On the face of it, the November 2012 Board of Education election fulfilled the promise of greater voter participation, with the top vote-getter drawing 4,419 votes to an 867 high in the April 2011 election.
The move from April to November was controversial for which entity made the decision, namely the City Council and not the school board. See Plaintalker's post on the vote here. But now the controversial issue may be whether the school board election is just a proxy contest for political power brokers. Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green announced a slate at party headquarters on June primary night and it became evident that the other three June 4 filers for school board seats were backed by "kingmaker" John Campbell.
Green announced his slate generically as ”a black female, a Latino (sic), and a white male gay.” They were named as Deborah Clarke, Anabella Melgar and Richard Lear. Board President Wilma Campbell, David Rutherford and Frederick Moore Sr. also filed for the three three-year terms.
Voters can pick any three, regardless of slates, and it is up to candidates themselves to pitch for votes based on their reasons and qualifications for serving on a board that serves more than 8,000 students and governs a $177 million budget. The winners on Nov. 5 will take office on Jan. 1 under the new election rules.
While it is obviously easier to run on a slate with political backing than to run on one's own resources, there is the lingering notion that the backers will have some say and influence in board decisions and possibly have access to privileged information. Board members can invoke their code of ethics, but the old saying, "dance with the one who brung you," may come into play.
The election is less than two weeks away and while Wilma Campbell is seeking her fourth term on the board, Moore has less than one year's experience and the others are all newcomers. Voters will have to glean what they can from mailers and forums to make their three choices.
This year marks the halfway point in the experiment with November school board elections. After four years, a district can revert to April elections if desired. Last year, the change resulted in an extra eight months' service for outgoing members who were elected in April 2009. That pattern will continue until those elected in April 2011 leave office. If the board or City Council should decide to revert, the terms would be truncated until all nine board members were on the same election timetable.
--Bernice
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It's worth noting, too, that Jerry Green and the vast resources of the Democratic Party Machine (their $$$), are much more politicizing for the BOE than the Campbells, individuals that, while well known (social capital) do not hold office nor have access to those funds, paid employees, headquarters, etc etc. One is a party machine, the other are just well-known citizens.
ReplyDeleteYou are kidding right? Wilma may be a well known citizen, but what has she done or any of them done for the school system. We are still a failing school system. And believe me, Jerry may have vast resources, but none of them are going to the School Board election.
DeletePick your machine, pick your poison. Did you know there's a park in Dallas called Campbell Green? It's more than troubling these two antagonists play their game out both in municipal and school board elections, and this year we've got the rivalry spilling over to the Assembly race, though it's Junior Campbell, not Senior, in that one. As far as the BOE is concerned, these slates, ostensibly in a non-partisan election, speak not to quality of education, but manipulation for administrative control of large budgets, contracting and hiring privileges. The losers? Plainfield's school children particularly and property owners generally. Probably nothing holds down home values more than lousy schools.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Green had the BOE moved to a November vote? So he can run his candidates for school board along with his city council and other candidates in hopes of BOE candidates winning so he can gain control of the school board. Green could care less about the kids or Plainfield and their needs.
DeleteGreen could care less about the kids or Plainfield and their needs, and that also allies to our current BOE.
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