Anchors Aweigh! for the Partisan-Ship

There should be some places where politics do not interfere. The church is one. School is another. I would like to think that children can be taught to read, write, and think in an apolitical way. We may have just taken a step away from that ideal.

A few years ago, the method for choosing candidates for the State School Board was changed so that a Governor-appointed committee chose the nominees, and the slate was narrowed by the Governor to two candidates, and the voters then elected one of the two. Many people objected to this system and this year Representative Moss drafted a bill to return to direct non-partisan election of State School Board members.

Direct election would allow greater participation as candidates. Keeping it non-partisan would keep control of education out of the hands of political party bosses. There were rumors from the beginning of the session that it would be amended to become partisan elections.

The bill was presented on the House floor yesterday and before any other amendment could be made, Representative Nielsen substituted the bill identical except that elections for State School Board members would be held on odd numbered years, so that they would coincide with the non-partisan municipal elections. Unfortunately, both the bill and the substitute bill were voted down, not because of opposition to direct elections but because the majority of the House of Representatives expressed a desire that the elections be partisan.

I think we can expect to see a bill later in this session that calls for partisan election of State School Board members.