Americans Declining Trust in the Politicians Who Run Their Schools – Governing

Those trying to convince Americans that vocal frustration with and protests against local school boards are a conservative political ploy will have a harder time after San Franciscos recent school board recall election. Three members of the citys Board of Education, including its president, were recalled, each by more than 70 percent of the vote.

Amid the pandemic, San Francisco schools stayed remote long after neighboring districts had returned to the classroom. Meanwhile, the board focused heavily on renaming schools in whose namesakes it perceived any potential ties to oppression rather than addressing academic setbacks. For the citys sizable Asian community, altering the merit-based admission criteria to an elite high school program to shift the racial balance to enrolling more Black and Hispanic students was the final straw.

The specific complaints against the San Francisco Board of Education sound more like those coming from a rural-conservative-meets-new-development-progressive suburb like Loudoun County, Va., than from the bluest part of California. But declining faith in local school boards is a bipartisan phenomenon, and it seems that even the most politically lopsided areas are not immune.

This lack of trust will eventually push people into action to reconfigure or abandon the institutions that no longer serve them. The San Francisco recall is a good example of how that can play out, even without the backing of a major political party or a professional campaigning organization: The recall effort was led by two ordinary parents who just wanted to be able to trust that the public schools would be there for their children.

Their story frustrated parents becoming successful recall leaders may seem extraordinary, but it tracks closely with underlying attitudes about change and the American system of government. SPNs State Voices poll also found that three-quarters of voters believe that the most meaningful change happens at the local level, and more than four in five feel local participation is what keeps the American system of government alive. Specific to education, 88 percent agree that there needs to be more transparency in the system.

Long-term frustration, the power of local engagement, and a growing list of local political upsets are sending the message that traditionally sleepy municipal boards should get back into the practice of first and foremost being responsive to the people they serve. As more Americans lose trust in formal institutions, they will continue to push back from the ground up.

Erin Norman is the Lee Family Fellow and senior messaging strategist at the State Policy Network.

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Americans Declining Trust in the Politicians Who Run Their Schools - Governing