Your school board plays an extremely important role in determining the quality of education provided children in your community, and the make-up of your local board could be on the ballot this November.
School board seats in 80 school districts will be decided in a November 8 election. If your school district is included in the list of those with board elections this year, contact your school district office for more information. Public school supporters should:
- Find out who is running and learn their positions on important education issues
- Consider running yourself
- Make sure you are registered to vote
- Spread the word about school board elections in your district
The deadline to qualify to run as a candidate for your school board is September 9.
Following the qualifying period, The Parents’ Campaign will send each candidate a questionnaire asking their positions on important education issues. We will post their responses on our web site so public school supporters can learn where candidates stand and cast an informed vote in the November election.
National privatization groups have in recent years targeted school board elections in attempts to infiltrate local boards and privatize public schools from within, grooming pro-privatization candidates and injecting out-of-state money into races to take over local boards. These are the same groups that attempt to demonize public schools, accusing teachers of “indoctrinating” students and questioning the motives of our neighbors who have devoted their careers to educating, nurturing, and protecting our children.
It is critically important that you vet all candidates for school board in your community. If you don’t know a candidate or the candidate’s history, be sure to do your research. Public schools have been under attack for years, and privatizers have very recently stepped up their game in Mississippi, peddling their false “choice” as freedom for parents. Mississippians aren’t buying it.
School board elections typically have a very low turnout, which makes them vulnerable to the shenanigans of privatizers. When turnout is low, votes from just a few bad actors can determine the outcome of an election – especially if well-meaning voters are not vetting the candidates. If your school district has a school board election this year, please get involved – and be sure to vote!
