This is an absolute disgrace to local politics and professional teachers. TFA has become nothing more than a cover for the privatization of ALL education with (limited) vouchers. There is NOTHING preventing college students from earning a teaching license after graduating with a degree in something else. Their commitment to teaching ends when their school loans have been forgiven and they find some corporate-sponsored management position.

Public Education is one of the last remaining large pots of money in America that is beyond the control of the corporate finance elites. $37,000 is a tiny investment in getting their hands on it. Once they do, they'll do for Education what they've done for healthcare, home mortgages, retirement financing, and everything else they've gotten their hands on.

Or maaayyybbeee...the citizens of Minneapolis are finally fed up with the mediocrity supported by the School Board. That same School Board historically supported by DFL and teacher unions. Now there is competition, and they cry foul. Maybe their candidates were just lousy choices this year. Only 1 in 4 won...and apparently only one opponent had national cash. What happened with the other two races?

If you read the book "Outliers" you will soon come to understand that unionized teachers do a great job with all kids while they are IN school. However, it is the time away from school, i.e. during the summer break, where kids from more fortunate families thrive while kids from less fortunate families struggle to survive. The teachers are working extremely hard and doing a good job, extreme income disparity is what is killing our kids. However, those who want to privatize schools will push for legislation which hurts public schools and teacher associations. One such piece is the type pushed for by Rep. Pat Garafolo which required testing a student's achievement rather than a student's growth. Why is that a bad idea? Primarily because a student's achievement test also tests students on the time they are away from the teacher, i.e. summer vacation, while growth tests a student's progress while they are with the teacher.

The slow erosion of teaching as a profession. I teach and their are 100 applicants who are willing to do the job for less than me and could probably do just as good of a job. Thanks goodness my job is protected through my union. I work 10-12 hours per day and give my students everything I can. Fortunately I don't have any kids yet and my wife is just as busy as me. Seriously is teaching a profession or just 2 year semi-volunteer commitment?

The obsession with the money and the TFA connection in this race shows how everybody finds their favorite simple villain in the story, no matter how complex the story really is. The teachers' union and their man at the capitol, Rep. Davnie, see the TFA boogeyman and "privatization". The sleuths at the Strib think that the money trail will reveal all. The fact is that the Wycoff/Reimnitsz race was a real ground-level race, and the dynamic, energetic Reimnitz beat the dull, small-thinking Wycoff through a lot of hard work and sheer force of character. But apparently that story doesn't fit any existing narrative familiar to the public voices in this town.

This isn't a legitimate story until/unless the amount of money Wycoff's union and DFL supporters spent in Wycoff's failed attempt to defeat Reimnitz.

Correction my earlier post: This isn't a legitimate story until/unless the amount of money Wycoff's union and DFL supporters spent in Wycoff's failed attempt to defeat Reimnitz is reported.

Remember to continue to indoctrinate the children with their version of the world its going to take money and this race is showing they realise it. If you could (which you can by the way) do a dollar amount cost analysis on the time it takes to replace one word in a child's head with another you find this is small potatoes to the amount they spend daily in doing so. I mean -- give me a break, I went to schools all the way through University level studies here in the US. If it ain't about indoctrination -- what is it? All throu school (all of if --grade school included) I did independent work in mathematics but all it got was big fat 'F's' because I didn't 'parrot' out what they claimed. Umm..school? Give it up nutballs you ain't 'got' any!! All you have are training camps for the military and big business!!!

"I work 10-12 hours per day and give my students everything I can." Unfortunately, there are too many teachers at the other of the scale that are just buying their time in the public schools. In the private sector, you would be rewarded for your efforts while weeding out the lazy teachers. However the union treats you all as equals and looks away from addressing the under performing teachers.