I have been a teacher, a lawyer, a mother, a grandmother, a mother-in-law, a candidate for public office — and then a member of the Utah State Board of Education. I am now also a plaintiff in a politically contentious lawsuit to preserve non-partisan state school board elections.
I believe — as do other plaintiffs, including a Brigham Young University professor, the PTA and Utahns for Public Schools — that party politics should not drive school board elections. Introducing the divisiveness of political parties into public education distracts and polarizes. Partisanship does not inspire innovation, trust or efficiency.
As of the very last minutes of the 2016 legislative session, the election of seven of the 15 current state school board members will depend on the candidates’ loyalty to a single political platform. The 2018 state school board election will be partisan, subject to the outcome of this lawsuit. State school board candidates in 2018 will have to choose a political party and pander to the convention process or gather an outrageous number of signatures in very large districts to become candidates to address public school problems. And those who gather signatures will compete against two candidates backed by the influence and money of political parties.
Political party platforms are designed to label and invoke emotions: “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” “Read my lips, no new taxes.” “Drain the swamp.” “Black lives matter!” The phrases are catchy, but they do not convey nuance or compromise. A successful and productive public education system requires thoughtful collaboration, not twitter exchanges.
Lawsuits rarely solve problems, people do. Despite this unlawyerly statement, I am a first-time plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state for the following reasons:
• The Utah State Constitution made me do it. As a board member, I took an oath to uphold the state Constitution. The Constitution states plainly that no partisan test or qualification shall be required as a condition of employment, admission or attendance in the state’s education system. Also as a school board member, I receive a paycheck issued by the state of Utah, a government reimbursement for expenses and insurance benefits. I am both an elected official and an employee of state government.
• We need to keep our eye on the prize: What helps children learn? Not, how would “my party” have me vote? An updated curriculum, teacher preparation, healthy and safe school environments and equity of opportunity for all children are not partisan issues. The federal government is paralyzed by partisan politics. We cannot afford to be powerless and paralyzed as we decide what helps children learn and thrive.
• A school board must be reasonably efficient. Working with 14 other members is challenging. We differ in age, gender, values, priorities and backgrounds. We usually come together to vote for what best serves Utah children in public schools. We do not need one more artificial label to distract and divide us.
Adding “partisan” to the state board of education fix-it bill in 2016 was a last-minute, desperate effort. Many legislators (from both political parties) understand that the caucus/convention system lacks transparency, order, fairness and restricts access to authentic voter information. The 2016 election, the only democratic and constitutional state school board election in the last 20 years, attracted about 37 candidates in eight districts. In 2018 state school board members should be elected in another democratic and uncomplicated election, allowing Utahns to focus on what our children need to learn and not what polarized political parties dictate they will learn.
Carol Barlow Lear
State School Board member, District 7 (Salt Lake City, UT)
Carol Barlow Lear is a former English teacher, an attorney who represents school districts and charter schools, retired from the Utah State Office of Education, former adjunct professor in the Graduate Department of Education at Utah State University and a current member of the Utah State Board of Education, representing District 7.
