Written by: Jose S.
Edited by: Audrey S.
As many of us have heard in the last weeks, elections are approaching. We may not realize it, but ballot education is there in the voting process. Often when we think about elections, we may think of issues such as social welfare, social security, health care, etc. I’m not saying that these topics are not important ( in fact they are), but education tends to get overshadowed by these topics during election season. Here on Teacher’s Pet, we have covered the importance and impact of elections on the public school system. It affects the system in many different ways such as funding, members of school boards elected, projects being presented, etc.
It is for the benefit of public schools to give it the same level of importance as other themes in the ballots during elections. As stated by the National School Board Association. “ The nation’s nearly 14,000 school boards are responsible for overseeing and managing the educational resources that serve 56.6 million students across the nation.”
As previously mentioned in our blogs, education is not in the hands of the federal government, if not in the state’s hands.
As a community, it is crucial to pay attention to who are the members of our local school boards. According to the New York State School Boards Association. “The decisions made by school boards affect virtually every important aspect of local schools, from boundaries to bus schedules, curriculum to clubs, funding to field trips.”
Is it crucial for voters, especially for parents, to learn and be involved in who is part of their school boards, their ideas, and if they have done their job in making and elevating their respective schools.
Sadly, every election year education is overlooked and over the years there has been a low voter turnout in local school board elections, and does not surpass the numbers of 5 or 10 percent according to NSBA. Just as an example, according to the CPE ( Center for Public Education). “ About 2.2 percent of all board members nationwide were elected in 5 percent of the nation’s school districts in 2014 and 2016, respectively, the newly elected members were to serve approximately 35 percent of K-12 students in the U.S.”.
This is such a low voter turnout, for an institution that holds great importance because is working with children, it is working with future generations.
Overall, it is important to exercise one’s right to vote and to be knowledgeable of who the candidates are and the topics they stand for, but it is more important to be informed of who is running for our school’s boards. Members of school boards are the ones making sure school districts are correctly functioning because they are the ones in charge of adjusting and distributing money to schools, bus routes, school curriculums, school zones, etc. All of the decisions the members of the school board make directly impact children since they are the ones attending the schools and first handling experience the adjustment made by them. So, remember when elections are coming make sure to check and be informed of who are the candidates but don’t forget to research who is running/ who is part of the school board since children’s education is in their hands.
Resources:
https://www.nsba.org/ASBJ/2020/April/the-publics-voice
https://www.nyssba.org/
https://www.nsba.org/Services/Center-for-Public-Education/library