A community that featured one of the state’s most expensive school board races in recent memory — just two years ago — is almost assuredly going to match that level of spending again this fall.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District has three seats up for grabs in November with two competing slates of candidates vying for control of a board that governs the state’s largest district.
What has become a high-profile school district election to watch every two years is just one of 21 school board races that will take place across the state in November.
Some of the other communities that often feature highly competitive, and sometimes overtly political, school board races up for election this fall include: South Washington County, Bloomington, Minnetonka, Rosemount-Eagan-Apple Valley and Wayzata.
While many of those school districts traditionally don’t start seeing campaigning begin until late summer, the candidates in Anoka-Hennepin have been marching in parades, door-knocking and appearing at candidate forums, well before the official filing period begins on July 29.
Anoka-Hennepin candidate field at a glance
With three seats up for grabs in Anoka-Hennepin this fall, two candidates for each seat have already been established.
One trio features a single incumbent and two first-time candidates — Matt Audette, Lorraine Coan and Tiffany Strabala — who are running with support from the local parents organization.
The competing slate includes two incumbents and one new candidate. The two incumbents, Jeff Simon and Kacy Deschene, have garnered the support of influential unions in recent election cycles.
Simon, who is seeking a fourth term on the board, will face off against Strabala. In 2017, Simon received endorsements from AFL-CIO and SEIU. Both unions almost exclusively endorse Democrats for office.
Deschene was endorsed by Education Minnesota, which is the state’s teachers union, and other Democrat-allied unions and PACs in 2021. Coan is her opponent this year.
Newcomer Abbey Payeur launched her campaign in March and is already being pushed by Anoka-Hennepin area Democrats to replace Audette as the District Four representative.
Audette, who is seeking a second term, has become a well-known conservative voice on issues in the district.
In 2021, he earned more than double the votes of his opponent. In addition to bringing his voice and votes to a board that often runs counter to the wishes of the district’s Education Minnesota chapter, Audette has helped lead two more candidates to earning seats on the board.
In 2023, former high school teacher Linda Hoekman said she was inspired by Audette’s leadership to run for the District One seat, winning by double digits over a union-backed candidate. That same fall, mechanical engineer Zach Arco built up a grassroots campaign for District Two and defeated former DFL legislative candidate Susan Witt, who was also endorsed by the teachers union. Arco’s margin of victory was 12 votes.
In June, the board voted 4-2 to approve a $780 million budget, which proved to be a heavily-debated topic among board members and many in the community. Audette and Hoekman were the two no votes.
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.
