Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #112

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 segregation and school choice 
  • In your district: reader replies on preparing citizens
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • Understanding the financial return on educational investments: A mini-series on MyFloridaFuture
  • Extracurricular: education news and numbers from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas!

On the issues: The debate over segregation and school choice

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. 

Last week, we asked readers how they feel about school choice policies. We received a number of thoughtful responses, and you can read those further down in this newsletter.

Scholars, activists, and educators have differed on the effect school choice policies—including education savings accounts (ESA) and vouchers—have on racial segregation in schools. Today, we look at essays by two historians who differ on school choice and racial segregation. 

Nancy MacLean writes that school choice was first developed to promote segregation and help white families move their children out of integrating schools. MacLean says voucher and ESA programs have a similar effect today of hurting equality, taking resources from poorer and majority-minority schools, and reallocating them to wealthier and predominantly white schools. 

Phillip W. Magness writes that segregationists opposed programs like vouchers because they created funding problems for white-only schools. Magness says programs that fund individual students create competition between schools that discourages racial discrimination and gives disadvantaged students options for leaving low-performing schools.

‘School choice’ developed as a way to protect segregation and abolish public schools | Nancy MacLean, Washington Post

“White Southerners first fought for ‘freedom of choice’ in the mid-1950s as a means of defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which mandated the desegregation of public schools. Their goal was to create pathways for White families to remove their children from classrooms facing integration. … School choice had its roots in a crucial detail of the Brown decision: The ruling only applied to public schools. White Southerners viewed this as a loophole for evading desegregated schools. … Today, the ultrawealthy backers of school choice are cagey about this long-term goal, knowing that care is required to win the support of parents who want the best for their children. … But the history behind vouchers reveals that the rhetoric of ‘choice’ and ‘freedom’ stands in stark contrast to the real goals sought by conservative and libertarian advocates. The system they dream of would produce staggering inequalities, far more severe than the disparities that already exist today.”

School Choice’s Antiracist History | Phillip W. Magness, Wall Street Journal

“These critics have their history backward. As early as 1955, economists such as Friedman began touting vouchers as a strategy to expedite integration. Virginia’s segregationist hard-liners recognized the likely outcomes and began attacking school choice as an existential threat to their white-supremacist order. … Friedman celebrated integration. As he wrote in his 1962 book ‘Capitalism and Freedom,’ de facto segregation persisted even in nominally integrated cities like Chicago. By contrast, vouchers lead to ‘an appreciable decrease in segregation and a great widening in the opportunities available to the ablest and most ambitious Negro youth.’ … He recognized educational competition as a powerful tool to break down segregationist institutions. Under school choice, mixed schools will grow at the expense of the nonmixed,’ he wrote. That is, of course, if the teacher’s unions didn’t obstruct the equalizing pressures of competition.”

In your district: Should state governments provide funding for private K-12 educational expenses? 

We recently asked readers the following question about school choice policies:

Should state governments provide funding for private K-12 educational expenses? 

Thank you to all who responded. Today, we’re sharing a handful of those responses. We’ll return next month with another reader question. If you have ideas for a question you’d like to see us ask, reply to this email to let us know!

A school board member from New Hampshire wrote:

I am opposed to any taxpayer funding for private education, either directly or through vouchers or “savings accounts”. Successful public education is beneficial to all citizens, whether they choose to access it or not. Redistributing tax revenue to non-public education undermines the public education institution and is an unauthorized transfer of public funds. Improvements to the public education system is thwarted and negated when existing funding is diverted and drained away from public schools.

A school board trustee from Nevada wrote:

I support it as competition always helps with quality being who is better.

A community member from Texas wrote:

I support Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). School tax dollars should follow the child. Each district receives a certain dollar amount per registered student (i.e., $12K) so if a student leaves that district (for whatever reason) and is enrolled in a private school or is homeschooled, those tax dollars should be available to the parent/guardian to help pay for the associated education costs. In the state’s legislation there needs to be protections for parents/guardians who choose to homeschool their child – the parent/guardian needs the liberty/freedom to select the instructional material for each required subject (history and social studies for example) as is appropriate based on their faith and/or principles.

