Bill requiring partisan school board elections halfway to becoming Hoosier state law
If SB 287 makes it through the State House of Representatives and is signed by the governor, local voters in the state of Indiana would choose school board members in partisan elections that follow the same primary process that other partisan offices do.
The bill has already been passed by the State Senate, where it was first introduced.
Indiana voters now choose local school board members in nonpartisan elections, where no party affiliation is indicated on the ballot.
Last week, the House Committee on Elections and Apportionment heard testimony on the bill.
This Wednesday, the committee could vote on its recommendation to the full House. The committee's meeting is set for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday (March 12), with SB 287 listed third on the agenda. Wednesday's hearing will be live streamed.
The bill was authored by Sen. Gary Byrne, a Republican representing Senate District 47, which includes Harrison and Washington counties, and most of Floyd County, north of Louisville.
Besides the partisan question, SB 287 addresses the annual compensation for school board members. The current limit under state law is $2,000 a year. The bill calls for an increase to no more than 10% of the lowest starting salary of a teacher employed by the school corporation.
Under the current collective bargain agreement, the starting salary for a new Monroe County Community School Corporation (MCCSC) teacher with a bachelor's degree is $57,750. That means school board member pay could almost triple, from $2,000 to $5,775.
When the full Senate took its roll call on SB 287 in mid-February, the 26–20 tally was closer than a strict party-line split, which would have been 40–10 in favor of Republicans. That's because 12 Republicans joined eight Democrats in opposing the bill.
Proponents argue that party affiliation on the ballot will increase school board voter turnout, and give voters a simple vehicle to understand candidates' ideologies. At the committee hearing last Wednesday (March 5), Byrne said, "Knowing which political party a candidate identifies with will help Hoosiers know what kind of principles that person would apply to their position on the school board. School boards are already partisan, and it's more vital than ever that we recognize that." He said that school politics are hidden, and need to be brought out via party affiliation of school board members.
Critics of SB 287 express concerns for increased politicization of school boards. Sen. Shelli Yoder and Rep. Matt Pierce, both Democrats whose districts include big parts of Bloomington and Monroe County, shared their criticism of the bill at a legislative update last Saturday (March 8), hosted on Zoom by the League of Women Voters.
Yoder, who voted against the bill in the Senate, said she was concerned about the bill making partisan school board elections a requirement rather than an option. A similar bill (HB 1230), which started in the House, would have allowed candidates to choose between indicating a party affiliation on the ballot or choosing a nonpartisan listing on the ballot. HB 1230 failed in the House.
The wording of HB 1230 included a way to challenge a school board candidate's claim that they are affiliated with a party, if the candidate did not vote in the two most recent primary elections in Indiana held by the party with which the candidate claims affiliation.
The voting histories of current MCCSC board members include participation only in Democratic Party primaries. Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation (RBBCSC) board members have a mix of past participation in Republican and Democratic Party primaries.
Yoder thinks SB 287 "has some momentum to actually pass … and maybe even go into law."
Pierce said he believes the House's decision to let HB 1230 fail was a "political calculation where they know that it's a controversial bill." The calculation was to for the House to let its own bill fail, and instead deal with the topic of partisan school board elections in the context of SB 287. Pierce said that while he hasn't heard directly from anyone, he thinks "it probably is likely to pass this year."
Pierce indicated that even if SB 287 passes the House, it could be amended to more closely resemble HB 1230.
Currently, school board candidates file petitions of nominations with just 10 signatures. According to the Legislative Services Agency's fiscal impact statement on SB 287, the bill would require minor party and independent school board candidates to collect signatures equal to 2% of the number of voters that voted in the latest Secretary of State election for that election district. In Monroe County, which includes both MCCSC and RBBCSC, 59,855 people voted in the November 2024 primary election.