A second St. Paul school board member has announced she’s not running for re-election in November.
Mary Vanderwert said in a message to supporters Friday that her campaign is “officially over.”
“I will find a new avenue to put my time and energy for kids,” she wrote.
Vanderwert received more votes than anyone in the 2015 race, when four first-time candidates were elected to the board with backing from the city’s teachers union and DFL Party.
But she could not secure the St. Paul Federation of Educators’ endorsement this time around and came up three votes short at the DFL’s endorsing convention last month; delegates left the fourth endorsement open.
Vanderwert has spent much of her time on the board advocating for early-childhood education.
School board candidates can file for office July 30-Sept. 13.
The city DFL has endorsed Chauntyll Allen and incumbents Zuki Ellis and Steve Marchese. Others expected to run include Omar Syed, Jessica Kopp, Charlie Castro and Ryan Williams.
Jon Schumacher is not seeking a second term.