SCHOOL BOARD INCUMBENT DEFEAT IN PARTISAN ELECTIONS
| Pages | 195-202 |
| Date | 01 February 1973 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009700 |
| Published date | 01 February 1973 |
| Author | FRANK W. LUTZ,PATRICK D. LYNCH |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XI, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER, 1973
SCHOOL BOARD INCUMBENT DEFEAT
IN PARTISAN ELECTIONS
FRANK
W.
LUTZ AND PATRICK
D.
LYNCH
This research replicated earlier research done in non-partisan school district
elections, concerning the effect of school board member incumbent defeat on
non-voluntary superintendent turnover. In earlier research incumbent defeat was
related to involuntary superintendent turnover at the .001 level. It was felt that
the partisan (Democratic-Republican) nature of school board elections in
Pennsylvania might change the nature of this relationship and offer some insight
into the effect of partisan politics on the local politics of education. Based on the
research reported in this article it does not appear that partisan elections have the
predicted influence on the politics of local school districts. No partisan predictors
supplied a more significant relationship with non-voluntary superintendent turnover
than the general category of incumbent defeat regardless of partisan relationships.
INTRODUCTION
One need no longer begin a discussion of the politics of education by
pointing out that education is a political process. That point now seems
clearly established, but the nature of that political activity still remains
unclearly defined. While investigating local school politics, the actual
purpose of this investigation was to determine how partisan politics affect
the nature of educational politics usually played in non-partisan arenas.
This research investigated a well-established phenomenon in the
non-partisan politics of education as it operated in Pennsylvania, a state
electing school board members within the political process at regular
primary and general elections by casting votes for Democrat, Republican,
or independent candidates.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
It is hardly a startling revelation that local school boards exercise
considerable power in educational decision making. But the process of this
exercise of power has generally been held to be non-political. A year long
participant-observer study1 of a school board showed this process to be
generally non-partisan but far from non-political. Three variables emerged
as extremely interesting in this case: 1) incumbent school board defeat, 2)
superintendent-board conflict, 3) involuntary superintendent turn-over.
DR. LUTZ is currently Professor and Director, Division of Education Policy Studies,
at the Pennsylvania State University. Along with numerous journal publications, he
has both written and edited books dealing with educational policy matters.
DR. LYNCH, Chairman of the Educational Administration Section of the Division of
Education Policy Studies, is also Director of the Native American Administrator
Training Program at the Pennsylvania State University.
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