Should FL school board elections be divided by political party? Manatee County weighs in

Manatee County School Board members have narrowly passed a resolution in support of continuing nonpartisan board elections in Florida, where some lawmakers are pushing for a change.

In 1998, Florida voters approved the switch to nonpartisan school board elections, and state law prohibits a candidate’s political affiliation from being listed on the ballot in nonpartisan races.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, would put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2022, giving voters the option to revert back to partisan school board elections.

Critics, including some members of the Manatee County School Board, believe the change would lead to more division and less focus on important issues in public education.

The emphasis, they said, should be on candidates’ views and priorities, not the label — whether it be Democrat or Republican — that would appear next to their name in a partisan election.

But school board elections are already partisan in nature, Gruters argued last month, addressing the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections.

“And there’s been no time like the last 24 months where we’ve seen how important it is to elect school board members that reflect our values,” he said.

Calling the current system a “shell game,” Gruters said voters often know the political affiliation of school board candidates, even if their party isn’t listed on campaign advertisements or ballots.

And the measure, he said, was a push for more transparency during a time when the political affiliation of school board members was becoming more important to the families they serve.

“You generally know where candidates and elected officials are by looking at whether or not they have an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ behind their name,” Gruters said at the committee meeting. “Usually 80% you could say, without a doubt, what this candidate stands for.”

The Senate committee approved Gruters’ legislation with a 5-4 partisan vote on Nov. 30.

If the proposal earns 60% approval in both the House and Senate in January, the constitutional amendment will then be decided by voters in November 2022.

Manatee school board members weigh in

The School Board of Manatee County voted 3-2 on Dec. 14 to support the continuation of nonpartisan elections, joining the League of Women Voters, the Florida Parent Teacher Association and other organizations that support the current system.

“I defy you to tell me there’s a difference between Democrat and Republican children on the issue of whether two plus two is really four,” said Chairman James Golden, who spearheaded the board’s resolution.

He found support in board member Charlie Kennedy and Vice-Chair Gina Messenger.

Messenger, who has children in the local school system, said it would be bad for public education if more people started voting for board members because of their politics and not their plans to better the school system.

She also responded to comments that Gruters’ proposal would let voters decide whether school board elections should be partisan.

“I hear the argument of allowing the voters to decide, except for I feel like the voters already did decide,” she said, referring to the vote for nonpartisan elections in 1998. “They made a decision because they didn’t want their children’s education made into political fodder.”

And though tensions flared at the beginning of the school year, especially when it came to mask policies and other COVID-19 protocols that turned political, recent history has shown that education is a shared community interest, Kennedy said.

He pointed to the renewal of a one-mill property tax, which passed with overwhelming, nonpartisan support from Manatee County voters in November.

“I’m comfortable with it because we are trying to remove partisanship from our jobs and from the district as much as possible,” he said, supporting Golden’s resolution.

Board member Mary Foreman agreed with the need to keep politics out of school board business. Still, she voted against Golden’s resolution.

She said lawmakers’ push for partisan school board elections was “very political in nature,” and that by issuing a resolution and taking a stance on the issue, the school board was engaging in those politics.

“I don’t see the benefit of the board doing this,” she said.

Board member Chad Choate, who was appointed to the school board by Gov. Ron DeSantis in August, also voted against Golden’s resolution.

The resolution, which ultimately passed, states that “We the Members of the Manatee County School Board resolve that non-partisan School Board elections are in the best interest of public education in Manatee County.”

The best election format, Choate said, is something voters can decide if Gruters’ proposal advances next year.

“I don’t have a problem with asking the people what they want, so I’m not in favor of this resolution,” Choate said. “I don’t feel like it’s an issue to go back to the people and say, ‘Hey, we did this in 1998. Are we still comfortable with the process?’”