Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #118

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving school board politics and governance.

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

  • On the issues: The debate over teacher autonomy 
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • Five school board members recalled from office so far in 2024
  • Understanding the financial return on educational investments (Part 6): The fields of study with the highest and lowest returns for higher degrees
  • Extracurricular: education news from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

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On the issues: The debate over teacher autonomy

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

How much latitude should teachers have to customize classroom instruction?

Robert Pondiscio writes that teachers have too much autonomy and should follow curricula more closely. Pondiscio says the flexibility teachers have to customize lessons without oversight or approval allows them to teach political and ideological topics. He says the lack of teacher accountability increases the risk that interest groups will influence what students learn.

Glenn Sacks writes that teachers should remain autonomous and use their freedom to customize lessons for their students. Sacks says teachers know best how to keep their students engaged. He says that even if teachers aren’t perfect in tailoring their lessons, they do a better job overall holding students’ interest than a canned curriculum.

How Public Schools Became Ideological Boot Camps | Robert Pondiscio, The Free Press

“[H]ow can public schools at once be hotbeds of radicalism and ‘woke’ indoctrination, yet produce students who are so poorly informed about the radical causes they ostensibly espouse? The answer has a lot to do with one of American education’s dirty little secrets: on any given school day in nearly every public school in the country, curriculum materials are put in front of children that have no official oversight or approval. It’s true that schools might have a state- or district-adopted curriculum, but that doesn’t mean it’s getting taught. Nearly no category of public employee has the degree of autonomy of the average public school teacher—even the least experienced ones. Teachers routinely create or cobble together their own lesson plans on the widely accepted theory that they know better than textbook publishers what books kids will enjoy reading and which topics might spark lively class discussions. … But putting teachers in charge of creating their own lesson plans or scouring the internet for curriculum materials creates an irresistible opportunity for every imaginable interest group that perceives—not incorrectly—that overworked teachers and a captive young audience equal a rich target for selling products and pushing ideologies. This ungoverned mess is how the majority of high-profile curriculum controversies happen.”

Yes, Teachers Have Extraordinary Autonomy. And That’s a Good Thing. | Glenn Sacks, RealClear Education

“[T]eacher autonomy is both good and necessary. I value the freedom to do what I know will work best for the students I have in front of me. I don’t always get it right, of course, but I get it right vastly more than I would if I had to follow prescribed lessons. … I mentor young teachers and often explain to them the importance of doing exactly what Pondiscio opposes–crafting lessons that will work for their students, as opposed to following the canned lessons we are given. I often tell them: ‘Never go into a class with a lesson that you don’t believe in, even if it was recommended to you by an administrator or your department chair told you to use it. Remember, you’re the one who needs to be in front of those kids every day, and above all, you need to maintain their respect. None of these other people and none of the education experts at a university who developed the lesson are going to be in front of that class with their reputations on the line. The lesson they’ve given you or recommended may well be an excellent lesson, but for it to work you need to make it your own first. And if you can’t make the lesson they’ve given you your own, then make up your own.’ The necessity of coming up with your own lessons and of reworking the canned lessons to make them your own is a major reason why teaching is so labor-intensive.”

School board update: filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications

This year, Ballotpedia will cover elections for over 11,000 school board seats across more than 30 states. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on the country’s more 80,000 school board seats. 

On Aug. 1, Ballotpedia will cover school board general elections in Tennessee in the following districts:

Except for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, the largest district in Tennessee, the districts on the list above held partisan primaries on March 5. School board elections in the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district, however, are nonpartisan. 

Tennessee is one of five states—including Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia—where state law effectively provides for partisan and nonpartisan elections depending on the school district. In four states, school board candidates run in partisan elections only. More than 90% of school boards are nonpartisan.

On Nov. 5, voters in Florida will decide a ballot measure that would make school board elections partisan beginning in 2026. Read our previous coverage of this measure here. 

Click here to learn more about the rules governing party labels in school board elections.

Five school board members recalled from office so far in 2024

We recently released our 2024 Mid-Year Recall Report on all state and local recall efforts since the beginning of January, including those involving school board members. Ballotpedia has released two recall reports each year since 2014—a mid-year report and a year-end report. We covered our 2023 year-end report in these pages in early January.  

Let’s explore our latest report’s findings on school board recall efforts since the beginning of the year. We end this story with a look at a school board recall effort that began in June involving four members of the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors. 

There have been 32 recall efforts targeting 67 school board members since Jan. 1. Ten of those efforts made the ballot. Voters recalled five school board members. 

In the first half of this year, 7.5% of school board members targeted for recall were removed from office—in line with historical averages at this point in the year. Since 2009, voters have removed 13.8% of school board members targeted for recall. 

