How to Influence School Policies


From the original article on October 12, 2021. Author: CatoTheJunger.

School Boards are more and more in the news these days. Though going to the meetings and making your voice heard at public comment is one way to change policy, another way is to organize candidates to become School Board members.

School Board elections vary in timing and tend to be off month and off year. This leads to lower turnout which can be used to your advantage. Much easier to get 100 votes instead of 1000.

Look up the last couple school board elections on your county clerk's website. See what the average turnout is. You can even pay a small fee to get a record of who is registered to vote: name, party, address, etc in your jurisdiction.

Do a couple of direct mailed fliers (very cheap) and some door knocking for those who you know are likely to vote. Be strategic and tactical with your resources. Time it out a few weeks apart so you don’t over burden them but they know who to vote for.

Practice your elevator pitch. Keep it to about a min, simple, and local. Do all this and I’m confident that your candidates will win and you’ll be able to have a real effect on policy.

PS Once you/they have won, read Robert's Rules of Order. Great way to understand how to run an effective meeting to maximize impact.


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