UPDATED: Moving School Board Elections To The General
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.
Tags: Education, School Board Elections
We’ve debated this issue many-times and special interest all the way around will engage in school board elections. The downside to moving will be the political machines being in full-force during the general elections and this might be a disadvantage to a well intended individual running for school board. But the time has come to make the move to November. The other downside will be school districts start their fiscal school year July 1 and school starts before November elections. There could be an argument there.
If we do this, I’d rather do it after first consolidating some districts, so we have fewer but more powerful school boards.
Creating larger, more powerful school boards would give more local power to parents and districts as a counterweight to the state and the federal government. If moving the election increases turnout, then more parents will feel invested in their schools.
Consolidation is often raised as a cost-saving issue, but I think if it is done right it would also roll back resegregation, and place low-income families more evenly among the schools.
Against for the following reasons:
1) Keep good candidates away who are not “politicians”
2) Brings party affiliation into a non-partisan election (EVEN if you let that item be “non-partisan” the cycle whirling around it is heavily partisan)
3) Disenfranchises non registered voters who pay taxes and have kids (currently eligible in SB elections)
4) Concentrates power and influence of money, more than it already is, in elections that are about serving kids, not adults, which heretofore has been a differentiator in how these elections are set up and run
5) The bill as proposed has no fiscal note attached yet claims savings
6) The bill wants to add this to the regular election cycle but does not seek to then make the position elected and paying? One of the reasons it is separate, IMO, is because it is a VOLUNTEER UNPAID position and not worthy of the full insanity of a regular election event.
7) I believe that SB election solicit and get a small, very informed subset of voters precisely because they are not in the general. To vote in a SB election you have to 1)know about it 2) care about it 3) go out of your way with almost no advertising or fanfare to vote in it. All of which, to me, adds up to a intensely interested and likely informed electorate voting for school boards, just what a school bard election needs.
I’m sure people will shred this up, but I sincerely feel that moving the election has has far more cons than pros, particularly disenfranchisement and quality candidates wise.
I’ve toyed with this, but my objections are pretty much the same as John’s.
What I’d really like to do is have somebody introduce legislation to have the State Board of Education elected rather than appointed by the Governor, and have that statewide election also held in May with school board elections.
I’d vote if they were on election day, so speaking on behalf of most of the state’s regular voters – I am (we are) in favor of this move.
John’s comments ignore the billions of wannabe school district voters who are disenfranchised by the asinine and idiosyncratic non-election day, election day.
the current system puts too much power in the hands of a small cabal of people who care.
I oppose the change for most of the reasons John says. Moving the SB election to November would further politicize what shouldn’t be politicized and encourage people with nothing other than a partisan interest to weigh in on the SB.
Jason,
SB elections allow residents registered and non registered to vote, the pool is larger, not smaller.
I didn’t get the memo appointing you to speak on behalf of most of the state’s regular voters.
Yeah yeah… that’s why around 400 people vote…the large pool.
Ladies and gentleman of the jury. The unadorned facts speak loudly in this case. The current non-election day, election day kills participation. Murders participation in cold blood. Stabs participation in the eye holes, and pisses on the lifeless corpse of participation.
If you like 400 people calling the shots, you like this star chamber system of a self-appointed committee of 400 busy bodies picking the school board.
I like people who are knowledgeable and have a stake in the schools to call the shots, which is how it is now. I don’t want every right-wing crank who is coming out to vote for Christine O’Donnell or Glen Urqhart to also vote for SB members.
Go back to England then, you royalist pig dog. The right wing cranks have more power in lower turn out elections.
Not if progressives are paying attention and organized.
Plus, presumably the parents would vote, and they are probably not extremists, since most people aren’t.
As a Red Clay resident I can tell you that school board elections have been politicized for quite some time.
Like a referendum that only markets itself to certain communities, school board elections are a numbers game – and a very low numbers game, at that.
Voices 4 Delaware may have stumbled this time around, but you’re being foolish if you think they won’t get their act together by the next school board election.
Here’s my main reason for wanting them moved. The larger voter turn-out means that school board candidates will have to court everyone.
The current non-election day, election day kills participation. Murders participation in cold blood. Stabs participation in the eye holes, and pisses on the lifeless corpse of participation.
