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Ask your favorite AI chatbot, “What’s the easiest elected office to win in America?”
The answer is “School Board Member.”
School Board members are locally elected public officials entrusted with governing a community's public schools. The average School Board member salary in California is $82,855 as of May 25, 2023, but the range typically falls between $63,874 and $102,322.
With the lowest cost of running and the least number of votes needed to win, a School Board race is a top choice for the newbie politician.
But School Boards have a darker side. Witness the recent limits some boards put on free speech, human rights, and reading.
Last November in Temecula, CA, voters elected a trio of conservative, evangelical Christian candidates who now make up the majority vote. The School Board has now fired the collaborative school district superintendent, banned teaching critical race theory, and removed a textbook with supplemental material that mentions LGBTQ+ rights activist Harvey Milk.
School Board radicalization, intimidation, and violence comprise leading-edge tactics for fundraising and rabblerousing. Indeed, extremists are using suburban fights over critical race theory, health education, and pandemic restrictions to energize their voters.
In Glendale, three adults were arrested for using pepper spray and obstructing officers. Punches were thrown outside a Glendale School Board meeting as adults protested students' right to choose their pronouns.
Clearly, both schools and students get played in this losing game of Realpolitik.
By stacking the School Board, leadership can very swiftly swing policy for good or ill. Often, all it takes is a three-person or similarly puny majority.
But it is up to “no-label” independent candidates & voters to see past the drama-for-coins and populate School Boards with candidates who give a damn about the “education” in the Board of Education.
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