The school board is bidding farewell to one-term members Josh Reimnitz and Tracine Asberry after Tuesday's election, which picked two new faces to take their seats.
"It's been a privilege to serve the students and families of Southwest Minneapolis and beyond," Asberry said in a Facebook post late Tuesday night.
In the East Isles/Bryn Mawr/downtown District 4, Bob Walser took home nearly 51.6 percent of the vote to Reimnitz's 47.3 percent.
It was a narrower win for Asberry's opponent Ira Jourdain in southwest Minneapolis' District 6, where his 50.5 percent beat Asberry's 48.6 percent. In that race, Jourdain won by nearly 600 votes.
Neither Reimnitz nor Asberry received endorsements from the DFL or the Minneapolis teachers' union, like their opponents did. In addition, board incumbent Kim Ellison won a citywide seat and KerryJo Felder clinched a spot representing north Minneapolis' District 2.
Asberry is director of St. Paul Youth Services and said she has remained committed to kids and has urged Superintendent Ed Graff to act.
Reimnitz, who is interim director of Breakthrough Twin Cities, had priorities that included board governance. On Monday, the policy manual he led, aiming to focus district goals, passed the policy committee.
"Changing our community, and making it a better place where all our kids can have a quality education, is bigger than just one election," Reimnitz said in a Facebook post on his school board page Tuesday night. "Equity, high expectations with high support, and good governance all matter. We must ensure our leaders focus on students."
