The Union Label on the Ballot Box

School-board elections are often held at odd times, when no other offices--particularly major ones, like president or governor--are being voted on. [...]roughly two-thirds of registered voters are not parents of school-age children and so have only weak incentives to pay attention or participate. [....

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEducation next Vol. 6; no. 3
Main Author Moe, Terry M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Education Next 01.07.2006
Subjects
Administrative Organization
Boards of Education
Collective bargaining
Educational Experience
Educational Quality
Elections
Federal Legislation
Fringe Benefits
Politics
Public Education
Public schools
Quality of education
School boards
School Districts
School employees
School Personnel
State elections
Teacher Recruitment
Teachers
Teaching
Unions
Voter behavior
Voting
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Summary:School-board elections are often held at odd times, when no other offices--particularly major ones, like president or governor--are being voted on. [...]roughly two-thirds of registered voters are not parents of school-age children and so have only weak incentives to pay attention or participate. [...]the unions sometimes support incumbents who are not as pro-union as the unions would like in order not to alienate an eventual winner. * Because voting patterns are shaped by the political culture of a district, unions in conservative districts sometimes find themselves supporting candidates who are less pro-union than they would like in order not to lose. * After election to the school board, the experience of being on the board--and part of "management"--seems to make members somewhat less pro-union over time; as a result, the unions cannot count on gaining complete control of school boards even when they are continually successful in elections.
ISSN:1539-9664
1539-9672