A grassroots organization that prides itself on providing resources to parents who want to step up and run for school board in their community has released its first round of candidate endorsements this week.
The Minnesota Parents Alliance launched in 2021 as an outgrowth of a movement of parents across the state who decided to push back against the status quo in their school communities amid a number of issues, including Gov. Tim Walz’s Covid-era restrictions on schools.
It’s only fitting that with about 300 districts across Minnesota holding elections this fall that many of those same parents who stepped up to either run for school board in 2021 or helped organize around candidates they support seem to be re-energized with the news that Walz will be at the very top of the ballot, said Cristine Trooien, founder and executive director of the nonpartisan organization.
“In 2021, we saw so many parents who had never been involved at the grassroots level that were responding to a lot of what Walz and his administration were pushing down on students during those Covid times,” Trooien said. “Now that he’s a vice-presidential pick, it’s kind of scratching that scab, people are reminded of how upsetting it all was a few years ago, when we had so much learning loss, canceled sports, that sparked a lot of grassroots energy three or four years ago.”
Minnesota Parents Alliance published its “2024 Voter Guide” on Monday, just 10 days before early voting starts across the state.
The organization emphasized in a press statement that the guide is intended as a “non-partisan resource to identify candidates who align with MPA’s mission of improving K-12 education through prioritizing student achievement, safety, transparency, accountability, and parent-teacher partnership.”
The guide includes recommendations for school board candidates in the following school districts:
Albert Lea, Alexandria, Becker, Bemidji, Brainerd, Buffalo, Byron, Caledonia, Cambridge-Isanti, Centennial, Columbia Heights, East Grand Forks, Eastern Carver, Elk River, Faribault, Farmington, Fergus Falls, Forest Lake, Grand Rapids, Hutchinson, Jackson County Central, Lakeville, Mankato, Minneapolis, New Prague, North St. Paul, Osseo, Owatonna, Pequot Lakes, Pierz, Prior Lake-Savage, Robbinsdale, Rochester, Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, Royalton, Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Francis, Waconia, White Bear Lake, and Winona.
While MPA isn’t the only organization across the state endorsing school board candidates this fall, Trooien said the teachers union, Education Minnesota, has long been a difficult political machine for independent candidates to beat in school board races where the union’s election arm spends money. Education Minnesota has almost exclusively aligned itself with DFL politicians in legislative and statewide elections. Other progressive, DFL-aligned 501c4 organizations that have endorsed school board candidates in recent years include Moms Demand Action and the School Board Integrity Project.
Some of the school districts where the fiercest battles for union control are expected to play out include: Lakeville, Osseo, Brainerd, Buffalo and White Bear Lake.
Trooien said amid the political chaos of a presidential election cycle that one of the best ways people can make a difference with the resources they have—be it time or money—is with school board elections.
“We like to remind people their dollar is going to go a lot further to a local candidate who is proving themselves through their door-knocking and sign distribution, than it might for a race that is closer to the top of the ballot,” Trooien said. “There’s so much value for anybody who has the bandwidth, who is contributing either time or money to really focus on these local seats.”
Hank Long
Hank Long is a journalism and communications professional whose writing career includes coverage of the Minnesota legislature, city and county governments and the commercial real estate industry. Hank received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where he studied journalism, and his law degree at the University of St. Thomas. The Minnesota native lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and four children. His dream is to be around when the Vikings win the Super Bowl.
