Amid fiery debates over schools, school board elections can come down to just a few votes. Ahead of Election Day in Virginia, here’s a look at why school meetings got so heated.
If you care about school policies on transgender children, which books are available in school libraries and what students learn about American history, voting in your local school board election can help your voice be heard.
Many of us skip voting in local elections because we’re unfamiliar with the candidates. But election experts say your vote especially matters in down-ballot races, which can come down to just a few votes. This summer in Virginia, a Republican running in a primary for the 29th District state Senate seat won the nomination by just two votes.
“If you don’t vote in those races, someone else will,” said Jon Valant, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “Someone’s going to be elected in those races. These are really important seats these officeholders fill, and they really do make big, important decisions.”
Ahead of Election Day in Virginia on Tuesday, Nov. 7, here's how school board decisions became cultural flashpoints in recent years, why your local election vote can make a big difference and how to get up to speed on candidates fast.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
How school board meetings got so heated
It’s been a tumultuous few years for many school boards, with packed rooms of parents waiting hours for their chance to say what should and shouldn’t happen in schools.
Interest in school board meetings ramped up in 2020 and 2021 because parents were concerned about COVID-19, said Valant, who has devoted his career to studying education policy and the politics of education. Parents wanted to weigh in on how schools would reopen, whether masks needed to be worn and whether vaccines should be required.
Strong feelings plus highly accessible government institutions were a recipe for political activity, Valant explained. Parents who got engaged with school boards about COVID then moved on to other issues.
“Over the last few years, as some of the COVID topics have gotten a little less prominent, they’ve been replaced with some of these other hot cultural topics related to race, gender and sexuality, and those types of issues,” he said. “It has remained the case that the venue for a lot of those arguments has been school board meetings.”
High-profile policy groups such as the right-wing organization Moms for Liberty, launched in Florida in 2021, began working to get school board candidates elected. Researchers are still working to understand the impact of these groups, Valant said.
School board election turnout is low but may be on the rise
Elected school board members make major decisions affecting public school students, but turnout in school board races is generally low, at an estimated 5 to 10% of the electorate, the National School Boards Association wrote in early 2020.
Since the start of the pandemic, there appears to be an uptick in voting in school board races, Valant said, though he warned that data is hard to track on a national level because it’s decentralized.
To have a say in what happens, it’s crucial to get educated about candidates and vote, said Amir Badat, who manages voter education efforts for the Legal Defense Fund.
“What I would say to folks who leave races blank is, you do so at your own peril. These are incredibly important offices. They hold an immense amount of power and influence over the day-to-day lives of every person who lives in this country,” he said.
Local officeholders determine who goes to jail, whether roads get repaired and how laws are enforced, Badat said.
Why one voter started tracking local elections
Emergency room doctor Kevin Chin, of Ellicott City, Maryland, made it a point to vote in every election but didn’t always pay much attention to local races. He got more engaged once he understood that local officeholders make decisions on issues he cares about, including housing affordability and transportation access.
“A lot of people, myself included, kind of think about politics as sort of like entertainment or kind of like a sports match of, ‘Oh, who’s gonna win?’ when really what it’s about is the issues — how this affects everyday people’s lives,” he said.
Chin, 35, said he now researches candidates up and down the ballot before he goes to vote.
Here's how to research candidates for school board and other local offices
With a little effort, you can be ready to pick leaders aligned with your values. Badat, of the Legal Defense Fund, shared these election prep tips:
- Use online resources to learn about races. Using the site VOTE411, you can see what’s on your ballot, check your voter registration and plan how you’ll vote.
- Seek information on candidates from trusted news sources.
- Keep your eyes open for misinformation and disinformation. Ask yourself: How do you know that what you’re hearing or seeing online is true?
- The nonpartisan group OpenSecrets helps voters track money in U.S. politics. See what you can learn about how a candidate is funded.
- Attending candidate forums or watching videos of them online can be a great way to get to know who’s who, Valant, of the Brookings Institution, said.
However you prepare for your local elections, make sure you cast your ballot, Badat said
“Make a plan, make sure that you’re registered, and get out there and vote,” he said.
