Nine candidates filed for four open seats on the South Washington County School Board (ISD #833) by the filing deadline of Tuesday, August 12. The four seats will be filled in the general election on November 4. The winners will serve four-year terms from January 2026 to December 2029.

Current school board members with terms ending at the end of 2025 are Louise Hinz, Katie Schwartz, Eric Tessmer, and Sharon Van Leer. Hinz, Schwartz and Van Leer have filed for re-election.

Candidates joining them on the ballot this fall are Elizabeth Bockman Eckberg, Chad Borseth, Travis Dahle, Bryn Forstner, Juan Huerta, and Lori Pecchia Michalski. 

The district is the sixth-largest in the state and serves about 18,700 students. It includes all or part of seven cities: Afton, Cottage Grove, Denmark, Grey Cloud Island, Newport, St. Paul Park, and Woodbury.

The district has 16 elementary schools, four middle schools, three high schools, two non-traditional high schools, early learning programs, and adult diploma programs.