Make Sure to Vote: 4 Reasons You Should Care and VOTE for School Board Members

The ballots are out, the cars are painted, and you keep hearing people talk about the school board election, but do you know why you should care about your child's school board? Do you know why you should vote?

In a constantly growing political world, knowing who is on your district's school board and their choices is increasingly important. Here are the top 4 reasons you need to care about your local school board.

1) School boards should represent your community's voice.

These are elected officials that, in theory, you voted for; however, according to a 2020 article by the National School Board Association, only about 5 to 10 percent of voters turn out to choose these members. That means that only about 1 in 10 community members made their voice heard, and you should be one of them. Your involvement in school board elections doesn't just ensure your voice is heard in who runs the schools, but research has also shown that school board elections with higher voter turnout, which means a more extensive range of stakeholders engaging in the election, are associated with higher student academic performance than elections with lower voter turnout. So making your voice heard not only betters the educational process but betters the achievement opportunities for your child. This is even more important when the community in which the board serves does not have representation on the board. According to public policy non-profit The Brookings Institute, most school board members in the United States are white, even though white students are no longer the majority of the U.S. public school population. The American Political Science Association recently released a study showing that areas with wider gaps in voter and student racial demographics tend to have more significant racial test score gaps, which it concludes may correlate to a lack of diversity on the school board. This demonstrates the need to make sure your school board represents you and the community in which you and your child live.

2) Controversial issues dominate the media's coverage of school boards, yet those issues are only a tiny piece of the impact made by school boards.

Media coverage of school district meetings across the country is filled with parent comments and board members infighting on topics such as book banning, gender-neutral bathrooms, mask mandates, and equity policies. Although these issues are essential, they are also sensational and drive media coverage. The school boards' jobs of employing the superintendent, driving the district's future, and overseeing the budget often lack coverage. "The issues that school communities really need to be focusing on right now isn't happening," said Jon Valant, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, in an article for CNET. "The issues riling people up -- CRT, sex education, book bans -- are tangential to the real problems facing schools."

According to the National School Boards Association, there are 14,000 school boards in the United States responsible for the educational decisions of 56.6 million students. "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" (National School Boards Association).

I could not agree more. It is crucial not just to involve yourself in controversial board issues but also to understand the more mundane policies that may significantly impact your children's lives.

3) School boards set the tone for administration, teachers, and staff.

This could not be more obvious last year in Douglas County School District, a suburban district outside of Denver. Following the school board's decision to fire the superintendent, the number of teachers who called in to attend a community protest was so great the school district was forced to cancel school for students. A statement made by the district's non-collective bargaining union president read: "It is hard to overestimate the shock wave this callous action sent through the schools and community. Now the current board majority has sent the ominous message that every district employee isn't safe. Further, the message is that employee voices are not valued, and it clearly indicates that employees' extraordinary efforts during the pandemic are long forgotten. Unfortunately, it also says: look for options elsewhere."

There is no doubt that political unrest in an organization causes teachers, administrators, and staff stress. It is this stress that can cause teachers to become less effective for our children. According to a survey by EdWeek Research Center, 60% of teachers surveyed said they experience frequent or constant job-related stress, which leads to 41% of the teachers surveyed saying they feel they are less effective at their job when they're stressed. "Research shows that when teachers are stressed out, the quality of their instruction, classroom management, and relationships with students all suffer. And students tend to be more stressed when their teachers are, which could negatively affect their academic performance and engagement" (EdWeek).

We must be aware of the tone the school board sets for our school staff, teachers, and administrators because that directly sets the tone for our children.

4) Money!!! You pay a lot of money into your school district- and it, in turn, impacts your home value.

And last but not least is the money–you pay a lot in, and the district's quality impacts what equity you might get out of your house. Every state's school district funding is different, but in Colorado, specific ownership taxes provided $201.1 million for school finances in 2019-20, about 39% of the total local school financing. In addition, districts across the state have passed (or are trying to pass) bonds and mill levys, providing districts with additional property taxes. For example, Douglas County School District will likely ask voters to approve a mill levy override to help fund the district, resulting in an increase of approximately $255 a year for a property assessed at $500,000.

According to a study, for every $1 increase in per pupil state spending, housing values rise by about $20. Not only might the value rise, but the school district in which you reside might help you get your home sold. According to an article by the Washington Post, 73 percent of home buyers indicated good school boundaries as necessary in their home search, with many buyers willing to compromise on other desirable home features to be in a good school district.

So pay a little more attention when you hear a report or see an article on your child's school board, and make sure you VOTE!!!

Your child's school board will not only impact your child's education, teachers' stress level, and pocketbook, but it should also represent you and your community.

Stay tuned, and I will give you tips on how to get involved in the school board and its decisions in a future post.