FRANSEN ELECTED TO SCHOOL BOARD

When the Freeman School Board meets for its monthly meeting Monday, June 15, it will be the last one for Kerry Hofer, who first took a seat on the board in 2005 and spent four of his 15 years as president. 

Hofer was defeated by challenger Cody Fransen in last week’s June 2 election. Fransen won 294-233, earning 55.7% of the vote. He will take office at the July meeting and join Slade Ammann, Corey Gall, Mark Miller and Kyle Weier on the five-member board.

“I look forward to getting in there and figuring out how everything works; I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve,” said Fransen, who is appreciative of everybody who came out to vote regardless of how they cast their ballot. “I just want to thank everyone for coming out and voting. It shows they care about this school district.” 

Hofer says he is grateful for the 15 years afforded him to be a member of the Freeman School Board.

“It was an honor to serve,” he said. “As a district, we did the best we could. Every decision I made came with the interest of the students in mind, just like the other board members. Sometimes we agreed, sometimes we didn’t.”

And Hofer offered his thanks to the community for the support over the years.

“I’ve enjoyed serving and look forward to seeing what happens in the district,” he said. “I’m also looking forward to some time off and having my second Monday of the month free.”

Of the 1,717 registered voters living in the school district, 529 voted in this year’s election — 292 by absentee — for a turnout of 31%. That’s far better than the school board election last year, which saw a turnout of just 14%