St. Francis Area Schools board reappoints chair, elects vice chair and officers at organizational meeting

The St. Francis Area Schools Board of Education held its annual organizational meeting Jan. 6, reappointing Chair Burr and electing Member West as vice chair.

The board opened nominations under Minnesota law for the positions of chair, vice chair, clerk and treasurer. After a motion and unanimous-ballot procedure, the incumbent identified in the meeting as Chair Burr announced appointment to the chair and the board approved the motion. Vice-chair nominations proceeded to a roll-call vote; following members’ statements of support, Speaker 2 announced Member West as vice chair.

During the vice chair campaign, candidate Speaker 3 said, “My intent would be to complement the chair's leadership while I would help coordinate and onboarding professional development, supporting preparedness, and continuity during periods of transition or crisis and reinforce brief on board norms.” The board approved unanimous ballots for clerk (Mister Shona) and treasurer (Mister Wertz).

The organizational votes were procedural actions required by statute and to set the board’s leadership for 2026. Chair Burr told the board, “I love working with this team, and I'm excited for 2026,” and thanked members for their support.

The board did not take additional personnel actions during the organizational portion. Next steps announced included committee assignments and routine authorizations for the year.