Tie Votes Keep Columbia Heights School Board Chairless

The same short, declarative sentence has been included in the agenda for every one  of the Columbia Heights Board of Education’s regular meetings in 2011.

“The Board will elect a chair.”

The statement’s meaning is unambiguous, but Tuesday’s meeting marked .

A couple minutes before 9 p.m., acting chairman Scott Bardell spoke the name of each of the district’s six board members into his microphone and recorded their votes. There was no debate before the roll call, and all six members knew what the result would be: a 3-3 tie between Bardell and Ted Landwehr.

In interviews after the meeting, both Bardell and Landwehr declined to elaborate on the nature of the stalemate.

“It’s not good when politics get in the way of kids,” Bardell said. “We’ve talked; we’re both a little stubborn."

Landwehr declined to say whether the tie was a result of ideological or political considerations.

“I really shouldn’t talk about it right now,” he said.

Bardell said he did not believe ties are uncommon among boards with even-numbers of members across local government.

Other board members did not return messages Wednesday.

The southeastern corner of Fridley is in the Columbia Heights School District, one of three school districts to claim parts of the city.