Indeed. All of the schools who hold special events to lure parents into their schools on school board election day certainly are not working at expanding the pool of people who vote in these elections. I’ve never seen an effort (much beyond mailings) to do anything to get anyone else out to vote in these elections.
If you pay school taxes, you have a stake in these elections. Moving what are already (and obviously) political elections to the usual political date won’t change much about the current organization of school boards except to bring a whole lot more sunshine to the process. And what better way to get people involved than that?
It needs to remain non-partisan. It would also potentially if moved to November no longer have at large voting for District C in RCCSD where the entire district gets to vote for that Districts REP. I think it isn’t the worst thing that has happened recently. I think would be a good idea.
And moving a non partisan election to the regular cycle will murder the intent of placing it off cycle to begin with. If we believe there was wisdom in the original selection, what new wisdom suggests that we should move it to the regular? SO it takes more money, more time, and way more effort than the job itself. All of that for no pay? You will get corporate candidates in the general, and the ones elected will be the ones who can court the most money buying the “right” views.
BECAUSE it was in May, a group of righteous bloggers and informed citizens railed against V4DE ED, and pushed back their intrusive, secretive methods. Move it to November and roll over, it’s over.
Anyone want to know who wants the bill passed in the worst way? Voices? WSFS? Rodel? The Chamber and their aptly named PAC: The PAC.
Move it to November and kiss any pretense of local control away, just another slick, purchased election on the way.
BLevins said: “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.” Emphasis mine.
I just fell out of my fucking chair.
Well I got way more direct mail and phone calls from DSEA, RCEA supported candidate than let’s say the other side. It wouldn’t do much other than make them burn money on a race and argument I don’t see them winning.
And there’s proof of who is behind it from where I it. Ms. Longhurst notes the recent intrusion of Voices as a pretext for moving the elections with no evidence her solution does anything but AUGMENT the problem.
Folks, the fix is in on this.
And you fell out of your chair because she’s right? Because the games of drawing in parents at the expense of other voters won’t work any more? Just because someone said “let’s have school board elections off-cycle” doesn’t mean that there was any wisdom in it. And the fact that you can’t quite cite that wisdom makes that rationale a weak one. Of cycle elections are an excellent method of hiding from the voters you specifically don’t want (like me) in order to keep pandering to the voters you do want.
When I said burn money I meant the “PAC” influences of WSFS, Chamber, V4D.
Also if they change when the School Board is Elected they ought to stop the referendum funding of our public schools. That probably won’t happen. So why not also move that to November if it’s going to exist. The fact that there is a referendum which is the only BS proposition style government in Delaware for ever important local school boards.
Can’t wait to see how much media coverage school board elections will get with a November ballot.
School board races would be down below the register of wills, sheriff and recorder of deeds. (OK, for Sussex, maybe I shouldn’t mention sheriff as an uninteresting race.)
In any case, don’t bet on the newspapers and radio stations to spend more time/space on coverage than they do now with May elections. Instead, bet on less … and see what that does for your informed electorate.
More people may vote, but less likely to know or care about who they’re voting for.
I fell out of my chair because of the bolded section. Ms. Blevins clearly has no clue about education policy and rules in Delaware, which I guess makes here and the rest of the legislature PERFECT for changing this law.
Just because someone said “let’s have school board elections off-cycle” doesn’t mean that there was any wisdom in it.
then this statement is just as true with “on-cycle”, too, right?
My community came out for the last school board election because my neighborhood association President and I got involved, but they often don’t. Why? Mainly because our neighborhood school is unusable by my community so everyone with children either choices out of Red Clay or sends their children to private school.
We have been disinvested, deliberately, imo.
As it stands now, a candidate “representing” my city district can completely ignore my community – and its needs – and win by wooing the Pike Creek/Hockessin community.
Sorry, guys, but as a city resident – and therefore ignored by most candidates and referendum info – I say MOVE the date.
And, John… whether these elections are moved, or not, Voices 4 Delaware is now a player. Do not kid yourself that we’ll be able to stop them next time around. The game is on no matter when we hold these elections.
As I see it:
Move it = certain loss
Don’t move it = puncher’s chance.
I know they are here to stay but I ain’t gonna just bend over for them.
Upon moving these…we will have thousands of “well, I’m here so iguess I should select someone in this race votes.” Likely based on who had the better looking/most signs. I wonder who that will be?
Move it.
