women voters of St. Paul held a public forum for candidates running for the St. Paul School Board on October 1, 2009, at 6:00 pm.  This forum was held at the Hubbs Center at 1030 University Avenue West and was televised by SPNN.  Look for it on Channel 19

School Board Candidate Forum – 10-1-09
League of Women Voters
Air: Monday, October 12, 7:00 pm on CH19
Future Airs: 10/13/09, 7:00 pm CH19; 10/15/09, 7:00 pm CH19; 10/17/09, 4:00 pm CH19; 10/18/09, 10:00 am CH19
Broadcast In: English
Run Time: 01:31:50

In the primary election on September 15th, Jean finished with 15.6% of the votes cast, only 251 votes out of a third place finish.  This is a great showing for a first time candidate running as an independent.  Thanks to all our volunteers who helped make it happen!

http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/elections/results_2009.htm

The St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce PAC endorsed Jean O’Connell for Saint Paul School Board on Tuesday, September 8.

To find information on absentee ballots, use the following link:

www.co.ramsey.mn.us/elections/absentee.htm

Pioneer Press

St. Paul teacher’s union endorses school board candidates
None of the incumbents gets union backing

By Doug Belden 
dbelden@pioneerpress.com

In the race for the three four-year seats on the board that are up in the fall, the union endorsed one candidate: Jean O’Connell, a retired 3M executive who has been chair of an advisory panel on major systemic change in the district and is running as an independent.

The union’s Committee on Political Education “found O’Connell’s mix of management experience, teacher training in college, significant school volunteering and substantive leadership in various Saint Paul Public Schools task forces a reassuring blend for the current difficulties facing the district,” according to a statement.

http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_12683715

O’Connell seeks seat as independent
By Doug Belden
dbelden@pioneerpress.com

Updated: 05/13/2009 12:00:22 AM CDT

A retired 3M executive who has been chairing an advisory panel on major systemic change in St. Paul Public Schools has announced she is running for school board.

Jean O’Connell said Monday she will run as an independent. She said she will step down as chair of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Large Scale System Changes to avoid any possible conflict of interest.

Three seats are up for election on the seven-member board this November.

Incumbents John Brodrick, Tom Goldstein and Elona Street-Stewart have been endorsed by the St. Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. The city’s Republicans are backing longtime teacher John Krenik and Richard Easton, an operations manager who serves on the board of a local charter school.

O’Connell’s campaign announcement includes an endorsement from former St. Paul Mayor George Latimer.

O’Connell, 56 — who spent 34 years at 3M Co. in community affairs, quality, supply-chain and manufacturing positions — said she hopes to use her experience to help the district implement the major changes that have been proposed.

“We can’t make incremental changes and expect to see significant improvement in the achievement gaps between student groups,” she said in a statement. “Speed and decisiveness are key to helping all of our students achieve.”

A lifelong St. Paul resident and graduate of Central High School, O’Connell lives with her husband in the Como neighborhood, according to her campaign Web site, oconnellforstpaulkids.com.

The couple has two daughters, one of whom graduated from Central and the other from Cretin-Derham Hall.

She said she’s “being very realistic” about her chances as an independent of breaking onto a DFL-dominated board, but she said she hopes her candidacy will spur more public debate about the district’s direction.

“The real key is to have some open conversation about the issues,” she said.

Doug Belden can be reached at 651-228-5136.

This article can be found at: http://www.twincities.com/ci_12356243?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com