Big money is targeting school board races this election. Our reporters investigate why.
The races are hyperpartisan. Political action committees are pouring money into campaigns. Candidates are seeking high-profile endorsements.
Some of the most charged elections this midterm aren't for national or even statewide offices but for local school boards.
"For much less than what it would cost them to influence a seat in the House or Senate, these PACs are putting thousands of dollars at a time – sometimes just hundreds – into races for local school boards and, as a result, changing education on a national scale," USA TODAY reporters Erin Mansfield and Kayla Jimenez wrote this week.
USA TODAY Network journalists explain what is happening and why:
Who is funding, supporting school board candidates?
On Nov. 8, voters in more than two dozen states will be choosing school board members. A sampling of the players working to influence them:
A super PAC called the 1776 Project PAC leads the way, spending more than $2.6 million, emphasizing opposition to lessons related to racial and social justice. It has candidates in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Texas and Virginia.
Moms for Liberty has more than 200 chapters across 40 states. The local groups operate independently but share concerns over issues such as vaccine mandates and how districts should teach about race and sexuality. Moms for Liberty describes itself as nonpartisan, writes USA TODAY education reporter Chris Quintana, but its affiliates tend to endorse conservative candidates.
In Michigan, the Get Our Kids Back to School PAC says it supports only candidates who don’t back any mandates or restrictions, like those in place during the pandemic, report Arpan Lobo and Dave Boucher of the Detroit Free Press. It also “seeks candidates who will push back the tide of erosion on the traditional curriculum,” listing "wokeness" as something damaging public education.
On the left, they report, Progressive Lakeshore typically stays away from local school board races. But the organization switched course this year, endorsing a trio of candidates running for school board seats.
Indianapolis Star reporter Caroline Beck detailed 13 PACs seeking to influence local school board elections. "Some of the PACs support things like more parental rights in schools," she wrote, "which has been a calling card for groups that are concerned that liberal ideologies and critical race theory are infiltrating schools."
Why have school board races become so hyperpartisan?
School board races give regular people an outlet for their frustrations about the direction of their country, Mansfield says. "You can be a part of this larger movement of Republicans pushing back against broader themes involving racial and social justice that you hear national figures criticize."
Gov. Ron DeSantis took unprecedented steps to influence Florida's nonpartisan school board races this year and largely was successful, report Zac Anderson and Kathryn Varn of USA TODAY Network – Florida, with 25 of his 30 endorsed candidates winning or advancing to a runoff. He touts his efforts as a way to safeguard parental rights.
Ryan Girdusky is the head of the 1776 Project PAC. He told our reporters that education policy has always been political, with teachers unions ejecting communists in the 1940s and evangelicals attempting to take over school boards in the 1970s. Teachers unions today, he said, also spend money on local races and have endorsed candidates for years.
“I am just following a very long trend,” Girdusky said. “It’s intrinsically political, public education."
He added: "It always has been.”
In Florida: Gov. Ron DeSantis turns Florida into GOP education laboratory with focus on race, LGBTQ issues
In Kentucky: Big money is targeting school board races this election. Our reporters investigate why.
What is at stake in school board elections?
Many of the battles are over what is taught and said about race, history, sex or sexual orientation.
"At stake is the learning experience for millions of American students," Quintana says. "Students of colors may learn about their history based on policies set by school board members running against the conceptual threat of critical race theory. And transgender students may attend districts where board members are actively hostile to serving them."
And the battles go beyond culture wars.
"Some corners of the GOP have actively worked to make these a battleground or place for takeover, in part to motivate voters in general and in part to push specific policies, such as school choice," says USA TODAY education editor Nirvi Shah.
How might charged-up school board races influence other elections?
Former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon declared that the path to save the nation began at the school board level – and the GOP adopted this strategy, says USA TODAY White House editor Romina Ruiz.
"There's a spillover effect," she says. "This election cycle, school board races are focused on the most contentious issues in the culture wars. And, 'down-ballot voting' for one party or the other starts there."
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Nicole Carroll is the editor-in-chief of USA TODAY and president of the Gannett news division. The Backstory offers insights into our biggest stories of the week. If you'd like to get The Backstory in your inbox, sign up here. Reach Carroll at EIC@usatoday.com or follow her on https://twitter.com/nicole_carroll.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: School board races dominate midterms, and super PACS are funding them