Pandora,
Rep.Longhurst specifically PRESERVES referenda to be run on odd, district selected dates.
Well, then that’s my next step.
John, I get where you are coming from, but as a city resident you need to understand where I’m coming from. We are deliberately ignored. Anything that makes school board candidates pay attention to us is better than what we have now… which is nothing.
Moving the elections would at least have candidates courting us, because we vote in November.
Question… how much did you campaign in the city? Be honest.
John, I get where you are coming from, but as a city resident you need to understand where I’m coming from. We are deliberately ignored. Anything that makes school board candidates pay attention to us is better than what we have now… which is nothing. I cannot disagree with this argument in whole. However, I do not believe it is a function of election date that creates or does not create the attention you (city) deserve
Moving the elections would at least have candidates courting us, because we vote in November. but not in May, when MORE people are eligible?
Question… how much did you campaign in the city? I attended one candidate forum in the city at Bancroft Elem. It was hosted by the PTA. I put out signs immediately before the election. That was it. Be honest. Honestly, the reason for candidates ignoring the city is a chicken/egg argument, IMO. We don’t go there because no one votes, No one votes because we don’t go there. I can’t tell you which is right. If we additionally switch to only voting for candidates by nominating district with only district eligible voters, you will REMOVE city voter influence (in CSD & RCCSD for certain) from 6 of 7 seats as SB election are currently DISTRICT WIDE voting.
then this statement is just as true with “on-cycle”, too, right?
I have no idea. I’ve given you a specific reason why the date should be changed. You are the one appealing to some unknown wisdom of the old heads. Make that wisdom known, and we’ll have something to compare it to.
The argument of greater eligibility in the May election continues to specifically ignore the thing I keep pointing out. That even the school systems themselves do not care about anyone other than parental stakeholders coming to vote. If they did, they’d have school based events on election day that welcome the entire community, rather than parents of kids in the school. The school boards are able to survive as is — and if you are in the City, they survive specifically by ignoring you, your kids and stealing some of your property value — a greater pool of people NOT voting is baked in the cake.
IMO school board elections have flown under the radar too long. They should welcome this opportunity to be given this platform to legitimize the importance of the positions they hold and the worthiness of my taxpayer dollars that they spend!
Cassandra,
I laid out several reasons in my initial comment. I understand you don’t agree, but there are arguments on both sides and I find Rep Longhurst’s bill equally as non-compelling as anything else on topic favoring the move.
Understand that you need to dance away from my continually pointing out that the status quo that you are arguing for quite specifically walls off the process from people that school boards don’t want to hear from. Everything that you keep throwing up here dodges that observation.
In Sussex, at least, anyone who lives in the school district can vote in the SB election. Why is it not a good thing to have people who are knowledgeable enough and interested enough to vote be the ones who come out to vote? Is that exclusionary in some way?
the status quo that you are arguing for quite specifically walls off the process from people that school boards don’t want to hear from.
Apathy may affect this, but if you are going to argue that the status quo “walls off” people, you’d need to bring some facts to the table. Here are some for you
DSEA routinely in the past five years (and V4D this year) engage in multiple mailers to ALL voters in the district.
School board elections are well-publicized in the MSM and alterative media.
School board referenda, which are publicized virtually the same way, routinely draw four to five times the number of votes as school board elections.
School board election voting criteria are significantly looser than general election voting criteria.
You assert that the school systems don’t want anybody but the parents coming out to vote because they don’t do events for the entire community? That’s pretty much the only piece of “evidence you’ve provided, and it is a fairly flimsy reed.
The truth of the matter is that people vote in referenda because they have taxes at issue, and 75% of those people don’t think they have any damn concern about how the schools run as long as they do so as cheaply as possible.
Moving elections to November would provide a larger vote total, but what data can you produce to suggest that it would be a better informed group of voters?
Here’s my evidence… my community is completely ignored when it comes to school board elections and referendums, so MOVE them. The city has nothing to lose since both these votes rely on ignoring and not informing us.
Moving them will not insure the city is not ignored. There is no mechanism in this bill to ensure that the city is addressed. I hear you Pandora, and I actually share your goal. I just don’t see how this bill does that.
The city votes in the general. Candidates/referendums will ignore us at their own risk.
John, the city has nothing to lose since we get nothing now.
