The City of Minneapolis will hold a primary Aug. 14 for the two open at-large seats on the Minneapolis Board of Education race, after five candidates filed to run.
Doug Mann, Sharon El-Amin, Kimberly Caprini, Josh Pauly and Rebecca Gagnon filed between May 22 and June 5 for the two seats, which represent the entire district. State law says that no more than two candidates can appear on the general-election ballot for each open seat in districts that hold a primary.
The primary will come about three months after the Minneapolis DFL endorsed Pauly, a former MPS teacher, and Caprini, an active North Side parent. Gagnon, a two-term incumbent, also sought the endorsement, along with El-Amin and Christy Caez, who are both active parents.
Gagnon had written in a candidate questionnaire for the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers that she would abide by her political party’s endorsement. But in a June 6 Facebook post, she wrote that the district needs stability and an experienced leader, noting its efforts to develop a new strategic plan.
“This conversation requires knowledge, history, experience and a deep understanding of education funding and the interconnectedness of our District systems, programs and operations,” she wrote.
El-Amin wrote on Facebook that she never had committed to abiding by the DFL endorsement.
Voters in School Board Districts 1, 3 and 5, which are on the eastern half of Minneapolis, will also elect board members this fall. Incumbents Jenny Arneson, Siad Ali and Nelson Inz, respectively, are running for those seats. Each is unopposed.
