Decisions should be more responsive to local needs and preferences.
In “Merrick Garland’s Federal Offense” (Oct. 7), the editorial board questions the attorney general’s intervention into local school-board meetings to investigate what the National School Boards Association describes as parental activity akin “to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.” But there’s a broader story here.
School-board meetings have indeed become heated culture-war battlefronts over contentions like Covid-19 policies and race-driven pedagogical modes. But the tension likely stems, at least in part, from some parents feeling misrepresented by the school boards and local officials elected to represent them. Turnout for school-board elections is usually a minuscule 10%-15%.
Continue reading the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal
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Michael Hartney is assistant professor of political science at Boston College and author of a Manhattan Institute report, Revitalizing Local Democracy: The Case for On-Cycle Local Elections
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
