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Five challengers running for Minneapolis school board are promising a new approach to running the state's largest school district. If elected, however, they'll face the same frustrations as their predecessors: low student test scores and a tight budget. The lone incumbent says he'd bring needed stability at a time when the district is making some progress.

	Meet the candidates.

There are three school board seats on the Nov. 6 ballot in Minneapolis. School board members Bill Green and Sandra Miller are not running for re-election. Incumbent Ross Taylor is seeking his third term. The challengers are Evelyn Eubanks, Kathy Kosnoff, Sharon Henry-Blythe, Patrick Peterson and Dennis Schapiro.

Taylor, a retired director of the district's math program, says his biggest accomplishment over eight years on the school board was hiring Superintendent Carol Johnson. He says he wants to continue to support her reform efforts, which have brought positive changes to Minneapolis schools.

"I felt that there was a lot of dissatisfaction before I got on the board. That's when you had the problems with the previous administration that changed. And since then it's been very supportive. For example, the 73 percent of our citizens support the Better Schools Referendum.

That levy referendum, renewed by Minneapolis voters last fall, has already raised an extra $40 million a year for the past 10 years. The levy will raise more than $42 million in each of the next 10 years. Despite the added support from taxpayers, less-than-expected state funding forced the Minneapolis school board to cut this year's budget by $25 million. More cuts are expected next year.

During a recent candidate forum, school board hopefuls suggested ways they'd save money. Patrick Peterson, a University of Minnesota student, says he'd streamline district operations. "My priority for budgetary considerations is putting resources in the classroom and not in administration. The district can make incredible strides by using new technology to streamline the way that it operates," he said.

Several candidates say they'll pressure the state Legislature to provide more funding for public education.

Dennis Schapiro, the owner of a publishing business, says traditional lobbying might not pay off. "I'd like to try to do that. But the fact is, given the budget shortfalls, given the security crisis, given the lack of faith in public education and specifically in Minneapolis education by many legislators, there is not going to be much more money," he said.

The Minneapolis referendum money goes exclusively to hiring enough teachers to keep class sizes small. All six candidates say they'll stick to that commitment, even though the money could help in other budget areas.

Sharon Henry-Blythe, executive director of the Greater Minneapolis Day Care Association, questions whether the levy has achieved its goal "I've not seen the success as a result of smaller class sizes that I had hoped for. We continue to have a failure rate of children-of-color that is unreasonable and unacceptable," she said.

Smaller class sized have helped raise test scores in Minneapolis, but the gap between students-of-color and their white classmates is growing. Graduation rates and attendance are also significantly lower for students-of-color in Minneapolis.

Evelyn Eubanks, co-chairwoman of the Minneapolis Parents' Union, says better-trained teachers should work with the district's neediest students. "There needs to be a mandated training for teachers. If you have a large percentage of urban students, there should be urban teacher training, and it should be mandated. Right now such training is not mandated. And also teachers need the support that if they ask for additional training it's made available to them immediately," according to Eubanks.

Minneapolis schools also have higher levels of poverty and more non-English speakers. Kathy Kosnoff, a lawyer with the Minnesota Disability Law Center, says accountability for student achievement ultimately rests with the district leadership. "We have been blaming teachers for too long," she said. "I honestly think that most of the teachers in the Minneapolis schools system are doing a very good job, given the incredible range of needs that walk into their classrooms every day."

The Minneapolis school board oversees an annual budget of more than $471 million. The state's largest school district has nearly 49,000 students and 8,000 employees.