The school board election for the Britton-Hecla School District will be held on Tuesday. There are two candidates running for one open three-year position on the board. Incumbent Mandy Carlson is not seeking reelection.
Marshall County residents will vote in the B-H school library (use the main entrance, door 15) and Brown County residents will vote at the Hecla Community Center. Polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Absentee and early voting have begun. Registered voters can vote in-person at the office of the business manager by bringing along a valid photo identification card (ID). Business hours are 8:00-4:00 M-Th. The deadline to absentee vote is June 17 by the end of the business day.
Josh Hawkinson of Britton and Marlin Heitmann of Lake City are running for the B-H seat. The candidates submitted the following answers to questionnaires.
Background information
Josh Hawkinson: I was born and raised in Britton. I was a 1999 BHS graduate. I graduated from NDSCS in 2001 in mechanical systems. I returned to Britton where I currently work for a small family business and have two children, Bryce, a Junior and Gabby, an eighth grader, who attend school here.
Marlin Heitmann: I was raised in Lake City. I have been married for 54 years, have two children and five grandchildren, some of who are in the Britton-Hecla School District. I lived in Minneapolis for 25 years and moved to Aberdeen in 1990. I worked in the Aberdeen School District for 11 and a half years. I did ADA coordinating, budgeting and was a supervisor of student custodians. I was responsible for the purchasing of school materials and furniture for the new high school.
What is your reason for running for the board?
JH: I served for nine years previously and opted to not run last year for personal reasons. I enjoyed my time serving on the board and I planned on running again. I enjoy working with the community, the staff and helping in the education of our youth.
MH: I am running because I would like to see representation of the outlying areas of the Britton School District. With my experience with the Aberdeen School District, I should bring a positive contribution to the Britton School Board.
What do you feel is the number one concern facing the school district and how would you propose to deal with it’?
JH: I feel the number one concern for our district is always funding along with trying to keep enrollment numbers up. They go hand in hand when it comes to how the school gets some of its funding. There is a big percentage of home-schooled kids in our district for various reasons. I would love to start by reaching out to those families and visiting with them. I believe we have a great school and would love to see some or all of those kids in our school system.
MH: One concern would be complying with state budgets and still meeting goals.
List one other issue you would consider a priority for the district and what you think should be done about it.
JH: A big issue we have been facing and continue to face is finding bus drivers. I know it was looked at in the past and was super expensive, but it would be nice to find an affordable way to offer health insurance to them. I believe this would possibly entice some of those people that want to retire early but can’t because they don’t have health insurance until they get to 65.
MH: Another challenge would be adequate staffing in all areas of the school while still meeting budget. I also would like to see school board meetings televised.
What do you think is Britton-Hecla’s biggest asset and how can it be used to the school’s advantage’?
JH: I know we have beautiful facilities, and many schools are envious of them, but I would still have to say it’s our staff- any and all that work for our school district. I believe they do a great job and have the best interests of the children in mind. I would say with declining numbers of teachers coming out of college that we could use this as a huge tool to promote teaching as a career to the kids.
MH: We have wonderful support from the community and appreciate all their support.
