Anoka-Hennepin School Board race sees "unprecedented flow of outside money," union leader says
A teachers union president said unprecedented amounts of money are being pumped into the Anoka-Hennepin School Board race, with much of it tied to conservative political groups.
WCCO combed through campaign financial reports from this year and found more than $237,000 were spent in this election this year, with $220,000 of that for conservative-backed candidates.
A recent campaign finance report shows a group called Excellence Minnesota, listed with a Wayzata address, doling out more than $100,000 to various Minnesota school board campaigns, the vast majority going toward advertising in the Anoka-Hennepin School Board race between September and October of this year alone.
"School board races, maybe in the past, cost $5,000 or $10,000," said John Wolhaupter, president of Anoka Hennepin Education Minnesota. "You pile the outside groups on top of that, it's a lot. Based on what we're seeing, this could almost be a 10-to-1 difference. I know what we're spending as a local union and it is dwarfed by what's being spent by these other groups."
Excellence Minnesota's website said it's "committed to helping parents and communities elect leaders who prioritize student achievement and academic excellence above politics and bureaucracy."
Last week, Kyrstin Schuette was one of dozens rallying against outside money in the school board election.
"They want to, you know, ban books and other things that are censorship," said Schuette, founder and director of the School Board Integrity Project.
Wolhaupter said it's money that could be better spent.
"When you think about other things that money could be spent on, we're in a district that's looking at budget cuts and we have hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on school board races and elections," said Wolhaupter.
WCCO reached out to Excellence Minnesota for comment.