Bachmann became a critic and opponent of Minnesota's School-to-Work policies. In a 1999 column, she wrote, "School-to-Work alters the basic mission and purpose of K–12 academic education away from traditional broad-based academic studies geared toward maximizing intellectual achievement of the individual. Instead, School-to-Work utilizes the school day to promote children's acquisition of workplace skills, viewing children as trainees for increased economic productivity." In November 1999, Bachmann and four other Republicans were candidates, as the "Slate of Five", in an election for the school board of Stillwater. All five lost.