JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Schools have become a political battleground.
There are pushes to ban books and efforts to shape the lessons our children are taught.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has played a big role in local school board races backing Republican candidates. He continues to trumpet efforts to ban what he calls “woke” ideas in classrooms.
Now, after more than 20 years, there is a push to place party labels on school board candidates. For more than two decades, Florida school board races have been non-partisan.
But if Amendment 1 passes on the November Ballot, it would again provide for the partisan election of district school board members.
If 60% of voters support the measure, it returns Florida to a time when school board candidates ran under party labels.
The sponsor of the bill, State Rep. Spencer Roach, a Republican from North of Fort Myers, said the measure is designed to provide more information about school board candidates to voters. He said it’s about transparency, not giving one political party an advantage over another.
But opponents of the measure say they worry that, if passed, the amendment will further politicize education. They argue that without partisan school board elections, there can be healthy debate and healthy discussion.
If Amendment 1 is implemented, they argue, people will be pressured to vote based on party affiliation.
Proponents have a much different argument. They say during the COVID-19 pandemic, divisive, politicized school board conflicts began. Why? Because parents all of a sudden had new access to see what their children were learning in virtual classes.
And, some lawmakers argued, many parents were outraged by what they saw as a clash between values taught in school and the values they were teaching their children at home. They see Amendment 1 as an effort to choose candidates who are better aligned with their values.
On “Path to the Polls” we get to the crux of the issue: Will keeping school boards nonpartisan allow for more balance? What better allows for true representation of families? What better allows for a focus on education? Will passing Amendment 1 lead to political wars? And the most important question of all: What is best for our kids, the students?
Political analyst Daniel Cronrath, who is also a teacher, joined me to look at the pros and cons of Amendment 1 on “Vote 2024: Path to the Polls.”
Catch our encore presentation of “Path to the Polls” at 7 p.m. Tuesday on News4JAX+. Or watch any time on News4JAX.com, News4JAX+ and YouTube