Hi, my name is Darcie Baumann and I am a passionate community advocate running for the Waconia School Board (ISD 110). With a background in nonprofit leadership and extensive experience in governance, I am committed to fostering inclusive, equitable, and transparent educational environments. As the first woman and person of color to serve as board chair for Twin Cities Pride, I have been a champion for diversity, health equity, and community engagement. In 2024, I co-founded Carver County Pride and currently serve on several local (Carver County) public health advisory committees, focusing on creating spaces where all voices are heard.

A long-time resident of Waconia, I am a mom to seven children. Our youngest is currently a preschooler in Wildcat Preschool and my wife Kris is a member of the Waconia Fire Department. 

My platform emphasizes supporting students, staff, and families by promoting educational excellence and ensuring every student feels valued and empowered to succeed. 

#BaumannFor110 #InclusiveSchools #EducationalEquity 

I have taken the School Board Integrity Project Candidate Pledge.

I pledge to be a candidate and school board member who will be a champion for the principles of integrity, respect, excellence, belonging, and truth.

I will uphold those principles by:

• Always leading with integrity and putting students and their success first -- particularly over any outside or national political interests.

• Leading with respect, compassion, and care while allowing space for productive and civil dialogue on issues where community members may disagree.

• Recognizing that an excellent education includes an honest depiction of our country’s history, an appreciation of science- and evidence-based data and sources, books depicting a variety of perspectives, experiences, and more.

• Ensuring we protect the freedom to read and the freedom to learn for all students by rejecting book bans and supporting the use of age-appropriate curriculum and materials

• Advocating for students of every background regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, ability, or zip code and being willing to push back on the politicization of our children’s lives and well-being and lead with empathy.

• Fostering a welcoming environment where all students can come to school as their authentic selves and have a sense of belonging to learn and thrive without fear of harm regardless of their differences.

• Building back trust within our public education systems by rejecting attempts to spread lies about teachers and administrations, their curriculums, and their motives. 

• Supporting our teachers, staff, and administrations and providing them with the full complement of resources they need to focus on providing a world-class education for our students. 

I am proud to be recognized as a School Board Integrity Project 2024 Candidate.