A community member from Minnesota wrote:

YES, if it replaces what the public school would have received from the state and the money goes directly to the private school, including religious ones.

A school board member from Minnesota wrote:

Support money going to families

A school board member from Vermont wrote: 

I oppose because it is a family’s choice to go to private educational opportunities and is not available to all students in the school district. It promotes inequitable education. 

A community member from Washington wrote:

Private schools are private and should be paid by the parents who send their children to private schools. My parents did and so did my wife and I. We vote for every school bond and levy. America is nothing without strong public schools.

A former school board member from Alabama wrote:

I am extremely opposed to providing families with taxpayer funding for private educational expenses! That money should be used to improve the quality of education in public schools in Alabama…from all the studies that I have read, they definitely need it.

A school board member from Utah wrote: 

Oppose. I do not feel it’s prudent to pay a private entity that can discriminate based on any number of factors with public money. Utah is just rolling it out and I’m astounded what people who have been awarded the “scholarship” are paying for. Dance lessons. Ski passes. Seriously. One thing proponents advocate for is that it will strengthen the public schools by providing competition. It’s not a level playing field in any way. Public schools take every child with an IEP and 504 and any level of ability while private schools can choose to or not. How is that equal? Kids on the “scholarship” can have karate, horse riding, ski, mountain climbing, or any number of “PE” opportunities paid for. Our public school kiddos options? Not even close. The accountability for “scholarship” students? A portfolio. Yup! A simple portfolio. Public schools accountability? We just had around 200 bills passed THIS year alone regarding education. The regulations and reporting to be done is astounding. I could go on and on.

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

In 2023, Ballotpedia covered elections for over 9,000 school board seats in more than 3,000 districts across 34 states. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on the more 13,000 districts with elected school boards. 

Upcoming school board elections

California

On June 4, voters in California’s Temecula Valley Unified School District will decide whether to recall Trustee Area 4 representative Joseph Komrosky. This will be the sixth school board recall in the country to go to a vote this year. 

The recall effort started after the board voted 3-2 against a new social studies curriculum published by the Teachers Curriculum Institute (TCI) at a board meeting on May 16, 2023.

Click here to read more. 

June 11

Ballotpedia is covering elections in the Clark County and Washoe County school districts. These are the two largest districts in Nevada, with about 328,991 students and 67,300 students, respectively. 

Four seats are on the ballot in both districts this year. 

Understanding the financial return on educational investments: A mini-series on MyFloridaFuture 

On Dec. 10, 2015, then-President Barack Obama (D) signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a bill that had received bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate. Among its requirements was that states set educational standards to ensure students graduate high school prepared for college or a career. In response, districts have created college and career centers, forged dual-enrollment partnerships with local colleges, and implemented work-based learning experiences.  

And yet, surveys find that most students report feeling unprepared for what comes after high school graduation. In a 2022 survey of recent graduates, for example, YouScience found that 75% reported feeling “moderately, slightly, or not at all prepared” to make decisions about attending college or finding a career.

Can state law assist students and families with college and career readiness?

In 2021, Florida passed a law requiring public universities to make certain earnings and employment data—including salaries, student loans, and employment rates for different programs and career paths—available to the public. In 2022, in response to the law, the State University System of Florida developed MyFloridaFuture, an online platform. 

Since 2021, Alabama, Iowa, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia have enacted similar laws. 

In the coming weeks, through a series of snippets, we will explore our analysis of MyFloridaFuture’s data and look at the other states with similar laws. 

MyFloridaFuture data includes:

  • Earnings over time by field of study
  • The effects of higher education levels on average earnings for each field to study
  • The percentage of graduates working full-time
  • Typical student loan amounts
  • Information on average student loans and student loan payments over time

Here are some key highlights and takeaways from our analysis of the MyFloridaFuture data. 

