Lakeville Area Schools board votes 4-2 to appoint Brett Nicholson to vacant seat after interview

The Lakeville Area Schools Board of Education on Wednesday appointed Brett Nicholson to fill its seventh seat after a candidate interview and a 4-2 roll-call vote.

Board Chair Sue Baker opened the special session by reviewing statutory eligibility requirements and the process: interview the candidate, deliberate, then vote. Chair Baker told the public the appointment is interim and that the appointee must run for election in November 2025.

Nicholson, who described credentials from his recent campaign and said he would ‘‘listen’’ and rely on others’ expertise, answered six brief questions from board members on district strengths, board dynamics, student needs, the recent levy campaign, mental-health supports and academic measurement. He praised the district’s ‘‘dedicated, experienced teachers and staff’’ and called the district’s communication with the community an area needing improvement. He said he supported the recent levy but suggested its messaging could have been clearer to voters.

On mental health, Nicholson said he ‘‘didn’t know the perfect answer’’ to how to ‘‘decouple’’ mental-health responsibilities from classroom instruction and described the challenge teachers face when asked to manage both instruction and complex behavioral needs. He framed his approach as seeking to clarify roles and to ‘‘better justify’’ support positions to the public.

Several board members welcomed Nicholson’s emphasis on listening but said that willingness to advocate for levy-supported student services is critical. Director Carly Anderson said she did not believe it was possible to separate mental health from education and stressed the importance of board members who will ‘‘advocate for our levies.’’ Another trustee raised concerns that political actors have become involved in nonpartisan school-board contests and recalled an earlier proposal to appoint the fourth-place vote-getter as a less political alternative.

The vote followed a motion by Director David Anderson and a second by Director Brian Thompson. During roll call, the board recorded votes as follows: Carly Anderson — No; David Anderson — Yes; Terry Lynn — Yes; Sue Baker — Yes; Brian Thompson — Yes; Judy Keller — No. The motion passed, 4-2.

Chair Baker announced there is a 30-day waiting period before the appointee may take office and reiterated that the appointee must run for election in November 2025. The meeting adjourned shortly after the vote.

The appointment ends the board’s immediate vacancy but leaves unresolved questions board members raised about how to fund and staff mental-health supports, how to improve communication about levy proposals for voters, and whether the district should change how it presents academic measures like the MCA as part of public messaging.