Minnesota Parents Alliance recommends 3 EP School Board candidates

As part of its efforts toward electing school board candidates seen as favoring its mission to “reclaim our schools,” the Minnesota Parents Alliance (MPA) has recommended three of the six candidates for Eden Prairie School Board in its voter’s guide.

Launched in 2022, the Wayzata-based MPA states that its goal is “educating and empowering parents to engage in their local school communities as strong advocates for academic achievement, equality and parental rights.” It is affiliated with the socially conservative “parent movement” also supported by groups such as the Child Protection League and Moms for Liberty, which the MPA lists under “Helpful Resources” on its website.

The parent movement advocates for stronger parental involvement in education and aims to prevent districts from teaching certain topics and viewpoints without parental consent. This typically might include seeking to prohibit discussions around equity, racial justice, and LGBTQ and gender identity. The parent movement has also been associated with attempting to ban school-provided literature with racial and sexual content. Many of these platforms conflict with state and/or federal public school curriculum standards.

In its two years of existence, the MPA has worked to identify and train candidates that support and will enact its agendas. It then has done its best to get them elected through efforts such as direct mail, digital advertising, and door knocking, as well as its voter’s guide recommendations. It does not offer candidates a choice as to whether they would or would not like to be recommended. However, candidates do have the ability to opt into the recommendation by sending in a photo and a biography.

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MPA cites 2023 election successes

In November 2023 elections, the MPA said, its efforts paid off when its “parent-backed” candidates won in Anoka-Hennepin, the state’s largest school district, and in Hastings, where MPA-backed candidates now hold a 5-2 majority on that district’s school board. The previous year, in 2022, it said that 50 candidates running with the official MPA endorsement won election to the school board, and the MPA won seats in 15 of 19 targeted districts.

Looking ahead to this year’s elections, Cristine Trooien, MPA’s executive director, had said in a Nov. 2023 news release, “We intend to recruit strong candidates and raise more money in 2024 to be competitive against the deep pockets and powerful political influence of the teacher’s union in more districts throughout the state. For a small organization in our second year, these wins represent tremendous success and give us a lot of confidence to continue our mission.”

The MPA said that it independently researches candidates and decides who to recommend, then puts these candidates’ names in its online voter guide. The MPA has recommended three school board candidates in Eden Prairie. Dennis Stubbs (incumbent) has been on the list since August, and last week, Ann Bradsher and Kim Johnson also were added. The other three candidates, Jon Cermak, Kim Ross (incumbent), and Jody Ward-Rannow, were not on the list as of press time.

Stubbs has said multiple times that he neither accepted nor refused the MPA’s recommendation, on the grounds that he does not believe nonpartisan school board candidates should accept endorsements. Bradsher and Johnson said they opted to send in photos and position statements, which have been posted in the MPA’s voter guide.

Bradsher, endorsed by teacher’s union and recommended by MPA, says she supports teacher’s unions

Bradsher is now in the unusual position of holding an endorsement from the Eden Prairie Education Association (EPEA), which is the Eden Prairie Schools teacher’s union, as well as a recommendation from the MPA, which has publicly stated that it is working against the influence of teacher’s unions.

When asked on Oct. 31 about this apparent conflict, Bradsher said she had been unaware of MPA’s stance against teacher’s unions. She shared the following statement:

“The MPA decided to recommend me for school board based on their independent research without any communication or input from me. I was notified of their recommendation; my interpretation is they see value in principles I stand for. Perhaps those who the MPA reaches will choose to learn more about me.

“The MPA‘s opposition to teachers’ unions is NOT a position I support. I sought and earned the endorsement of the EPEA as I align with many of their goals, as discussed in their live screening process. I believe in wisely spending taxpayer funds to meet classroom and teacher needs prior to addressing the ‘wants.’ I believe teachers deserve the respect of their students. I believe in teachers being empowered to maintain decorum in the classroom for optimal learning.

“As I have taught my own children and have stated in interviews, I believe it is every student’s responsibility to treat staff, volunteers, peers, and themselves with respect and to respect the humanity of each individual.”

Learn more about EP School Board candidates

Voters can learn more about the Eden Prairie School Board candidates in multiple ways: the Eden Prairie Local News 2024 Voters Guide, the League of Women Voters of Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, and Hopkins school board candidate forum, and most recently, through follow-up conversations EPLN had with the six candidates to clarify previously stated views and ask for any campaign or position updates.