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Thursday, September 3, 2009
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Cross, Froemming file for school board positions
Staff Writer Two people filed Wednesday for the three four-year terms open on the Brainerd School Board.
They are Nancy Cross, executive director of Brainerd Community Action, and Todd Froemming, co-owner of Syvantis Technologies and Computer One Plus.
Cross, 58, lives in Baxter with her husband, Mark, who is a Baxter City Council member. They have three children, Patrick, 25; Rachel, 21; and Caitlin, 19; and a 2-month-old grandson.
Cross said maintaining strong community ties through her work and volunteerism is important to her. She and her family moved to Baxter from Lincoln, Neb., 19 years ago, where she was a vice president of a development corporation and worked as a real estate broker. She also has worked as a vice president of a construction company. She has previously taken three years of classes through the University of Nebraska and several courses through Central Lakes College.
She has served as executive director of Brainerd Community Action for the past 17 years. She has volunteered in the Brainerd schools throughout her children's schooling, from being a PTA member to a PTA president and coordinator for special events, such as book sales. She's also served as a Boy Scout leader and is a member of the Ski Gull Ski Patrol where for the past five years she has taught all the first aid courses to Ski Patrol candidates.
Cross has served on several area boards, including nine years as treasurer on the Lakes Area Senior Activity Center board, six years on the Crow Wing County Historical Society board and is a member of the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library.
Cross is currently on the national board and serves as secretary for Operation Interdependence, which supports troops overseas. She also has been a state board member for Minnesota Council of Nonprofits for the past six years.
Cross said she would bring her problem-solving abilities and a sense of community to the board if elected.
"I will never lose focus of what our main goal should be, and that is the education of our children," said Cross.
Cross said a school system is the center of a community and it's important that a community maintain a strong school system.
"I also believe strongly that teachers need to teach, parents need to parent and children need to be responsible for their actions," said Cross. "How can we give students what they need to survive in this society when they get out? I think that our school system is the foundation for these kids and I want teachers to teach. I don't want them spending their time disciplining and I would take a strong stand on that.
"I also believe taxpayers are tapped out. We have to decide how to do things smarter and better and at a cost savings that can also support the teacher and student alike."
Froemming, who turned 45 Thursday, is a Backus High School graduate who earned degrees in business and mass communications and broadcasting from North Dakota State University. He also has an MBA from the University of Texas. He and his wife, Jackie, live in Brainerd and have two sons, Austin, 13, and Ben, 11, who attend Brainerd schools.
Froemming's father was a teacher and superintendent, indicating his interest in education is one of the reasons he is seeking a board seat. But Froemming said the other primary reason is that several of his Brainerd neighbors asked him to run. He said no one currently on the school board lives in the city of Brainerd and he hopes he can become a representative on the school board for the city.
He said he also hopes to take his business experience to the board and as a parent he has a vested interest in what happens in the district.
"I've got kids in the school district and I'd like to do what I can to better the school district the best I can," said Froemming. "Most of the issues are probably fiscally related right now, with the funding cuts and how they have to do with the fiscal issues and having a business background will help, to get someone from a different perspective than they have had for awhile."
Before moving to Brainerd, Froemming also served as an assistant director of a disability rights organization in Indianapolis, Ind., and was a business administrator for the Indiana Governor's Planning Council for People with Disabilities. He also served in the Army Reserve for six years. While in Brainerd, Froemming served a four-year term on the Brainerd Community Education Advisory Board from 2000-2004 and has been active in the Brainerd Lakes Chamber, having helped set up Chambernet, a business networking group. He's also active in the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce and recently graduated from the St. Cloud Chamber's leadership program. He is also an adjunct instructor for the College of St. Scholastica in Brainerd.
In addition to Cross and Froemming, Chris Robinson and incumbent Ruth Nelson also have filed for the three four-year terms up for election in November. No one has yet to file for the two-year special board term.
Filings close at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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