Three candidates vie for two school board seats

On Tuesday, April 8, Lennox School District residents will go the polls to elect two people to serve on the Lennox School Board. 

Three candidates: incumbent, Nicholas Butler and two challengers Brett Hoffman and Jordan Vlastuin, will be vying for two 3-year positions on the Lennox School Board. 

The School Board election is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, April 8 with the polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. 

The polling place for the district is as follows:

LWC Intermediate School Gym Lobby, 208 W 5th Ave, Lennox.  There will be no polling places at Worthing or Chancellor.  The sample ballot can be viewed on page 7. 

The Lennox Independent sent questionnaires to each of the candidates, what follows below are their responses: 

Nicholas Butler

Incumbent

Q:  What inspired you to run for the Lennox School District school board?

A:  My name is Nick Butler and I am running for re-election to the Lennox School Board.  

I began my time on the Lennox School Board in July 2021 filing a one-year vacancy. I ran unopposed the following year and am now finishing my three-year term. 

 To find my inspiration for running for school board, you don’t need to look any further than my children.  I am proud of the education they’ve received over the years and want to continue to support those that have given that to them.  

Additionally, I want to see our district maintain values of high academic achievement, support of the fine arts and athletics, development of young men and women, and responsible growth.

Q: What professional and personal experiences make you a strong candidate?

A: Professionally, I have been in the law enforcement profession for over 20 years.  I currently serve at the rank of lieutenant at an area police department overseeing the Professional Standards section.  In my current role, I have experience with budgeting, hiring, investigations, discipline, and staffing along with a variety of other duties that go along with working with a staff of over 300 people.  Many of these experiences directly or indirectly relate to my role as a board member.

Q: How long have you lived in the district, and what connections do you have to the local schools?

A: My family and I have been residents of the district since 2010.  My oldest son, Triston,  graduated from Lennox High School in 2024 and my youngest, Justin, is a freshman.  My wife, Tiffany, and I have been married for 21 years and are both active in the district.  Tiffany is the president of the athletic booster club.  My mother is a retired 2nd grade teacher and my sister currently teaches the 2nd grade at a district in Iowa.  

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the Lennox School District?

A: The Lennox School District has and will continue to face its share of challenges, just like every other school district.  Right now, we are focused on fluctuation in student enrollment and how to best manage the budgetary impact while continuing to provide top notch education to our students.  While this is a challenge, I’m confident that the current administrators, the newly hired superintendent Mr. Adam Shaw, and your board of education along with input from the LEA will come up with solutions that are best for the district.  

Q: What are your top three priorities if elected to the school board?

A: My priorities for the district over the next three years are:  Maintain our high test scores while emphasizing the actual learned knowledge of subjects,  continue to explore vocational opportunities for students with specific interests that will prepare them for the workforce, maintain a good relationship with the LEA and continue working towards increasing compensation for newly hired teachers as well rewarding teachers for the long-term dedication to the district, continue to manage growth in a responsible way that keeps us on solid ground financially, and keep in focus the things that make the Lennox School District great.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about me and I would appreciate your vote in April.

Brett Hoffman

Challenger

Q:  What inspired you to run for the Lennox School District school board?

A:  I want to make a positive contribution for our kids and our educators. I’ve seen how the atmosphere in the school has helped my own children grow, and want to be a part of that process. I’ve always believed that it is important to give back through community and public service, and it is the right time in my life for me to step forward. I’m proud of the accomplishments of our school district and want to continue to support our kids and educators by serving on the board.

Lennox is such a friendly community with a tradition of working together to tackle challenges and mutual respect for various viewpoints. The future for our school district and our greater community is very bright and I want to have a hand in moving us forward.

Q: What professional and personal experiences make you a strong candidate?

A: My work background is in public policy and communications, and those would be my strengths I bring to the table. I am ready to listen to the concerns of any community member, be they a parent, student, district employee, or community member. Open and regular communication is essential.

Currently I work for a healthcare non-profit. A big part of that work is mediating between health care providers and their regulators, trying to find workable solutions in how rules and policies are being implemented. I do think balancing the needs of different stakeholders would be a useful skill to bring to the school board as well.

Q: How long have you lived in the district, and what connections do you have to the local schools?

A: I moved to Lennox in 2014, along with my wife Annie Hendrickson, who grew up in the area. She is a graduate of LHS. We have two children enrolled in Lennox Elementary, a third grader and a kindergartner.

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the Lennox School District?

