Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Tom Ring runs for Roseville School Board

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

The following information was submitted by the candidate.

I seek re-election to the Roseville Area School Board because I believe in public education. Quality schools underpin vital communities. I am reminded of this every time I meet one of the many Roseville graduates who chose to "come home" to live and educate their children. As confirmed many times since I joined the board, ours is a quality district - from ECFE at Parkview to senior programming at Fairview, with all the education in between, we are a true "community of learners."

During my first term, my work on the Roseville Area School Board focused on three main areas: (1) ensuring a top quality education for each of our students, (2) providing responsible funding and disciplined oversight of spending, and (3) enhancing our sense of equity and community. The board had made significant progress in these areas, but more work remains to be done. As the only incumbent running this fall, I again respectfully ask for your support in the primary and general elections.

Beyond the Roseville board, I have served four years on the board of the East Metro Integration District (EMID), a collaborative school district involving St. Paul Public Schools and nine suburban districts. I am a member of EMID's policy and finance sub-committees, and a sitting member of its executive committee. My work with EMID had provided further experience and insight into the need to pro-actively strengthen the district's capacity to work effectively with learners, colleagues and families of increasingly diverse backgrounds.

I have also had the privilege to be board liaison to many community groups and umbrella organizations with which our Roseville district is involved.

In all three contexts, I have led by strengthening trust and collaboration, by challenging district administration and staff, and by concentrating on outcomes and possibilities. I have consistently advocated that the board's work occur at the policy-level, allow for wide community involvement, and be process-oriented and goal-defined.

I hold a juris-doctorate, magna cum laude, from William Mitchell College of Law, and a master of arts degree in Industrial Relations and human resource management from the Carlson School of Management.

I work as an Assistant Ramsey County Attorney, where my practice focuses on civil rights and employment litigation. Previously, I worked as an attorney with the Oppenheimer firm, as a police officer and lead investigator in a local law enforcement agency, and, at one point in my adult life, as a laborer in an oil and asphalt refinery. I worked my way through all my post-secondary education and believe I appreciate more than most the value of a good education.

I volunteer as a mediator and arbitrator in a dispute resolution process of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minnesota. Among other activities, I have also volunteered as a director of the Roseville Area Schools Foundation Board, and served as a past chair and member of the Roseville Ethics Commission.

My wife, Jellie Crowe-Ring, and I have lived in the district since 1991. We are among those choosing to live here because of quality schools. Our two children, Treasa and Joe, attend Roseville Area Schools.

I am endorsed by the Maplewood Voters' Coalition, and appreciate the interest and willingness of this group to become informed about our school board election.

Thank you for your consideration of my candidacy for re-election.