After this last school board election I think I’m ready for this:
There is draft legislation, sponsored by Rep. Longhurst, that would align public school board elections with general elections.
SYNOPSIS
This bill will save the State of Delaware money by having school board elections on the date of the general election and it will increase the voter turnout for school board elections. Currently, school board elections are held on the second Tuesday of May and can occur in any year. The bill will: (1) set school board elections to coincide with the general election; (2) align the terms of school board members so their terms expire during a general election year; (3) provide that only registered voters can vote in school board elections; (4) place school board members on the ballot during the general election; and (5) provide that campaign finance laws apply to school board elections.
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Most of our readers know that I view school board elections as one of the most important elections in the state. School boards have great and immediate impact on our lives. They can improve or hurt our children’s education and property values by the way they treat the schools in our neighborhoods.
And given the nonsense surrounding this past election it might be time to stop pretending that school boards aren’t political. They are.
I expect people will be split on this proposed legislation… bring it on. There’s a debate to be had.
UPDATE: This just arrived in my inbox:
Delaware House of Representatives House Majority Caucus
For Immediate Release: Contact: Drew Volturo
May 31, 2012 Work: (302) 744-4001
bill aligning school board elections with general elections unveiled
Longhurst: Bill would save state money, increase voter participation
DOVER – After years of dismally low voter turnout and just-completed school board elections continued that trend, House Majority Whip Rep. Valerie Longhurst unveiled legislation on Thursday that would align public school board elections with general elections.
House Bill 360 would eliminate the annual school board elections for the 16 school districts that elect board members. School board elections currently are held on the second Tuesday of May and can occur in any year. It is similar to legislation Rep. Longhurst introduced in 2009 that passed the House before stalling in the Senate.
“Year after year, we see less than 2 percent of voters actually vote in school board elections, while the state has to pay more than $100,000 to run these elections,” said Rep. Longhurst, D-Bear. “It’s disheartening that people largely don’t vote in school board elections, because school boards shape our children’s future. They are in charge of multi-million-dollar budgets, create educational policy, help develop curriculum and handle school discipline.
“By moving the school board races to Election Day, voter turnout will shoot up and hopefully those races will receive the same scrutiny as other elections.”
The state routinely spends more than $120,000 on school board elections that draw less than 2 percent of eligible voters. In 2011, 11,044 out of more than 565,000 eligible voters cast ballots in 13 school board elections. This year, 12,084 voted out of more than 435,000 in nine school board elections – a high-water mark in recent years, but still less than 3 percent turnout.
Rep. Longhurst said the separate school board elections produce a couple other logistical problems. Polls during school board elections are only open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., while general election polls open at 7 a.m. Additionally, schools – which serve as polling places – are in session during school board elections. During general elections, schools are closed.
“School board elections by design limit participation. People with jobs can’t vote before they go to work because of the late opening, so they’re forced to either vote after work or not at all,” Rep. Longhurst said. “And you have adults entering school buildings while students are present, which creates another potential problem.”
Under HB 360, May school board elections would be phased out over several years until 2016, when school board elections would take place entirely on Election Day. Board terms, which vary in length, would be a uniform four years in all districts. Polls for school board elections would be open the same as general elections, three hours longer than they currently are open. Doing so would save the state from having to mobilize poll workers, voting machines and running up to 16 separate elections on the same day, which amounts to a statewide election.
Additionally, the bill would change who is eligible to vote in school board elections. Currently, anyone can vote in a school board race for the district in which they live. HB 360 would require the resident to be a registered voter. Any resident, regardless of whether they are registered, would continue to be able to vote in other school elections, such as consolidation, division or change of boundaries.
The bill also would provide that campaign finance laws apply to school board elections.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Patricia Blevins is the Senate prime sponsor of the legislation.
“There are fewer elected positions more important to our children and our community than the positions on our school boards,” said Sen. Blevins, D-Elsmere. “School board members make all of the local decisions about our schools, and yet very few people participate in electing them. By moving these elections to November, we will dramatically increase voter participation in deciding who will serve and, while doing so, we will highlight the importance of serving on the school board. This can only result in better public schools for our children.”
Rep. Longhurst noted that legislators opposing her bill in 2009 stated that keeping school board elections separate from the general election prevented them from becoming political. During the just-completed school board elections, concerns arose about mailings from outside groups being sent to households in the Christina and Red Clay school districts.
“We just saw an election in which outside groups spent thousands of dollars and sent mailers on behalf of candidates to win ‘nonpolitical,’ volunteer positions,” Rep. Longhurst said. “These seats already are political to some degree. We should not be making excuses that prevent us from saving the state money and driving up voter turnout.”
According to the National School Board Association, school districts in at least 14 states hold school board elections on Election Day. In a 2010 NSBA survey, 53 percent of superintendents surveyed indicated that “in their districts, school board elections are always held on the same day as national or state elections.”
HB 360 will be formally filed when the House reconvenes on June 5.