Partisan School Board Election Bill gets Final OK from Senate

http://le.utah.gov/
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865622246/Partisan-school-board-election-bill-gets-final-OK-from-Senate.html

Since our recent trip to the Capitol Building, I looked up some of the current bills being introduced and discussed in the House and Senate. One of the current bills being debated has to do with partisan School Board elections. According to the article, many Senators supported this bill introduced by Senator Jackson, but the article fails to say what the benefits of such of a bill would be. On the other hand, many constituents are worried about what this would mean. Because of the Hatch Act, federal employees cannot run in partisan elections, so this would restrict many of the people that could potentially run for the school board. The bill passed the Utah Senate this week, and will be introduced in the House soon. Because the bill would only apply to school districts with a minimum of 50,000 students, only four districts are affected: Davis, Alpine, Granite, and Jordan.

I personally don't think that partisan elections for the school board is the right path, and many people in Utah agree. We shouldn't be concerned about party identification when it comes to public education, and making elections partisan means that many potential and qualified candidates would no longer have a chance. Also, those that don't identify strongly with a party would not have a chance, despite their experience in education. I think school board elections should remain non-partisan, and candidates should be elected based on their experience and qualifications.