Good Grief!
The concept of partisan school board elections is now law in Tennessee, creating divisions that don’t help students.
The news probably slipped by quietly here in California while we were focussed on the pandemic and its ill effects on public education. However, during what should have been a time to cool down tensions at public school board meetings, in November 2021 Tennessee State leaders moved in opposite direction, passing a bill allowing school board candidates to run as Republicans, Democrats, or any other political party.
Some tout this as additional transparency, calling out individuals to name their affiliation. There’s also thinking that while it does bring additional controversy where more isn’t needed, it might get more people off their butts to vote.
Others see this as pouring gas on a fire, triggering partisan debates on topics that may not directly relate to education, but matter in order to garner support from a political base.
It also adds additional complications, pushing political parties to file their intent to hold primary elections for school board members.
This debate isn’t unique to Tennessee. Controversial issues from the pandemic have driven some to leverage hot-button education topics to drive their state and national campaigns.
Thankfully, securing this into law might not gain traction in most places. Many understand that partisan elections mean non-partisan voters can’t participate in the primaries. Disenfranchising voters in local politics is bad practice. In Florida, for example, a proposal to overturn a 1998 voter-approved measure to keep board elections non-partisan has an uncertain future in November 2022.
Helpful Resources:
- “Republicans eye new front in education wars: Making school board races partisan” Article published by Politico, December 2021. (If you’re not a subscriber, email Peter Parenti (peter@trigroup.us)…he can gift you articles.
- “How to Make School Board Culture Wars Even Worse” Article published by New York Times, April 2022
- “In Tennessee’s first partisan school board elections, some candidates are rejecting party labels” news article published by WPLN, April 2022
TRiGroup’s Advice:
Controversial topics and healthy debates belong in school board meetings, but ineffective chaotic clashes don’t. Work to structure your Board agendas to include celebrations of what is working in the District. And, include students and teachers as guest presenters in every meeting. It’s our experience that people behave better when in the presence of those we serve.