“… I didn’t have the backing of the teachers’ union or other large union organizations. I relied on parents, grandparents, taxpayers, and community members…”
It’s true that the teachers did not endorse her.
It’s probably true that she received individual donations.
and it’s true that the local teacher’s union sent mailers on behalf of their endorsed candidates.
What Freiberg omitted from her post is that the Republican party also sent mailers to voters.
Two days before the 2022 election, HD27B Republicans sent two mailers featuring republican state candidates and their three recommended school board candidates: Mindy Freiberg, John R. Anderson, and J. Brian Calva.2
HD27B Republicans spent $8,641.59 on this advertising and school board campaign materials.3
Senator Lucero, Representative Daudt, Former Hanover Mayor Chris (Penny) Kauffman, and Brad (Penny/Deborah) Praught made contributions that equaled almost exactly what the organizing unit spent on ads promoting school board candidates.4
| Cost of Ads and School Board Sign | Contributions Made November 2022 |
| $8,641.59 | $8,650.00 |
None of the school board candidates or HD27B reported this campaign spending to the Elk River School District (ISD 728)!5
Is This Legal?!
In short, yes this is legal. Both political parties do this kind of advertising and it’s shady when anyone does it.
Even though school board seats are non-partisan, Minnesota state law has different requirements for PACs and Party Unit spending.
Union PACs must disclose their spending to the district (which is a good thing). However, during a General Election year, local party units can infuse money into non-partisian school board races and unlike union PACs, they do not have to disclose it to the school district!
Party Units must disclose their spending to the MN Campaign Finance Board, but their disclosures are often vague. An expense description of “Reimbursemet for ads” [sic] does not specify who benefited from the spending.
This disconnect erodes accountability because it’s nearly impossible to calculate the total money spent on local races.
We expect candidates who run on a “transparency” platform to disclose any political party ads or exposure in their filings. Even if it is not legally required, it’s the right thing to do!
We will also be watching HD27B Republican organizing unit closely because John Anderson is the Chair of the unit 6 and also running for re-election this year.
HD27B Republican-Funded Ads
Sources
- July 6, 2026, facebook.com, Mindy Freiberg for #isd728 School Board, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1PMPCsEbBJ/ ↩︎
- November 6, 2022, facebook.com, Mindy Freiberg for #isd728 School Board, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AwNZvAqpH/?mibextid=wwXIfr ↩︎
- Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, Money Spent by HD27B Republicans, cfbreport.state.mn.us/reports/#/spent/20986/ ↩︎
- MN Campaign Finance Board, Contributions Recieved by HD27B Republicans, cfbreport.state.mn.us/reports/#/contributions-received/20986/ ↩︎
- ISD 728 Election Information, Campaign Finance Documents, https://www.isd728.org/about1/school-board/school-board-election-information ↩︎
- Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, HD27B Republican Party Unit, cfbreport.state.mn.us/reports-and-data/viewers/campaign-finance/party-unit/20986/2026/ ↩︎