My name is Elena Niehoff, I am a wife, a mother and a grandmother who loves family and this beautiful country. I decided to run for the School Board member position for District 535, Rochester, MN.
I was born in Omsk, Russia. When I was five years old my family and I moved to Ukraine where we lived for many years. In 1998 I immigrated to the United States with my family and became a citizen of this great country. I feel this experience gives me a unique perspective that most American people do not have.
For those people who have never experienced socialism, let me assure you that it is not about a lot of free staff given by the government. I would like to testify that socialism is about removing God from society and removing God’s given rights from people.
Our country gave me an opportunity to achieve my dreams. I earned an Associate Degree in Nursing through Rochester Community College and a Bachelor Degree in Nursing through Winona State University. I am a certified Public Health Nurse. During my career I worked at Mayo Clinic and several Home Health Care organizations. I volunteered for Salvation Army and served on the board of Salvation Army for one year.
Because of my background, I can relate to the immigrant children’s experience. I want to give back to our community and help all children to reach their best potential. I am passionate to provide equality in education.
The Minnesota Statute 2021 120A.22 Sub.1 states clearly that it is a responsibility of the parent to choose the knowledge which their children are to acquire at the public school. My vision to improve education is to strengthen parental rights over curriculum, to get parents involved into a decision-making process in education, strengthen the families in community and support teachers.
My other passion is to restore discipline in the schools. Many parents expressed their concerns over violence in the schools. I plan to revise the school policies to provide tools for teachers to maintain discipline and promote safe environment to all children.
In the late years school district acquired 23 million dollars of debts. To establish balanced budget is my goal for the district. My experience as a Financial Management Analysts in the Office of Budget and Financial Department of City of Feodosia in Ukraine will potentially help me to analyze performance budgeting. This community provided general support to the district through taxes, it is a responsibility of the district leadership respectfully spend acquired funding and by doing so earn the community trust.
I am part of the slate of four running for the school board position in District 535 of Rochester, MN. Please vote for us to bring conservative values and lasting changes back to our schools.
