VOTE “NO” ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO APPOINT BOE

VOTE “NO” ON CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO APPOINT BOE

The overused canard regarding insanity- doing the same thing and expecting different results- notwithstanding it is even more insane to do something different without being reasonable sure it’s change for the better.

That’s why we urge you to vote “no” on the state constitutional amendment to appoint members of the Board of Education (BOE) rather than the current system of voting for them.

Proponents argue that allowing the governor to appoint the BOE will add “accountability” and that currently no one knows who the candidates are so electing them is not working.

But what accountability is there in moving the process from a direct election to a one degree removed from one where accountability comes only every four years- and, in the case of two, four-year term governors, only after the first four years- and is mixed with every other issue with which the governor has dealt.

Gubernatorial appointees tend to be political arrangements and are, more often than not, used to reward cronies and campaign supporters and contributors rather than “the best and the brightest” with expertise on the area of oversight of the board on which they sit.

The answer is to make sure that the BOE races receive the same attention that the more “glamorous” races do. The media has a disgraceful record on this as do community groups who routinely shun invitation for BOE candidates at the various forums they sponsor.

For an excellent treatise on other problems with an appointed BOE please read Larry Geller’s commentary Elected or appointed school board? Better to work on job creation

Just because a system is “broke” doesn’t mean that just changing it will “fix it”. And no one has given any indication that this change will fix anything- and it could make things a lot worse.

Vote “no” to change for the sake of change and defeat the measure to appoint the BOE.