I was driving (let’s call him) my step-son today. And he was noticing a lot of yard signs for the school board elections that are happening here next Tuesday. His question was why should we give a damn who wins those elections?
What would you tell him?
I’d tell him that the smaller (or more local) the election, the more impact it has on our every day lives.
because the people who sit on the school board have an impact on daily life at school. remind him of those morons who tried to teach creationism in PA, and then point out that if they can get something THAT dumb passed, they can also implement all sorts of stupid and damaging policies.
like random drug tests for high school athletes.
or they allow teachers to hit students.
and all sorts of other nasty shit.
Didn’t one of the boys have an encounter with a nutty principal a couple of years ago (the sweater story)?
That should give some motivation.
I pointed that out this morning. I also told him that one of the people running for one of the open seats is a troublemaker who’s been going through the budget line by line and attacking the spending practices of the district at every school board meeting. One of the services he chose to criticize last year was something that could have impacted our family negatively…so we need to be sure NOT to vote for him.
Tell him that these local primaries, with such low voter turnout, are exactly the way that wingnuts can get into positions of real power. The school board sets local property tax rates, influences what is taught in the public schools, negotiates the contracts for all school district employees, and, yes, in extreme cases can attempt to force radical changes like teaching ‘intelligent design,’ banning books, or disallowing student GLBT groups. People buy homes based on what school district they are in– the school board can directly influence property values for all residents, whether or not they have kids in the local schools.
next time, I’ll just have him call you. I covered some of that, though.
Attend a school board meeting with him.
Seriously – nothing woke me up to just how important and how stupid local governance could be than when I was forced to attend school board and city council meetings as a teenager. My High School Government teacher made it a requirement that we attend a couple of each every semester and write a report on it. It was a real eye opener – especially the school board meetings. It shocked me how much a few people could change the direction of the school district based on one election – I’d never realized how much power local governing boards really had before that.
In addition to the good suggestions above, you can have him check out meetings on the local government channel, if you have one. Ours are all televised.
School board elections are where the religious right wing like to start off. First they’ll have complaints about books (i.e. Catcher in the Rye) or maybe supplemental materials that a teacher uses (this happened when I was in high school). Next it will be uniforms, of creationism.
Ultimately, a crappy school board can ruin relations with the teachers’ union, destroying morale, and trust in the district – which describes where I teach.
I didn’t win, but it was interesting.
It’s an important post. School boards administer millions of dollars in funds, and they don’t get paid to do it. You need someone who is both responsible and civic-minded enough to do this unpaid job.
Additionally, it is really hard to get people to pay attention to you. It takes a pretty effective salesperson to get the message out.
Final point: Many political careers begin in the school board election. Many, like mine, end there as well. When you look at the school board, you may see a future mayor, state rep, US rep or even president.
Because the religious right has been targeting school board elections for years. And the Neo-Confederate racists from whom the religious right sprang made a point of making sure pro-Confederate garbage was taught in Southern schools. Any book that dared suggest that the South was at fault in any way was banned as being “Unjust to the South”. Seriously.
All of the above comments PLUS (this is what I always say to anyone who says they aren’t even registered, don’t know who to vote for and/or their vote doesn’t count anyway, etc., blah, blah, blah):
<in a very stern voice> It is your DUTY as a CITIZEN of these United States to BE INFORMED, make RATIONAL CHOICES and VOTE in EVERY election, large and small.
Sometimes, I add shame: <with soft passion and sadness> People have DIED for YOU to have this RIGHT and PRIVILEDGE! It is your RESPONSIBILITY to THEM and to YOURSELF to FULFILL this OBLIGATION to the best of your ability.
In Florida, nearly all school districts are organized by county. In most counties, the school is the largest single employer, with the largest transportation system, the largest budget, serving far more meals than anyone else, etc.
Imagine the interest if a private corporation had that kind of presence (and economic impact) in a county, and the public had the opportunity to select the board of that corporation.
Many school board candidates do not have a good perspective or experience with the oversight requirements of such a large organization. They focus on education policy, but are unmindful of the fiscal responsibilities.