 A: Our district performs well on many key metrics. But like any district, we will face challenges in the years to come as well.

In my view, some of the bigger challenges will include:

Dealing with unpredictable enrollment numbers. Lennox is a growing community and we should expect certain amounts of growth in enrollment in the years to come, but home-schooling and private school attendance have also had enrollment impacts, making budgeting difficult. Implementing difficult budget decisions in a way that causes the least disruption to students.

Hiring and retaining our best staff in the face of uncertain state and federal funding levels; not losing staff to jobs in out of state districts. We know that the actions and language used by some members of our Legislature have had a demoralizing effect on educators in this state. We need to make sure that the Lennox School District is going above and beyond to offer an environment where teachers can practice and grow in their craft. 

Ensuring we are proactively meeting the mental health needs of students, so that we can create a welcoming environment for all learners at every level regardless of their background.

Q: What are your top three priorities if elected to the school board?

 A: Empower educators in the classroom to use their expertise to continue driving success in our district.

Find ways to seek continuous improvement to our academic assessments. The good news is that we are already well above average in this respect, but we have to make sure we don’t rest on our laurels.

Promote a broad offering of extracurriculars for students in hopes of maintaining quality programs for students of all interests, be they athletics, arts and music, clubs, student government, etc. These activities can help students stay engaged in school and also strengthen bonds between the community and the school as we come together to support our young people in their activities.

Q: Who does your family include? 

 A:  My wife Annie Hendrickson, our children Philip Hoffman (3rd grade) and Betty Hoffman (kindergarten), as well as our dog Huxley.

Jordan Vlastuin

Challenger

Q:  What inspired you to run for the Lennox School District school board?

A: My affection for this community and, of course, our kids!  

My wife, Noelle, and I recently moved back to Lennox because it’s the best of a small town near a bigger city.  

In Lennox, we truly believe our kids will receive a great education and have positive experiences in athletics and other extracurriculars with a supportive community behind them that they’ll carry with them for a lifetime.  

We want deep roots in the community.  Noelle and I will have kids in this district for the next 15 years.  Serving on the school board is one way to play an active role in making sure this district performs at a high level for the sake of our kids - all area kids - and the future of Lennox. 

Q: What professional and personal experiences make you a strong candidate?

A: I am a 2006 graduate of Lennox High School.  After graduating I became a journeyman electrician after completing a 5-year apprenticeship program through the Dakotas JATC.  I’ve been employed by Electric Construction Company for nearly 15 years and work as a field supervisor.  My responsibilities include making sure projects are being completed on time, within budget, safely, & coordinating daily tasks for others on my projects.   I bring an important understanding to the table: that career paths look different for each student.  It might be straight to the workforce, off to college, learning a trade, or military service.  Whatever the path, a good foundational education is vital.  That starts right here in Lennox.

Q: How long have you lived in the district, and what connections do you have to the local schools?

A; My family and I recently moved back to the district after living in a neighboring community for a number of years.  Lennox has always been home for my family and we wanted our kids to feel that too.  Our children are 11, 8, and 3, so they will be students in the district for years to come.  My siblings (Jared, Melissa, & Maddy) are all Lennox graduates.  Additionally, two of them (Jared and Melissa) teach and coach in the district! 

Q: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the Lennox School District?

A; Declining enrollment has a negative affect on everything in a public school system.  It has challenged districts locally & can lead to budget constraints, reductions in extracurriculars & other programs provided, and staffing cuts.  Reduction in staff generally leads to larger classroom sizes, which I am very much against.  We need to do our best to understand why those who are moving away from public school system are doing so while also shouting from the rooftops what a great education the educators & administration at the Lennox School District provide. 

Q: What are your top three priorities if elected to the school board?

Promotion: Promote the many positive aspects of the Lennox School District in terms of both academics and extracurricular opportunities - as well as the staff that works to bring them to fruition every day.

Communication: Work to always encourage in dialogue between the community, administration, staff, and the school board that is healthy, open, honest, and respectful to all.

Collaboration: I will encourage collaborative work between administrators and my fellow school board members to support district educators.  We will put a special focus on hiring practices to make sure we are hiring the most qualified candidates and placing them in the correct positions to succeed.  This will ensure our students have the best education and experience possible while keeping our educators fulfilled and happy to come to work in Lennox. 

Q: Who does your family include? 

A:  My wife Noelle, and I have been married for 13 years.  We have three kids, Kylie, who’s in 5th grade, our son, William, who is in 2nd grade and our youngest son, Evan, who just turned three.