A bill that would inject partisan politics into Wyoming school board elections advanced Wednesday despite testimony calling it unnecessary and divisive.
The Senate Education Committee voted 3-2 to pass Senate File 98, “School board trustees-party affiliation.” It now heads to the Senate floor for deliberation.
The bill would require candidates to print their party affiliation on the ballot. School board races have long been nonpartisan, meaning party affiliations don’t appear and there are no primaries.
The bill will make elections easier for voters and increase voter participation, said Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, who sponsored it.
“It provides clear voter alignment when we use partisan labels,” he said, adding that party labels “help voters quickly and reasonably identify candidates whose values and priorities align with their own political beliefs.”
Others disagreed, saying there’s no justifiable reason to inject politics into school board races, where educational experience and knowledge of things like budgeting are what count.
“The vast majority of stuff that comes before a school board is not a partisan sort of issue,” said Brian Farmer, executive director of Wyoming School Boards Association. “What’s the Republican position on a bus route? What’s the Democrat position on school playground equipment? I don’t think that those exist.”
The debate about whether partisan politics have a place in school board elections comes at a time when, like it or not, they already play a growing role. Many Wyoming school board elections during the 2024 general election were defined by races that pitted liberals versus conservatives. Political action committees with deeper pockets in many places orchestrated — and helped fund — races that were once typically one-man-shows.
For the kids?
The mechanism of the bill is fairly simple; it would just require candidates to add their party next to their name on the ballot. Republican Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder both support it, citing transparency concerns.
But others who testified Wednesday decried it as a harmful diversion for voters as well as school board members whose focus should be on education.
“School boards are always focused on the well-being of our children, not political ideologies, and that needs to remain,” said Gail Symons, a Republican politics blogger from Sheridan. “If they are required to prioritize party agendas over local needs, that will undermine the quality of our education.”
Students, families and schools deserve leaders committed to education, not party agendas, Symons said. She also pushed back on the idea that it will help voters be more informed.
“It is not a more informed voter who simply sees an R and votes,” she said. “That is not what being an informed voter is.”
Representatives from the Wyoming School Boards Associations and Wyoming Education Association spoke against the bill, along with the Equality State Policy Center.
Partisanship on school boards is counterproductive, ESPC Executive Director Jenny DeSarro said.
“As we can see in today’s narrative, partisanship continues to increase, and it increases divisiveness,” she said. “When it comes to school and education, it doesn’t seem that there’s a lot of need for partisan ideology.”
Sen. Charlie Scott, R-Casper, disagreed.
“I don’t think the current system is working very well, because I think people are having trouble identifying what the school board candidates really stand for,” Scott said. Scott would support the measure going even further, he said, to require partisan primary school board races.
Committee chair Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanson, a former teacher, said politics have never had a bearing for her as a voter in school board races.
“I want to vote for people in a nonpartisan school board election who really have the kids’ best interests in mind,” she said.
Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, the other no vote, lamented how much acrimony partisanship has brought to all arenas of modern life.
“We are so far down the wrong path, and this just takes us one little step further,” he said.
Olsen, Scott and Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, voted yes. The bill now heads to the Senate floor where it must pass three readings before it can advance to the House.
School boards must be about kids, not about political parties!!!!!
Let’s see how we can entice the least qualified voters possible to do as much damage as possible. I thought we wanted an educated public to improve government.
Soon we will have to provide a cheat sheet so the voters can recognize a colored letter so they know who to vote for. Maybe we can have an auction for our “officials” and the funds raised will be the salary the official receives.
This only benefits the low information voters. If you can’t discern a candidates position without the scarlet “R” next to their name, then that’s a YOU problem.
Low information voters should do some reading instead of just voting for the clowns that say they’re republican.
It’s bad enough that the parties are meddling in nonpartisan elections by endorsing and supporting candidates…. To turn them partisan renders elected officials beholden to their party rather than to constituents. It’s a step in the wrong direction.
No way, there is no need to make school board elections partisan. I submit, a Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, or ??? are all capable of performing well in the position…..their political affiliation is not a rubber stamp on their abilities….Each candidate should be judged on the strengths that they bring to the table. That is done by holding forums with candidates to learn what their goals are and how they plan to achieve them. I’ll go one step further and say that all elected offices, either city or county should be non partisan. Being a Republican or ??? is not a job requirement. Having the knowledge, skills and ability to perform the position is!
Per Sen. Jared Olsen; “It provides clear voter alignment when we use partisan labels,” he said, adding that party labels “help voters quickly and reasonably identify candidates whose values and priorities align with their own political beliefs.”
I call BS. I mostly agree with some members of the GOP, and mostly disagree with other members of the GOP. If you aren’t smart enough to do your own research, maybe you shouldn’t be voting.