Minnesota voters go to the polls tomorrow in this "off" year election with a special interest this year in school board races.
While there is no presidential contest, there has been a lot of interest in local school board races and referendum.
"I always maintain that our school board races are very important but it seems to me they're more important than ever," Minnesota School Board Association Executive Director Kirk Schneidawind tells the WCCO Morning News. "There seem to be a number of national issues, more political action groups contributing to races."
He says several national groups with conservative ties are backing candidates who want to promote safety in schools and parental rights while opposing equity training in some cases.
Schneidawind says that they have seen outside groups lending financial support to certain candidates.
"Your school boards represent the vision and values of your community," Schneidawind said. "And you want to make sure you have candidates that are strong supporters of our public schools, and respect every student for who they are and what they can do. Make sure that they set the conditions for an outstanding school experience and school achievement."
He says in some cases, conservative groups have backed candidates that want to promote school safety and parental rights at the expense of equity training.