Indiana School Board races could become partisan 

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind.-- A proposed bill in the Indiana Senate aims to make school board candidates announce what political party they align with when running for office.

Election ballots historically listed school board candidates in alphabetical order, not by party, but that could all change if Indiana Senate Bill 287 passes.

Candidates would declare a party and go through a primary election process like every other partisan office.

"School board, historically, in Indiana and in most states, about 90 percent of the school board races across the country are nonpartisan," said South Bend School At-large board member, Marcus Ellison, "because it really should be about focusing on what's best for the kids, what's best for the school."

Ellison is an at-large school board member for the South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) and worries school board candidates may worry more about party politics than the best interest of the school board.

"'What does the party think about this, what does the party think about that?'" he said. "I think it really takes away from what you should be doing as a school board member."

ABC57's Annie Kate spoke with two SBCSC board members, Ellison and Carlos Leyva, the board's secretary.
Both were just elected to the board in this last election cycle, so neither had to announce their party.

"Most of the board members I've talked to, not only here but throughout the state, have unanimously said, 'keep it nonpartisan,' because you don't want to bring politics into it," Leyva said. "You don't want to bring politics into schools and education."

Those who support the bill argue most elected offices are already partisan and this helps inform voters about the ideologies of candidates.

"It does completely change the nature and the manner of who may run, how they run, what the campaigns really focus on," Ellison said.

But most who serve on school boards argue education is not a partisan issue.

"It would create division, and we don't want that," Leyva said. "It's already a divided country. And education is really important no matter what party you are affiliated with, no matter what your politics are."

If a seat becomes vacant then the political party of the person who held that office would hold a caucus to decide on the replacement.

This proposed bill also makes a change in how much school board members can be paid. It used to be capped at $2,000, but now it would be capped at 10 percent of the lowest teacher salary.

The bill was referred to the Indiana Senate Committee on Elections, where it got a favorable recommendation.