(Source: MIRS.news, Published 11/7/2022) Seven of Michigan’s most-populated counties saw a combined 31% increase in local school board candidates from the 2018 to 2022 midterm elections, according to a count by MIRS.
Whether it was Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Kent, Ingham, Eaton or Kalamazoo counties, every single one saw an increase in school board candidates. Oakland County led the pack with the largest increase over four years. Across 35 school districts, the number of school board candidates increased from 151 in 2018 to 214 in 2022, a 41.7% increase.
Bloomfield Hills School District, West Bloomfield , Huron Valley Schools and Oxford Community Schools all listed at least 10 candidates on their 2022 November general election ballot.
In Wayne County, the number of candidates across 37 districts jumped from 160 in 2018 to 194 in 2022.
Similar increases in Macomb and Kent counties showed numbers jumping from 110 to 124 candidates and 103 to 154, respectively. A list of school district comparisons can be found here.
Michigan Education Association Public Affairs Director Doug PRATT attributed that to more "divisive rhetoric," which began during the pandemic and is only getting worse – filtering into school politics.
School board races have always been important in local communities, but arguments like book banning and limiting curriculum that have divided political candidates at the top of the ticket are also trickling down and drawing more attention to local races, Pratt said.
"They've ignited a lot of passion among people that believe in public education and believe that we need to teach our students an honest view of the world, and not turn these into political battlegrounds," he said.
Robert McCann, executive director for the K-12 Alliance of Michigan, said partisan politics are being injected into school board races "in ways we've never seen before."
He said at the very least, candidates used to agree on the function of school boards as helping schools obtain resources and use them to function, but "we’re seeing candidates running on platforms to make the jobs of educators more difficult."
Pratt said educators and parents are motivated to elect candidates who share their values, but he added that lots of resources are flowing into local races from outside the communities, including dollars from the DeVos family and the Great Lakes Education Project.
"These aren't people who are invested in our communities the way educators and parents are," he said, "so it's really important to do your research."
But Great Lakes Education Project Executive Director Beth DeShone said the increase in candidates is a result of decisions made by a small number of school board members and administrators who didn't listen to parents about stopping pandemic school closures and learning loss.
This is the first election following that, she said, and Michigan is seeing citizens use their voice.
McCann said that partisan discussions, which are often based in mistruths, distract from the work that needs to be taking place in the classroom and from the focus on helping students recover.
"Coming out of two years of pandemic learning loss, we need these additional supports to get back on track," he said. "Regardless of who wins, get back to work."
Both McCann and Pratt agreed it's not a question of why there are more school board candidates, but if come Tuesday, voters will do their homework on a larger slate of candidates to find candidates that match their values.
Ahead of the election, the MEA made a record number of school board candidate recommendations at 329, along with 11 candidates for community college boards of trustees and six candidates for library boards.
And Pratt said "voters are going to need to look very carefully at these crowded ballots, at candidates who are really putting students first versus those who are playing partisan games and trying to divide parents and educators."
