Kansans understand that moving school board elections to the fall, which the legislature voted to do last session, is related to the problem described in this article, right? Supportive school boards are an obstacle to the privatization of public education. Moving elections from the spring, when more moderate voters turn out in higher percentages, to the fall, with primaries in August (where we generally see a higher turnout of extremists) is one way to try to change the makeup of school boards. An influx of out of state money supporting challengers with a privatization agenda is another way.
“For years now we’ve watched school board races around the country attract a lot of money from donors who don’t actually live in the state where the elections are taking place…
“Why? It’s part of an effort by school reformers and their financial backers to elect like-minded public officials to help spur corporate school reform around the country.”
See the film Education, Inc. for how this was accomplished in Douglas County, Colorado. http://edincmovie.com