School board recall efforts have declined since the pandemic, but remain elevated compared to historical averages. In 2021, school board members faced more recall efforts than any other officials. This was the first time since 2014, when we began covering all recalls, that school board recalls outnumbered those of city council members. Since 2022, however, city council members have once again faced the most recall efforts. 

From 2009 to 2020, school board members faced an average of 22 recall efforts. Since 2021, that figure is 57. 

Click here to read our Mid-Year Recall Report to learn about all state and local recall efforts this year.

The most recent school board recall effort began this June in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where recall supporters filed petitions against four members of the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors. Recall supporters accuse Marva Herndon, Erika Siemsen, Jilly Gokalgandhi, and Missy Zombor of violating financial reporting requirements, abuse of power, and unethical and illegal financial activity.

Recall supporters have 60 days from filing the petitions to collect signatures.

Recall supporters filed the petitions after the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction sent a letter to the school board and superintendent on June 6. The letter informed the district the state was temporarily withholding the district’s Special Education Aid payments, totaling around $16 million, because the district was over eight months late in submitting financial reports to the state.

On June 10, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) called for two audits of the school district.

Then-Superintendent Keith Posley announced to the public the district was late on financial reports in May, and he resigned in early June. 

Click here to learn more about this recall. 

Understanding the financial return on educational investments (Part 6): The fields of study with the highest and lowest returns for higher degrees

On July 3, we used data from MyFloridaFuture, an online dashboard from the State University System of Florida, to analyze the different fields of study that result in significantly higher average earnings for graduates of higher degrees. The State University System of Florida developed the dashboard in response to a 2021 law. This is our sixth and final installment in this series. Read our previous installments: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. 

Throughout the Florida State University System, the median of the average earnings across all fields of study and degree levels one year after graduation was $44,244. Below, we list the fields of study with the highest and lowest annual earnings one year after graduation for three degree levels—bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral. Click here to see more of this data.

Bachelor’s

Highest:

  • Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other with an average earning of $99,300 and an average full-time employment rate of 94%

Lowest:

  • Nutrition Sciences with an average earning of $26,700 and an average full-time employment rate of 41%

Master’s

Highest:

  • Dental Clinical Sciences, General with an average earning of $151,100 and an average full-time employment rate of 77%

Lowest:

  • Art History, Criticism and Conservation with an average earning of $31,600 and an average full-time employment rate of 70%

Doctoral

Highest:

  • Laser and Optical Engineering with an average earning of $168,800 and an average full-time employment rate of 79%

Lowest:

  • Music Performance, General with an average earning of $40,000 and an average full-time employment rate of 60%

Click here to explore our analysis of MyFloridaFuture data in more detail. 

Extracurricular: education news from around the web

This section contains links to recent education-related articles from around the internet. If you know of a story we should be reading, reply to this email to share it with us! 

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re looking at survey responses from Zipporah Miller and Zakyia Goins-McCants, two candidates running in the Nov. 5 general elections for seats on the Prince George’s County Board of Education, in Maryland. 

Prince George’s County Public Schools is the second largest district in Maryland, with an estimated enrollment of 131,000 students.

Miller is running for re-election to represent District 5 against Robin Brown. Miller was first elected in 2022. Brown and Miller advanced from a four-way primary on May 14. Miller received 30.5% of the vote to Brown’s 24.7%. 

Goins-McCants is running to represent District 8 against Angela Jones. Goins-McCants and Jones advanced from a three-way primary. Jones won 45.4% of the vote to Goins-McCants’ 31.2%. Incumbent Madeline LaSalle Frazier received 23.5%.  

Here’s how Miller answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I am committed to shaping policies in two critical areas: the mental wellness of students and staff, recognizing it as paramount to student success. Ensuring students are emotionally ready to engage in learning is essential. Equally vital is providing staff with the necessary support to navigate the demands of their profession. Additionally, I am concerned with the responsible integration of emerging technologies in classrooms, balancing their benefits with potential risks. Through formation of a diverse working group to develop clear guidelines and precautions, involving experts from various fields, we aim to ensure the policy addresses safe and effective use of emerging technologies while deterring misuse through strict penalties.”

Click here to read the rest of Miller’s responses. 

Here’s how Goins-McCants answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I’m passionate about education because I know the power it has to change the lives of individuals, families, and ultimately communities. I am passionate about the use of data and research to guide educational decision-making, equity & cultural responsiveness in policy, and engaging families & the broader community in the work of schools.”

Click here to read the rest of Goins-McCants’ responses. 

If you’re a school board candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey. If you’re not running for school board, but there is an election in your community this year, share the link with the candidates and urge them to take the survey!

In the 2022 election cycle, 6,087 candidates completed the survey. 

The survey contains more than 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will display on your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also appear in our sample ballot.