Anoka-Hennepin school board seats decided after increased political divide
ANOKA, Minn. (FOX 9) - Voters in the Anoka-Hennepin School District have decided on three seats of its school board in the state’s largest school district.
Anoka-Hennepin School Board race
What we know:
The race, and other school district races across the state not meant for political affiliation, created concerns among political groups over the amount of donations being spent during the races.
Three seats were won by:
- Kacy Deschene (55.95% or 3,441 votes) over Lorraine Coan (43.8% or 2,694 votes)
- Matt Audette (56.56% or 5,115 votes) over Abbey Payeur (43.37% or 3,922 votes)
- Jeff Simon (50.56% or 3,232) over Tiffany Strabala (49.2% or 3,145 votes)
Here is a complete list of Minnesota school board election results.
Big spending in Minnesota school board elections
A handful of school board races on the ballot this year in Minnesota carry growing concerns about big spending in races that are officially non-partisan. FOX 9’s Soyoung Kim takes a look at what’s driving the trend in school board races across the state.
Political influence in school board races
Dig deeper:
In the odd-year election, 21 of the 331 school districts in Minnesota are holding regular elections for school boards.
School board members often deal with crafting district-wide guidance on issues concerning budget and policy – decisions that have become widely politicized in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent presidential elections.
Concerns have grown from groups over the amount of spending and donations in the months leading up to the elections.
Coan, Audette and Strabala were all previously endorsed by MN Parents Alliance as "conservative" candidates.
According to campaign finance records, Excellence Minnesota has spent over $100,000 in various school board races across the state.
What's next:
The narrow victory by incumbent Simon over Strabala of 87 votes is likely to trigger a recount by state officials.