These school board races are included in the May 7th election
Note: Scroll down to see which districts have school board seats on the ballot.
Toplines and Key Facts:
- Depending on where you live, your May 7th ballot may include local school board races. Check your ballot at vote411.org.
- School board elections are instrumental in determining the future of education for Texas children.
- Texas Republicans are attacking truth in the classroom with book bans and censorship campaigns.
- As far-right extremists push their culture wars into our schools, Texas progressives must turn out and vote in local school board races.
Once considered some of the few positions untainted by partisan politics, school board seats have become a major point of contention in Texas. The proliferation of classroom censorship by the far-right in the last year began a new trend: buying positions on school boards to ensure conservative control of school lesson plans.
Several of the races listed below involve candidates who showed up to school board meetings to advocate for LGBTQ+ book bans. These bans are based on the GOP’s sexualization of LGBTQ+ folks and not on the actual content of books.
Other conservative school board candidates have been strong advocates for classroom censorship on the topic of race. They have accused teachers of “indoctrinating” children just for including lesson plans that mention race at all. Critical race theory (CRT) is not taught at the grade school level, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from turning it into an issue to rally their base around.
Culture wars over race and sexuality are nothing but an attempt by the far-right to withhold valuable knowledge from Texas children. Knowledge that would not only prepare them for the future but help them improve Texas for generations to come.
When considering the importance of education, keep in mind that these kids cannot vote. They do not have the means to protect themselves. A rare few have the opportunity and resources to speak out against Republican attacks on their education and identities. If voters don’t step in to stop the conservative takeover of our classrooms and local offices, their censorship plans will succeed.
A key point of concern in Texas’ school board elections has been an increase in financial support from party-affiliated PACs. While school board candidates are technically listed as nonpartisan, a glance at their campaign platforms and supporters reveals a different story.
In one extreme example, as pointed out by NBC News, “a conservative school board candidate running in the affluent Eanes Independent School District in Austin has raised more than $160,000 for his campaign — on par with what some candidates spend to win seats in the Texas Legislature.”
This unprecedented fundraising is why it’s so important to show up to vote on Election Day this Saturday, May 7. Check out Vote411.org to learn more about your school board candidates.
Unlike other races, these candidates do not have D or R listed next to their names, so there’s no differentiating them without prior research. Read up, show up, and ensure the future of Texas doesn’t depend on what Texas Republicans decide is worth learning about.
School districts with school board seats up for election:
DONATE
Your donation supports our media and helps us keep it free of ads and paywalls.
