The recent change to partisan races in Burke County's School Board elections has stirred some criticism. However, after engaging in conversations with various community members, it appears that the majority are in favor of the change. The opinion on this issue seems influenced by one's political alignment, with right-leaning individuals generally supporting the transition, while those leaning left express their discontent.
In an article from "The Daily Tarheel", Jeff Taylor, a Catawba County School Board member, and a Democrat, said, "I personally don't feel like the school board should be partisan, but I understand why they did it." He continued, explaining the reasoning behind the shift. "They did it so that the agenda they want to push can be consistent, and they can secure votes without people thoroughly examining the candidates and issues."
The most prevalent argument against partisan school board races stems from the belief that politics should not interfere with school board elections. The flaw in this argument is that many issues prompting political involvement in schools are social or moral issues, which are often instigated or defended by the left. Nationwide, schools are grappling with politically charged issues such as the presence of explicit content, the teaching of Critical Race Theory, medical freedom, pronoun use, males taking part in female sports, schools withholding personal information from parents, and even debates over which restrooms students should use. These topics are all infused with political motivations.
Proponents of partisan school board elections argue that such a system offers clearer insights into how candidates, aligned with a particular political party, are likely to make decisions. This does not guarantee a conservative Republican candidate on the ballot every single time. Left-leaning individuals living in predominantly red and conservative counties could potentially alter their party affiliation and run as Republicans. However, through the primary, well-informed voters can hopefully select the candidate who most closely aligns with their beliefs.
The "Foundation of Government Accountability" website offers an insightful article on this issue, specifically targeted at North Carolina. After reading this piece, one might understand why the left is reluctant to support partisan school board races:
“A sampling of 20 non-partisan and 16 partisan counties representing more than 1.7 million ballots cast in the 2022 election shows a huge gap in voter participation between the two.
In counties with partisan school board elections, 96 percent of total ballots cast also voted for candidates for school board. But in counties with non-partisan elections this number was only 78 percent. This means that non-partisan elections had a participation rate five times lower than partisan elections.”
Examining the 2024 primary voting figures in Burke, a striking pattern appears. A considerable number of people, tallying in the hundreds, took part in casting their votes for the presidential and gubernatorial races. However, these same individuals did not cast their vote in some of the school board elections.
Although the presidential and governor races undoubtedly command significant national and statewide attention, the implications of local school board races are just as profound, although on a more intimate, community-based level.
The article continues: “In a state like North Carolina, with nearly 3.8 million votes cast, transitioning from completely non-partisan to partisan would result in much more voter participation in school board races. For instance, if the 16 sampled non-partisan counties held partisan school board elections, the survey could expect nearly 200,000 additional votes for school board.
The sampling reveals a nearly 20 million vote difference nationwide in 2022 if every school board election were held on a partisan basis instead of a non-partisan basis. This number would be even greater in a presidential year. With 90 percent of school districts holding non-partisan elections, millions of voters across the country are choosing not to vote for their school board members. Beyond the astounding difference in voter turnout, non-partisan school board elections also led to unexpected results in multiple North Carolina counties.”
Non-partisan school board elections resulted in elected officials not aligning with their constituents’ priorities. In North Carolina, there were 14 counties that voted for Republican candidates in federal Senate and House races in 2022 but elected registered Democrats in non-partisan school board races.
This includes one county that elected three registered Democrats and one non-partisan candidate who votes in Democratic primaries to its four open school board seats. In this county, in every race where a Republican candidate appeared on the ballot, they were elected. This is a county that voted for Republican candidates, but the non-partisan nature of its school board races resulted in a mismatch between voters and their elected school board officials…
It is a fantasy to keep politics out of schools or classrooms, but states can help school politics align with that of the voters.”
Representative Hugh Blackwell wrote a letter to the editor of 'The Paper' defending his position on partisan school board elections. A portion of that letter states:
“…it is generally seen to be the case that voter participation is far greater in general election years than in special elections, such as those in odd number years. Thus, the expectation is to encourage more interest and participation in school board elections. Regarding partisan elections, including Burke County there are now about 53 school boards that have partisan elections out of 115 total school districts. Some of those partisan elections date to legislation as far back as the 1970s. It does appear to be the case currently that the trend towards partisan elections has been growing. Both political parties are consistently and heavily engaged in putting forth or criticizing educational policy. As such, many voters are interested in the party affiliation of candidates because of what it may suggest about the policy choices they might make as board members. Indeed, I have observed personally over the years, both parties taking steps to tell voters who the Democrats and who the Republicans were when the party affiliation did not appear on a ballot. Moreover, by going to partisan elections we also end up with primaries that allow parties to choose their preferred nominee and narrow the field instead of having more of a free-for-all in which a winning candidate may actually receive a fairly small percentage of the overall vote. The suggestion by some that politics should not be involved in education seems to me to beat odds with what truly goes on.”
Mr. Blackwell raises a compelling point. General elections involving non-partisan races can often resemble a chaotic "free for all", particularly when there are five or six candidates vying for a single seat. The eventual winner could clinch the seat by a strikingly slim margin due to the dispersion of the votes among the many candidates.
Adding to the complexity, non-partisan elections often occur in odd-numbered calendar years (such as 2021 or 2023). During these times, voter turnout may only reach a dismal 20-30%. In comparison, this figure is even lower than the turnout typically seen in primary elections.
Considering these insights, I have come to believe that partisan school board races can be beneficial in guiding voters to select the candidate that best aligns with their values and expectations. In the past, I have cast my vote in several school board races without having any substantial knowledge about the candidates or their platforms. My strategy was simply to find familiar names on the ballot; however, I recognize that such an approach is no longer sufficient.
Times have indeed changed, and so must our approach to voting. As voters, we must strive to be more informed and conscious about our choices, and partisanship in school board races can serve as a crucial tool in this process.
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