  • Not all advancements in education guarantee higher earnings or higher employment chances. For example, advancing to the next education level up (i.e., bachelor’s to master’s or a master’s to a doctorate) resulted in decreased average earnings one year after graduation for 17 fields of study (10% of the 178 majors that offered multiple degree levels). Of the 178 majors, 48% had average earnings increases of 25% or less for achieving the next education level. Only eight fields of study (4.5%) had a greater than 75% increase in average earnings when students moved up from a bachelor’s to a master’s or from a master’s to a doctorate.
  • The median of the average earnings across all fields of study and degree levels was $44,244 one year after graduation.
  • While higher-level degrees resulted in higher average earnings, the field of study determined the amount of the increase. The data from MyFloridaFuture shows which fields of study reward higher degrees with higher earnings and full-time employment chances.

We’ll look at this data in greater detail in future editions of Hall Pass. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s ahead:

  • Week 2: Next week, we’ll delve into the specific types of data state law mandates for inclusion in the MyFloridaFuture dashboard, highlighting more of the key takeaways from our analysis.
  • Week 3: We’ll look at the origins of MyFloridaFuture, alongside a review of other states that have enacted similar legislation to publicly share data on student outcomes.
  • Week 4: Our analysis will zoom in on the average earnings for graduates across different levels of education—from vocational degrees to doctorates—highlighting the fields with the highest and lowest earnings.
  • Week 5: We’ll show you how many fields of study provide significant increases to earnings with higher degrees (i.e., moving from a bachelor’s to a master’s or from a master’s to a doctorate) and how many result in modest or even negative earnings returns.
  • Week 6: The series will wrap up with an in-depth look into the specific fields of study that have the highest and lowest earnings returns for higher degrees.

Click here to explore our analysis of the MyFloridaFuture data.

Extracurricular: education news and numbers 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 surveys from Perry Rosenstein and Alicia Woo, two of seven candidates—including incumbent Diane Nicolet— running in the nonpartisan primary for Washoe County School District Board of Trustees At-Large District G in Nevada. Rosenstein and Woo are the only candidates who’ve completed the survey. 

Washoe County School District is Nevada’s second-largest, with around 67,300 students. The district stretches from Lake Tahoe, in the south, to the Nevada-Oregon border, in the north. It includes Reno.  

Here’s how Rosenstein answered the question, “What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?”

  • “Support our teachers: If we don’t support our teachers, we don’t have good schools. Period. I’ll fight to continue increasing pay and create pathways for teachers themselves to learn, grow, and feel supported. Recent raises were a great start, but only bring teachers closer to a “survivable” wage — I’d like to see a livable one.
  • Welcome all students: I am committed to creating school environments where every student feels welcome, safe, respected, and valued — regardless of their background or identity.
  • Decrease testing, increase teaching: I believe we must reduce standardized testing and make more room for real education. This means spending more time engaging in hands-on learning and creative problem-solving that prepares our students for the real world.”

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

Here’s how Woo answered the question, “What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?”

  • “Many people I have spoken to in the community do not feel heard when they bring concerns to the school board. If I am elected, I will listen to the concerns and ideas of the people and ensure their voice is heard.
  • Over time, there has been a noticeable decline in the quality of our academic standards. The relentless push to boost graduation rates has inadvertently compromised the rigor of our educational curriculum. Consequently, a concerning number of students are now graduating without fundamental literacy or math skills. It’s crucial that we redirect our focus towards prioritizing the development of fundamental skills that prepare students for success in higher education and the workforce.
  • Transparency is foundational to developing trust. There has been a lack of transparency which is something I would like to address. Nothing that is happening in the schools should be hidden from parents or the community. I am committed to fostering open communication and accountability.”

Click here to read the rest of Woo’s 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.