In the November 2 edition of the Star Tribune, the editorial board correctly endorsed Sonya Emerick for one of the two contested at-large seats and Laurelle Myhra for the contested District 5 seat.
But genuine progressives should cast their vote for Lisa Skjefte for the other open at-large seat, rather than for Collin Beachy, the DFL-endorsed candidate who was also endorsed by the Star Tribune editorial board. Progressives must be sophisticated in understanding that votes for school board candidates require different reasoning from rationale used in state and national election.
In this electoral season, those of us on the left in the political spectrum will lean more heavily than ever toward candidates of the Democratic Party. With Republicans mesmerized by Donald Trump and with a Supreme Court dominated by far-right judges, averting control of the United States Congress and statewide seats by reactionaries and extremist supporters of Donald Trump is imperative.
Thus, the impulse on the part of those who do not comprehend the intricacies of politics at the local level of school board will be tempted to cast their votes for candidates endorsed by the DFL, even more so if they know the close relationship that the DFL has with unions such as the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT). The latter, which always is highly influential and lends heavy support for funding and advocacy in behalf of endorsed candidates, negotiates effectively for higher wages and better working conditions; however, although many rank and file members know that public education needs systemic overhaul, the MFT leadership opposes changes that would result in improved curriculum and teacher quality.
The three candidates endorsed by the DFL for the November 8 elections have satisfied the MFT leadership as to their prospects for loyalty in casting important votes in favor of protecting the status quo, and they have relied on the considerable resources available from the DFL and the MFT to generate and distribute campaign literature, and to provide party and teacher union members to knock on doors and staff phone banks. But these candidates have failed to attend many forums at which the public was allowed to submit questions of interest to the community served by school board members.
This was true even at an event sponsored by the venerable League of Women Voters, in conjunction with the Advancing Equity Coalition, held on October 15 at the Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center. Beachy and the other two DFL-endorsed candidates for contested seats, at-large candidates KerryJo Felder and District 5 candidate Lori Norvell all failed to attend the October 15 event. The editorial board correctly did not provide endorsement for Felder or Norvell.
The editorial board endorsement of Beachy was stated positively as due his experience as a teacher, his thoughtful demeanor, and the equity leadership role that Beachy assumed at his school in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. But the endorsement was also influenced by an inability to reach Lisa Skjefte, one of Beachy’s opponents for the at-large seat.
Skjefte was, though, very much present at the October 15 event, as she has been at other such forums. Vice president of community engagement for the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center, Skjefte has had multiple community involvements and manifests skill in uniting people of varying perspectives for mutually beneficial outcomes. At the October 15 event, she cited her years growing up in the Little Earth subsidized housing unit as giving her particular sensitivity to the needs of impoverished and marginalized people. And, along with both Emerick and Myhra, Skjefte spoke passionately of the need to impart culturally responsive, rigorous curriculum to students of all ethnicities. These and other remarks by Emerick, Skjefte, and Myhra, may be found on the League of Women Voters website, with link given as https://t.co/zWxHQnY9Xz .
Sonya Emerick and Lisa Skjefte in the at-large contest and Laurelle Myhra in the District 5 contest for seats on the MPS Board of Education are best positioned to give Interim Superintendent Rochelle Cox and staff the support they need for academic innovations currently underway, hopefully to be continued with the permanent superintendent that will be selected by the newly elected board. The opportunity to elect two young, energetic Native American women and a passionate advocate for special needs and LGBTQ students should signal left of center voters that Skjefte, Myhra, and Emerick are the truly progressive candidates on the ballot for school board seats on November 8.
Lisa Skjefte may not have been reachable by the Star Tribune editorial board for an interview, but she has consistently made herself available to members of the community that she will serve. She deserves the vote of progressives and all voters who understand the independent frame of reference needed to support the efforts begun by Cox and staff toward the creations of a national model of excellence at the Minneapolis Public Schools.
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