Stephanie Anderson, Omar Syed win St. Paul school board seats; Uriah Ward reelected

Union-endorsed candidates swept the St. Paul school board election Tuesday night. Newcomers Stephanie Anderson and Omar Syed were elected to their first term, which will start in January, and board chair Uriah Ward won reelection. Anderson and Syed will replace outgoing board members Halla Henderson and Brandon Lowe. The St. Paul school board election comes just days after the board voted to approve an early retirement plan for English language teachers, a compromise after an earlier proposal to terminate 16 of these teachers midyear. That proposal came after a larger than expected decline in English learners — 542 fewer than the district projected in January. The district attributed this decrease to Operation Metro Surge. District officials said the midyear cuts were necessary to avoid dipping below a 5% fund balance — that is, holding 5% of the district’s budget in reserves — a key financial benchmark that would affect the district’s standing. The early retirement plan, a co