2025 ISD 194 School Board Candidates: Complete Guide to Lakeville Area School Board Election

On November 4, 2025, Lakeville Area Schools residents will elect one person to the school board. This special election will fill the seat currently occupied by Director Brett Nicholson, who was appointed in November 2024 to fill a vacancy created by a resignation.

Key Election Details:

Learn more about early voting here.

ISD 194 serves the communities of Lakeville, Burnsville, Elko, New Market, and Eureka Township.

With Lakeville being one of the fastest-growing cities in Minnesota, the school board faces critical decisions about managing enrollment growth, maintaining academic standards, supporting teachers, and ensuring fiscal responsibility.

This election gives residents a voice in shaping the direction of their schools during a pivotal time of expansion and change.

The two candidates bring distinctly different backgrounds and approaches to addressing the district's challenges and opportunities.

Current Position: Appointed School Board Member & Board Treasurer (since November 2024)

Background: Brett Nicholson has served on the Lakeville Area School Board for eight months after being elected by his colleagues to fill a vacancy. During this time, he was also elected Board Treasurer by his peers. A 12-year Lakeville resident, Brett is married to Marcia, a kindergarten teacher in Burnsville since 2010, and they have two young children attending Lakeville schools.

Professional Experience: Brett owns and operates a business process improvement consulting firm with over 20 years of experience in operational efficiency, change management, and stakeholder engagement. His work has taken him across six countries on three continents, serving diverse industrial clients. He holds a degree from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and has background in human resources, industrial relations, union negotiations, and compensation management.

Community Involvement:

Campaign Priorities:

1. Academic Achievement Brett has championed setting ambitious goals for student outcomes, including a district target of 90% MCA proficiency by 2030. During his tenure, he supported hiring an Executive Director of Teaching & Learning and a PreK-12 Director of Teaching & Learning to strengthen curriculum leadership and instructional consistency. He emphasizes protecting arts education and has backed the operating levy renewal to safeguard elementary art and fifth-grade band programs.

2. Budget Transparency As Board Treasurer, Brett focuses on maintaining a strong fund balance while keeping budget planning transparent through public discussions. He supports the Capital Projects Levy Renewal for classroom technology, security infrastructure, and safe learning environments without increasing tax scope. He advocates for establishing an Executive Dashboard to monitor academic progress and has supported boundary adjustments to manage growth efficiently.

3. Championing Teachers and Staff Brett has conducted listening sessions with principals, teachers, and administrators throughout District 194 to understand challenges and opportunities firsthand. His wife's experience as a kindergarten teacher gives him unique insight into classroom realities. He has backed governance structures that add leadership capacity to provide stronger instructional support and has publicly celebrated staff successes at board meetings and district events.

4. Safe Schools Brett prioritizes maintaining secure learning environments through continued funding for security infrastructure and technology upgrades.

Key Accomplishments (January-August 2025):

Endorsements:

Campaign Website: Vote Brett Nicholson

Background: Tony Reichenberger has lived in Lakeville for 11 years with his wife Amy and their 12-year-old son who attends McGuire Middle School. The family chose Lakeville specifically because of its school system's strong reputation. They also hosted a foreign exchange student from Brazil last year, demonstrating their commitment to educational and cultural exchange.

Professional Experience: Tony brings a unique combination of legal, financial, and technology expertise to the race. He previously worked for a public financing company specializing in funding Minnesota cities and schools, giving him direct knowledge of how school budgets function and how taxpayer dollars are best utilized. As an attorney, he understands policy development and legal frameworks. Currently, Tony works for an AI company, positioning him to understand how transformative technology will change future job markets and what skills students need to compete in a rapidly evolving world.

Endorsements:

Campaign Priorities:

1. Fixing Dysfunction Tony directly addresses what he describes as the school board's "well-known" reputation for being "antagonistic, dysfunctional and inefficient." He emphasizes his interest in working collaboratively with board members, parents, teachers, and the community, demonstrating to students how public service should function for everyone's benefit.

2. Improving Student Achievement Tony believes the primary goal of education should be preparing children to succeed in college and the workforce. He focuses on helping kids learn, innovate, comprehend, and excel to improve their confidence, self-esteem, and overall success while elevating the school district and community.

3. Technology in the Classroom With his background in AI, Tony brings a nuanced view of educational technology. He advocates for ensuring students understand fundamentals, rationale, and "how-to" before depending on technology. He warns against relying on technology before comprehending facts and functions, arguing this "only trains our children to push buttons, not learn."

4. Fiscal Responsibility Drawing on his experience working for a public finance firm, Tony emphasizes effective financial management and working with available resources. He highlights his knowledge of how Minnesota school budgets function and how to best utilize taxpayer dollars.

5. Improving Teacher Relations Tony is critical of how the school board has treated teachers, calling it "unsatisfactory in respect, appreciation and standards." He notes that average Lakeville teacher salaries are notably below Farmington, Northfield, and Prior Lake, and substantially below Burnsville and Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan. He argues the district is losing quality educators to neighboring cities and that keeping quality teachers should be a priority, stating "Investing in teachers invests in the community."

6. Managing Lakeville's Expansion Recognizing Lakeville as one of Minnesota's fastest-growing cities, Tony emphasizes the need for long-term planning for new schools, personnel, and budgeting to maintain the school system's reputation as one of the best in Minnesota.

7. Parent-Student-Teacher Collaboration Tony views education as a collaborative effort among students, families, schools, and community. He supports seeking student, parent, and community participation in significant district decisions and finding solutions to enrich programming and learning experiences for all students. He emphasizes that "when everyone is welcomed to participate fully, we all benefit."

Campaign Website: Tony Reichenberger

Official District Information:

Campaign Finance Reports: Minnesota law requires school districts to publish campaign finance reports for school board candidates. Reports are available on the ISD 194 website and must be posted for four years.

League of Women Voters Forum: A candidate forum was held on September 30, 2025, hosted by the League of Women Voters Minnesota, giving voters an opportunity to hear directly from both candidates.

Have questions about the election? Contact the Lakeville Area Schools District Office at 17630 Juniper Path, Suite A, or visit www.isd194.org for more information.

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