East metro voters will be asked to weigh in on mayoral races, education levies and open school board seats during the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election.
In Dakota County, voters will cast their ballots to fill several vacant school board seats across three school districts: Hastings, Lakeville and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan.
Voters also will be making decisions on levy referendums in Farmington, Lakeville and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan.
The Farmington district is asking for an operating levy that would provide $1,237 per student annually, generating about $8 million per year for 10 years.
Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan voters will be asked to renew and increase an expiring technology capital projects levy.
And Lakeville Area Schools will ask voters to renew an expiring capital projects levy that was first passed in 2015.
RELATED: Voters to decide school levy referendums in Ramsey, Dakota, Washington counties
For complete coverage of area elections, including candidate Q&As, visit twincities.com/elections.
Here’s what you need to know about school board elections in Dakota County.
Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan
Voters in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district, ISD 196, will fill three school board seats from four candidates in the General School Board Election.
Vying for the three seats are: Robin Cerio of Eagan, Leah Gardner of Eagan, Sakawdin Mohamed of Eagan and M. Tracey Plante of Rosemount. The four-year term runs from January 2026 to January 2030.
Cerio, Gardner and Mohamed are currently on the school board with terms expiring Jan. 5.
Cerio, an Eagan resident of 24 years, was appointed in January to fill the remainder of a vacant term. Cerio’s priorities include closing the achievement gap, celebrating diversity in communities and improving graduation rates, according to her candidate webpage.
A graduate from the University of St. Thomas, Gardner also has first-hand experience serving on the school board after she won a special election race last November. Erasing economic stigmas and supporting students’ mental health are among Gardner’s priorities, according to her candidate webpage.
A father of six who was elected to his first term in 2022, Mohamed is an advocate for increased student mental health support, improved communication between students, teachers and parents and increasing teacher and staff diversity, according to his candidate webpage.
Catherine Diamond, of Eagan, is running unopposed in the district’s Special Election to fill the remaining two years of former board member Sachin Isaacs’s term after his resignation in October 2024.
Diamond, who was appointed to fill the vacancy until an election could be held, is committed to the health and wellness of students and staff, according to her candidate webpage. A mother of three, Diamond is endorsed by 314 Action, an organization committed to electing Democrats with a scientific background to public office.
Lakeville Area Public Schools
Voters in the Lakeville area school district, ISD 194, will elect one of two people to the school board.
Incumbent Brett Nicholson, who was appointed last November to fill a vacant seat due to a resignation, is racing against Tony Reichenberger.
A graduate of the University of Minnesota and a father of two, Nicholson’s priorities include preparing students for STEM careers, diverse perspectives in history curriculum and budget transparency.
As the husband of a kindergarten teacher, Nicholson is also committed to supporting teachers by providing adequate resources and reducing administrative burdens, according to his candidate webpage.
Lakeville resident and father Tony Reichenberger is committed to investing in teachers, collaborating with the community and improving the reputation of the district’s school board, according to his candidate webpage.
Reichenberger, who works for an AI company, also believes students should learn in a way that does not rely on technology.
“Reliance on technology, inside and outside of the classroom, before comprehending facts and functions only trains our children to push buttons, not learn,” Reichenberger said on his webpage.
Hastings Public Schools
Voters in the Hastings school district, ISD 200, will choose from three candidates in a Special Election to fill a vacant school board seat.
The seat was formerly held by Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, who died in February. Wiederholt-Pine, of Miesville, was a district soccer coach, restaurant co-owner, an avid equestrian, wife, mother, daughter and friend.
“Jenny was a dedicated public servant, and her loss is deeply felt throughout our community,” said LynDee Humble, an elections clerk with the school district.
The three candidates running for the board seat are: Elaine K. Mikel-Mulder, Simone Rendon and Marty Weber, who has since withdrawn from the election.
“My name is still on the ballot, but there are still two other candidates. Do not vote for me. Please vote for them,” Weber wrote on Facebook last month.
Mikel-Mulder, who was elected this spring to fill the remainder of Weiderholt-Pine’s term until January, is a supporter of classical education and believes classrooms should be filled with problem-solving opportunities and project-based content as much as possible, according to her candidate webpage.
Simone Rendon, a mother, foster parent and artist in Hastings, said in a post on Facebook that her priorities include respecting and caring for teachers, strategically utilizing the budget and listening to community members.
Rendon, who is Ojibwe and Lakota, said, “I am running for school board because I want to be able to send the children who live with me to a public school that is truly for the public, open and welcoming to all students.”
The term will run from Jan. 5, 2026 until Jan. 1, 2029.
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