Field for Open School Board Seat Quadruples—8 Now in the Running

The race for a vacant seat on the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage Board of Education just got a lot more crowded.

Over the last week, six more candidates have applied for the seat left open by Paula Teiken, who left the district in mid-March. As of April 17, just two had applied.

Applicants so far are: 
Abigail Alt, 16 Marcin Road, Burnsville; 
Linda Deason, 13305 Acorn Circle, Burnsville; 
Cynthia Espander, 13419 Washburn Lane, Burnsville; 
Scott Hume, 804 E. 134th St., Burnsville; 
William John, 14609 Brunswick Ave. So, Savage; 
Abdulrazzaq Mursal, 51 McAndrews Road West, Burnsville; 
Colleen Smith, 13993 Yosemite Ave. So., Savage, and 
William Streff, 4365 Medary Ave. So., Eagan. 

The deadline for application is April 30 at 1 p.m.

Eligible candidates must be 21 years of age or older. In addition, candidates must be able to demonstrate at least 30 days of residency within the district. The office is not open to those who are required to register as predatory offenders with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. 

Eligible candidates will be interviewed by sitting board members at a public work session on May 2. The appointee will be selected at the board's mid-month meeting on May 18. The board will select its seventh member by a simple majority vote. The chosen candidate will be sworn in on June 6. They will serve until December 2014, when Teiken's term would have expired.

Board members typically spend 20 to 40 hours a month on district duties. In exhcange, each gets a stipend of $500 per month.