NO on 1: Classrooms and School Board Races Should be Non-Partisan

Do Floridians want more partisan politics in public school classrooms and more partisan politics on their local school boards? Come November, in addition to voting on Recreational Marijuana (Amendment 3) and Reproductive Rights (Amendment 4), Floridians will be asked to vote on whether school board races should remain non-partisan or return to being partisan affairs (Amendment 1). 

I believe, if we want to keep partisan politics out of our classrooms, we need to keep it off of our school boards. I encourage you to VOTE NO ON AMENDMENT 1.

Proponents will say that partisan races are simply a matter of transparency and “everyone already knows” the party affiliation of candidates. While it is true, especially recently, that party politics have played an increased role in school board races, establishing transparency is NOT the motivation behind Amendment 1 – the ability to close primaries is.

Currently, all school board candidates, regardless of party affiliation, run against each other in August and, if no one wins a majority of the vote, the top two candidates compete in a run-off in November. The races are open to all voters, including non-party-affiliated voters (NPA), and the winners are those who appeal to the largest amount of voters.

In partisan races, Florida has closed primaries. Closed primaries allow political parties increased control over the outcome of elections and they disenfranchise NPA voters, a fast growing segment of the electorate, removing them from the primary process altogether.

With partisan races, a popular, moderate school board candidate could be targeted by party operatives (or, perhaps, the current governor). Even without an opposing party candidate in the race, a few simple maneuvers could close the primary leaving all NPA and opposing party voters unable to vote for the community’s favored, moderate candidate. In Florida, political parties have closed partisan primaries by entering a write-in candidate or a sham candidate in the November election. Such closed primaries have resulted in candidates winning with only a fraction of the total electorate’s approval. What could result is the election of extremists, more interested in advancing party politics than serving the best interest of their students, schools and community.

Public schools must serve all students, regardless of political affiliation, and, therefore, school board elections must remain open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation. On November 5th, vote NO on Amendment 1. Our public schools need less political interference, not more.