Elections, of School Boards, Bond Issues

Elections require eligible voters to cast ballots selecting individuals to policy-making positions and/or governing boards, approving or disapproving fiscal issues, and/or making policy decisions.

Most local school board members are elected officials. However, many states have mixed processes. In states such as California, Illinois, and New York, very large-city school districts such as Chicago and New York City have appointed boards of education. In some states, where school districts have been taken over by the state and/or a mayor has been appointed as superintendent, the mayor appoints the board members. In the district of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, the commanding general appoints the school board. In New Jersey, the Newark, Paterson, and Jersey City school boards are appointed by the chief state school officer (CSSO) and the state board of education.

Usually elected school board members run on nonpartisan ballots; however, there is variation between board members elected at large within a district and board members elected to represent a specific region or area with a local district. State board of education members are either elected or appointed. Many times if the CSSO, that is, state school superintendent, is elected, the state board may be appointed by the governor, and if the state board of education is elected, the CSSO may be appointed.

The southern states have a history of electing local school district superintendents. While this practice has been mostly phased out, some districts in Alabama and Florida have some elected local school district superintendents.

Fiscal issues are often decided through the election process; however, recently instructional issues are also appearing on ballots. In the general election of 2002, voters in 22 of the 50 states decided education issues that involved programs for students from bond issues to increases in funding for education in general. Programmatic or instructional issues concerned teaching of English to non–English-speaking students. Other somewhat related issues concerned voter approval of class size/reduction initiatives. Several states had statelevel school facility bond issue initiatives. Tennessee voters approved a lottery, dedicating funding to education programs. At least two states allowed voters to decide on the use or nonuse of tobacco settlement funds for education.

Funding for school construction and renovation is most often provided through voter-approved bond issues. Local school district bond issues are allowed in most states. Maryland and Virginia have state bond issues, so school districts do not have the power to sell bonds on their own. In eight states, the voter-approved [Page 331]bond issue is the only way to garner funding for school facilities. There is wide variation across the states as to whether a simple majority of those voting, a majority of those eligible to vote, or a supermajority of voters is required for a successful bond issue.

When citizens vote on a bond issue, they are approving a set sum of money to be borrowed through the sale of municipal bonds. The ballot will state not only the dollars to be borrowed but also the specific projects the dollars are to be used for. The school district that has a successful bond issue must place the funds in a capital projects fund. At the same time, the district must set up a debt service bond to repay the bonds and interest over a period of time, usually 15 to 30 years. States regulate how much indebtedness a local district can accrue, thereby limiting the amount of the bond issue. The bond's principal and interest is usually repaid by the levying of property taxes. During the 1990s, only one third or 33% of bond issues were approved by voters.

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