Alabamians Should Pay Attention To Legislative Vote On Appointed School Board

The Alabama state Constitution is one of the longest working government documents in modern history. The state’s constitution is not only significantly larger than the average state constitution and the US constitution, it is also the longest and most amended constitution still in operation anywhere in the world. Compellingly, if you have the time to read the entirety of the constitution of the state, and code, you’ll find a plethora of odd laws prohibiting anything from an ice cream in your back pocket to fake mustaches that may yield laughter in church. All humor aside, many of the things in the state constitution are weighty and important to the daily functions of state and local government– many of the ballot measures, specifically amendments, to be adjudicated on the March 3 election are included in that slew of important aspects. The most important amendment, in my opinion: legislation to rework the state school board and allow for the governor, with senate confirmation, to appoint the members of the policy board, wielding heightened responsibilities. 

I must start with a full-disclosure moment, the reality is I jump up and down when the legislature passes any single thing of substance. I genuinely enjoy governance that is bold when necessary and find that to be sometimes precisely what lacks in our state’s political sphere. But, I have fundamental concerns and questions about the true intentions and merits of this particular amendment; the electorate should as well.

Firstly, I encourage people to research the appointed bodies found across the state. Entities like the state ethics commission, entirely composed of appointed persons, serves as quite the example of what the product can look in appointed situations. This article is not about the short-comings of that body; so I digress. However, this amendment does practically beg the question for the voters of what product is yielded when the allegiance is no longer on the side of the taxpayers and if the tax payers want to trust what precedence has been set: the product is mediocre, at best. 

I also find it important to note that the issues that I believe are most chiefly in the face of Alabama schools is not who chooses the members, it is simply who the individuals are. Granted, this legislation requires that the members represent the geographical, gender, and racial diversity of the student body but that simply does not go far enough. The state school board needs a student—yes, a radical idea for a largely conservative state, but not radical to a number of states in our union— the premise is as simple as can be: students, the individuals most directly impacted by the products of the school boards’ work, should have a direct say into the policies and processes established for them. The state school board also needs a teacher, someone with the direct and undeniable knowledge of how the regulations set on the dais affects the learning experience. I would be reminisce if I didn’t say that these ideas were proposed by Rep. Terri Collins of Decatur in her own bill, unfortunately that reform died in the house during the 2018 legislative session. 

I must also ask the voters to educate themselves on similar previous requirements for the state school board. The state has already had an appointed school board, in its’ history, a time where appointments were given to friends of the appointees— as everyone expects. If the hope of the drafters of this legislation was to eliminate politics out of the equation, why do they believe this time will sincerely be different? 

Unfortunately, asking the tough questions in today’s political climate is always construed to mean opposition. I implore you to please not misconstrue my intentions, I am not encouraging or discouraging anyone to vote yes or no on this constitutional amendment. The vote is a weighty decision that I hope everyone researches and analyzes for their self. All reform is not good reform. This entire amendment can be lessened to a simple question: is this really the reform that our state school system desperately needs, or a tongue-and-cheek bill labeled as “big-reform,” though it will sincerely change very little.