Why Care About School Board Elections?

Want less crime and more money in your neighborhood? Schools are the answer.

School Board election season is upon us, and we hear people groaning already. We get it; the world is a messy place. Our attention is completely oversaturated – with access to entertainment and doomscrolling, yes, but also with information. Politics. Causes to champion. Human rights violations to fret over. Local school board elections might seem like an easy thing to opt into not caring about (after all, is it a board meeting or a BORED meeting?) With everything that’s taking place on the national stage, local school board meetings seem small-scale. And for folks who don’t even have kids, it may feel like it doesn’t affect you. So why bother caring about what the local schools are doing? Excellent question; we’re so glad you asked!

School boards function to drive operational and policy decisions – think budgeting, setting pay rates, general curriculum guidelines… that sort of thing. These are the not-so-exciting decisions necessary to keep a school district running, and are the biggest reason why board meetings seem so boring in the first place. But these decisions are critical to the success of a district and the individual schools. Underpaid and underappreciated teachers leave schools reeling and parents floundering. Kids feel insecure, unimportant, untethered. Test scores dip lower, kids fall behind grade level markers, gaps grow wider, and become harder to fill. 

When boards begin to overstep regarding curriculum and instruction, teachers who have been trained to create comprehensive and grade-appropriate content are no longer viewed as the expert voices. Parent trust is eroded, which impacts student behavior in schools, and teachers begin to water down their content as a result. This impacts the functioning of developing brains; it lessens their ability to develop critical thinking skills, hold opposing views, and solve the problems that matter. And when the children of a community are underserved and underdeveloped, the problems don’t only affect those kids and their nuclear families. The problems leech out into every part of the surrounding community. Boards set the tone for whether these problems thrive or are stamped out; communities set the tone for whether under-appreciated and undervalued education will be tolerated in their neighborhoods.

Boards set the tone for whether these problems thrive or are stamped out; communities set the tone for whether under-appreciated and undervalued education will be tolerated in their neighborhoods.

Now that we understand the way board member decisions impact schools, teachers, and students, let’s look at how that ripples into the community and affects you (yes, even you!).

Money, Money, Money

Your money is being constantly utilized in your neighborhood schools. One of the 3 biggest sources of funding for schools is property tax. And before you say, “What about renters?” Yes! Renters too! While property owners are responsible for paying property tax, they loop that in to rent prices. Which means even renters have their money going towards property tax. This makes you a direct investor in your neighborhood schools and whatever your board is funding. We think it’s pretty important to know if your money is being used to educate the kids in your community and pay educators a liveable wage, versus creating unenforceable policies as a stepping stone to launch expensive lawsuits against our state.

But maybe you’re not super concerned with the state of public education and would prefer your tax dollars not be going towards it at all. Here’s why you should change your mind!

School performance has a direct impact on property values, which then have a reciprocal impact on school performance, and so on.

If you live in an area where the school district is underperforming, it has a direct impact on:

• Property values in the area
• Return on investment for local homeowners
• Creation and success of local businesses
• How many developers are eyeing your area for growth
• Your local job market.

Areas zoned for good schools and good districts become highly desirable, not just for home buyers, but for larger investors. These high-quality schools also create higher earning potential in students, who grow into adults who have the opportunity to funnel money directly into serving our communities.

What’s more: a recent study in 2022 found that the funding and performance of your neighborhood schools directly correlate to a drastically lowered risk of juvenile or adult incarceration.

We have known for a long while that lack of education is a high predictor of criminal behavior and incarceration. In a study conducted in 1997, it was shown that 41% of inmates did not have a high school degree, which is a staggering statistic compared to the 18% of the general population that did not complete a high school level education. The aforementioned 2022 study found that investing in local education lowered the risk of incarceration in adulthood by up to 15% compared to peers with less educational funding.  

Good schools mean safer communities.

More funding means better access to after-school programs and extracurriculars, which also correlates to less crime. And beyond this, these studies illustrated that the spending to increase school funding comes out to significantly less than the governmental cost of arresting, charging, trying, and incarcerating someone once a crime has been committed. This is a crime reduction tactic that saves money for the government, the taxpaying individual, and the community as a whole in a significant way.

Schools are for Everyone

Schools impact everyone, and when well-funded and well-managed, they benefit everyone. A rising tide raises all ships. So when the world feels big, and loud, and overwhelming, remember that your voice matters. Remember that local government is what impacts your day to day far more than national scale politics do. Remember that these small-scale elections create the conditions under which your local community will either struggle or thrive.. And then make sure you’re registered to vote[hyperlink to how to register article] and make your voice heard in your local school board elections this November.