Joining school board is a natural progression for Burkhart

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- For Dr. Marc Burkhart, joining the Board of Education a year ago was a logical next step.

With two of his sons gone through the local public school system and two still in public school, Burkhart, an obstetrician at the New Ulm Medical Center, started his involvement with the school district as a volunteer, presenting on topics from scuba diving to health.

About three years ago, he joined the District 88 referendum committee, a group that successfully worked to persuade the public to approve an extra school tax levy.

Serving on that panel gave Burkhart an idea of "how well" administrators, board members and others involved in the public schools worked together, he says.

When a vacancy opened on the school board about a year ago, he also saw it as a chance to "give something back to the community that has provided us with so much."

He applied and was appointed to the seat.

He is now one of five candidates running for four four-year school-board seats.

Burkhart says he brings a variety of life experiences to the board.

Raised in Humboldt, Iowa, he is a "product" of public schools himself -- from the country school with about a dozen students per class, to large schools with classes of 175 or more.

"I've seen the benefits and drawbacks of both," he says, noting that it is a personal perspective that might be helpful when District 88 addresses class-size issues as enrollment declines.

Burkhart obtained his medical degree at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine.

For three years, he worked for the Public Health Care Service in West Palm Beach, Fla.

In 1986, he joined the New Ulm Medical Center as an obstetrician and gynecologist; he anticipates spending his entire professional life here.

Beside schools, Burkhart has also been involved in other civic and business groups -- the Rotary Club, Garden Club, Chamber of Commerce and various Allina Health System committees, to name a few -- an experience he also sees as helpful.

Burkhart looks back on his first year of service on the Board of Education as "still an educational process."

"Every board member brings something different to the board," he says. "We bring a variety of inputs and knowledge bases -- but we also are a cohesive group. There is not a lot of bickering; we say what we think, but we work (differences) out."

Burkhart's own approach to education issues is somewhat eclectic.

"I am a proponent of the basics," he says. "I am also a proponent of technology. If we don't keep up, we'll fall behind. We can't just stand still."

While his personal interests have led him to serve on school board panels looking at student activities and facilities, he sees himself primarily as a "sounding board for community".

He is reluctant to identify himself with any single issue -- although, like most people closely involved with the school system, he expresses concern about several, both long and short-term.

One major issue, likely to influence policies over the long term, is the continuing budget crunch -- or, as he puts it, "what can we cut that would hurt us the least."

Another, more immediate matter is math instruction -- recent local math test scores are lower than the state average, unlike higher-than-average English scores.

"The question is, how to bring math scores up," says Burkhart. "We'll rely on staff for guidance on improving curriculum and instruction -- it's an area we need to work on."