Shining a Light on Local Leadership 

Because Our Schools Deserve Transparency

Welcome to Forest Lake Area School Board Watchers, a community-led resource created to document and report the actions of the Forest Lake Area School Board. In recent months, our district has seen an alarming shift in governance, with Curt Rebelein Jr as Board Chair. Board Chair Rebelein and member Hagglund were elected in 2022. In 2024, they were joined by Tessa Antonsen and Mark Kasel. All four are endorsed by the Minnesota Parent Alliance. 

Since January 2025, policies are being rewritten behind closed doors, community voices are being ignored, and students are being used as pawns in an ideological agenda that does not reflect our shared values. From dismantling Achievement and Integration (A&I) to targeting student club culture, pushing to allow* hate symbols like the Confederate flag and swastika, and aligning with partisan groups like the Minnesota Parents Alliance—this isn’t leadership; it’s a hostile takeover of Forest Lake public schools.

Our mission is simple:

🕵️ Track Board Actions
We break down board meetings, policy changes, and behind-the-scenes maneuvers so you can stay informed.

📢 Amplify Community Voices
Students, parents, teachers, and citizens are speaking up. We make sure their voices are heard. 

📚 Educate, Don’t Agitate
We provide the facts, receipts, and context to help you take action—whether that’s showing up to meetings, speaking out, or providing voting guides for next time. 

✊ Protect Our Schools
Forest Lake belongs to all of us—not to a political fringe. Our students deserve safety, opportunity, and truth. Until we can vote in new members, we need to work within the framework and use every tool at our disposal to check this board. 

This is not just about one person. It’s about the future of public education in Forest Lake—and whether it will reflect the values of our whole community or just the loudest few.

Watch the board. Speak your truth. Defend our schools.

*the board majority seeks to remove the specific prohibitive language on hate symbols in the dress code policy and this will allow students to test the more vague remaining policy by wearing hate symbols and requiring administration to address it reactively.  The current policy leaves no doubt that the KKK, swastika, and Confederate flag are prohibited.