Board member warns proposed partisan elections could inject politics into local school governance

At the March 12 meeting, board member Mr. Basham updated colleagues on state legislative activity he said could affect the corporation, including consolidation proposals and a controversial provision that would make school board elections partisan.

"You need to keep politics out of the boardroom," Mr. Basham said while describing a bill by "Senator Burns" that he said would require some boards to run candidates on party lines and could allow county party chairs to name replacements. He expressed concern that listing candidates by party could advantage those listed at the top of a ballot page and that local appointment authority could be reduced.

Mr. Basham told the board there were about 38 bills he identified as potentially affecting traditional public education and that he planned to provide a more detailed report at the next meeting once he could narrow which measures would have local impact. He also said the House has worked to reduce prescriptive language schools must follow and that issues such as a proposed student cell‑phone ban remain unsettled.

The board took no formal action on legislative items; Mr. Basham said he would return with a more in‑depth report next month.