Support nonpartisan boards

There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]

It's fun to be in charge. In Utah government, that means being a Republican. The GOP calls the shots, runs the show, signs the checks -- everything.

Somebody apparently reminded Provo lawmaker Sen. Curtis Bramble that, in fact, Utah Republican leaders don't control everything. School board races aren't partisan.

But Bramble has a solution for that: Senate Bill 194, which would make local and state school board contests partisan -- we use the word "contests" loosely, of course, since Republicans so habitually run steamrollers over their Democratic opponents throughout most of the state.

Partisan school board races must make perfect sense to Utah's GOP leaders, what with their supermajorities in both the House and Senate.

But this is not a good idea. The custom around the rest of the nation is what Utah has right now: nonpartisan school board races. Voters decide, but without party labels.

It's an exercise in piling on. Historically, Democrats have had a tough time even finding enough candidates to fill a ballot, let alone waging winning campaigns.

So when Bramble says his reason for promoting the legislation is to increase participation in the process, it's a knee-slapper. This is about nothing but further consolidating the GOP grip on all things.

Understand, too, we'd have the same opinion if Democrats were in the driver's seat. Lopsided government tends to be tyrannical.

So in Utah especially, school boards are the last place for partisan politics. We need people in those jobs who are beholden only to students and parents.

We don't need a bunch of political ideologues running for school board and being elected.

If Bramble's bill passes and the governor signs it into law, expect moralistic micromanagers like Bramble's Senate colleague Chris Buttars -- or his puppetmaster Gayle Ruzicka, Utah Eagle Forum boss -- to be running for school board positions and being elected for no other reason than that they are far-right Republicans. Before you can say "Moses rode a dinosaur," there will be school districts banning mention of evolution in classrooms.

As so often happens at the Legislature, this is a solution in search of a problem. The bill's supporters don't see anything wrong with it, of course, because they think Republicans have all the answers.

We hope there are more level-headed lawmakers at the Capitol who will defeat this power grab for school board control.

School boards should be focusing on education, not politics.

Comments

Add a comment...

Name:
Comment:
Security Code:	Type the characters to the left in the box exactly as they appear.
Your IP:	38.103.63.60 This address is recorded for security purposes.