4 new St. Paul school board members sworn in

St. Paul's new school board members were sworn in Tuesday.

The four new members — Zuki Ellis, Steve Marchese, Jon Schumacher and Mary Vanderwert — make up the majority of the board. They come in as the district is under scrutiny for incidents of violence at some high schools and as the district has gone to mediation with the teachers' union over intense contract negotiations.

Schumacher, who is now board chair, said he's "very excited about the potential we have to work together."

"We've got a lot of good things in place. We also need to be able to take a clear-eyed look at the things that aren't working and find different ways to do it," he said. "And we're going to need the whole community to help us do that."

Denise Rodriguez, president of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers, said she hopes the new board will help improve negotiations between her union and the district, and wants to see school safety addressed.

"For teachers to teach and students to learn you need to have a safe, equitable learning environment and I think that's the No. 1 priority in St. Paul," she said.

The new board spent much of its first meeting discussing priorities they hope to set for the next year. That list — which includes topics like school safety, enrollment and achievement — is expected to be outlined over their next few meetings.