110420.N.BD.ElectionDay5.jpg — Voters wait Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the parking lot of Lord Of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter for their turn to vote on Election Day. Limitations on the amount of people allowed inside because of the COVID-19 pandemic caused the lines to spill outside of the polling place. Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

By Brainerd Dispatch and Renee Richardson

November 04, 2020 at 5:28 PM

Updated vote totals leave the results of the eight-way Brainerd School Board race unchanged from Tuesday night.

With all precincts reporting Wednesday, Nov. 4, and additional mail-in ballots counted, incumbent Bob Nystrom still led the pack with 11,057 votes, or 21.9% of the votes cast, with challengers Jana Shogren and Kevin Boyles sitting comfortably in second and third places, nabbing the other two open seats.

Shogren had 8,946 votes as of Wednesday evening, while Boyles had 8,783. The next closest finisher was incumbent Sue Kern in fourth with 6,713 votes.

Having never run for office before this year, Boyles said Wednesday it was an interesting feeling knowing he got elected.

“I think it was especially rewarding and challenging because there were so many good people running,” he said, noting he was initially surprised at how many votes he garnered.

“But also when I spent more time thinking about it, I wasn’t as surprised,” he added, “because I think our campaign put forth a lot of content, a lot of messaging and was very clear about what my intentions are when I get on the school board. And I intend to stay true to those principles and do what I told everybody I was going to do.”

As a new board member, Boyles said it will be important for him to listen intently to fellow board members and school administration and spend time learning the ropes in the beginning. But one issue he does want to tackle fairly early on is communication within the district, which is an issue he heard a lot about when talking with community members during his campaign. He heard communication doesn’t always seem to be great between board members and teachers and wants to better understand how it works.

“I don’t know if it needs to be fixed. I don’t know if that’s just how it works, but it’s something I want to take a look at,” he said.