Coming on the heels of a controversial beginning of 2019 for the Hastings School District, the filing period for candidates for the Hastings School Board opened on July 30th. After the first day of filing, two new candidates, Robert Halberg and Andrew Trembath, filed, and a third, Becky Kranz Beissel, announced her intent to file, while two incumbents, Lisa Hedin and Russ Rohloff either have filed, or announced the intention to file. Peter Blissenbach has indicated he will not file for reelection, and Joe Becker has not decided. Candidates have cited a number of issues that moved them to file, from the Josh McLay issue, to teachers working without a contract, and Superintendent Collins’ issues with licensure in the past. Despite that, Rohloff has said he hoped that the election filings aren’t affected by last year’s events, adding that the board wouldn’t function well if that happened.
