A Look at the Future of the Eden Prairie School Board

Yes, that’s a dog. Before Tony Morimoto signed up to run for school board the summer of 2020, he had one important question. “I can sign up with any name?” he asked. All it took was a “yes” in reply, and that’s how “Brando Morimoto” ended up as a 2020 school board candidate. Brando is Tony Morimoto’s sweet-tempered rescue dog, who loves the couch, snuggles and turkey. Brando g...

It starts with the kids “It starts with my kids, and wanting them to have a fantastic academic opportunity,” says CJ Strehl on why he’s running for school board. “My kids’ education is really important, and the education of everybody in the community is really important,” says Strehl. “When you have kids in the district, you recognize the value that’s coming from the district fo...

“Race-based equity and education have been a passion of mine for the past sixteen years.” When Francesca Pagan-Umar saw Eden Prairie’s wide achievement gap, she didn’t see it as some discouraging statistic beyond anyone’s control. Instead, she saw something she knew she could improve.  “Race-based equity and education have been a passion of mine for the past sixteen years,” says Pa...

“The tipping point was Covid” “This year, what ended up being the tipping point was Covid,” says Beth Fletcher, one of the candidates this year for Eden Prairie’s school board. “We’re making decisions on the fly, everything is changing, and we need good people to help make those good decisions. So that’s why I decided to run this year.” For Fletcher, the events of Covid brought to the sp...

Going back to the board A former member of Eden Prairie’s school board, candidate Kim Ross is ready to do it again. “With the events of this year- the pandemic and murder of George Floyd, it really got me thinking about how can I step up and serve my community at a time where we all need to be at service in whatever we can,” says Ross.  If elected, her time serving as a board membe...