Except being deceived/influenced by more slick monied candidates who want to privatize city schools, if that’s what nothing means, then yeah, nothing at all.
for the record Pandora, I am not trying to change your mind. I know better. 🙂
One of the ways to tell that an argument has been reduced to the talking points of the vested interests here is when Steve weighs in with all of those talking points, as if this has added to what came before.
The events held at schools to capture more parents were listed here in one of the threads capturing stories of the election day events. And you can tell that the business is walled off because there is little to no grassroots energy in the city for these candidates. Few (if any) signs (I think I saw one in the city limits, but plenty past Greenhill up Rt 52), no calls, no doorknocking, no visits to neighborhood groups — none of the things that typically happens when you are out and about asking for lots of votes.
Because these folks *don’t* ask for lots of votes. And before you mount up an argument that school board campaigning is different, you’ve already agreed with my argument.
And as for the privatizing the city’s schools — that seems to be something of a done deal. Largely because school boards don’t have the habit of being accountable to anyone in Wilmington.
I’m with John, Steve, and Valentine. I think it would be nice to separate local elections from presidential and federal elections too, then take party labels off the ballot entirely. Get rid of party line voters who have no idea who they’re voting for, just that they have a certain letter after their name. Get rid of the coattails that allow statewide politicians and parties to dictate local issues. If you don’t care enough to find out when the election is, who you’re voting for, and show up for 5 minutes, your opinion isn’t REALLY worth a damn, now is it?
Cassandra, you may be right about the done deal, but hardly because school boards aren’t accountable to Wilmington. I’m not making the case that they are, but private and charter proliferation is a function of the dysfunction of the Dover lawmakers we elect at regular elections not school boards.
Also, I fail to see how moving the election specifically concentrates any power due the city. Again, I agree we need to improve this aspect immediately, I just see no clear path provided by this bill.
Is this being proposed because there is future fear of the Voices For Education group and corporate funding? I know they lost big this go around, but maybe not down the road if they run better mail campaigns and candidates? Thoughts??
We can debate the motivations and rationales for moving school elections from May to November, but you can rest assured that, no matter what words are spoken in Dover, any such change is NOT being made in order to knock the legs out from under Voices for Delaware Education.
Voices is backed by the State Chamber of Commerce, Rodel, and multiple big business interests — the very people the members of the General Assembly rely on for their free meals, their golf outings, etc., etc.
The sponsors of this bill may believe that moving school elections will increase turnout, reduce apathy, build interest in education, whatever, whatever … but they sure as hell are not trying to bite the hands that feed them so well.
I support a move to November – the existing arrangement is stupid as hell – as long as it’s paired with referenda votes. Other states do this all the time. In Ohio, for example, library boards, multi-county agencies and school districts have to go to voters at the regular election season to ask for tax increases. It’s not a big deal.
But the line of argument that goes “We need this because under the current system, candidates can just ignore us Wilmington city voters!” gets absolutely zero traction among people who don’t live in Wilmington. If y’all have a problem, y’all can fix your own problem by getting y’all’s asses out to vote, just like everybody else. I’m certainly sympathetic, but you might want to change tactics, ’cause it sounds like whining from people who can’t get their apathetic neighbors to the polls.
No one is going to the polls, SussexWatcher. That’s the point. Voter turnout in all areas is abysmal. You wanna talk about apathetic? Approx. 900 people voted in the Seaford School Board election.
Where I’m coming from, and I think Cassandra agrees… if moving the election to November increases participation thereby making candidates campaign in all communities then that is much more than we have now.
In Red Clay at least, turnout can probably be almost entirely accounted for by the friends and families of the candidates and of the more active district employees. That’s not quite the electorate of informed and engaged parents we are hoping for, and definitely not the group that should be calling the shots.
It is hard work becoming informed about district policies and issues. If you don’t encounter the information streams in your job, you probably will know virtually nothing. Unless you read three or four blogs on a regular basis.
I support this bill, and suggested this idea two years ago. I will explain more after work today, when I have some time. Otherwise, happy friday everyone! Jim
Pandora,
Is there evidence that moving it will make/force candidates to do the things you want? or will voted go up because more people just happen to vote in general elections?
Is it about more votes? Then pass this bill!
Is it about forcing/making candidates pay attention to the city? then let’s come up with that plan cause this ain’t it.