Feeling the fury of parents

The NASB has given itself a good scare. Not only has it watched mad wokiness drag down a stunning number of candidates over the last six or seven months, it lost about 40% of its members (and revenues, more to the point) in the furious reaction to its collaborating with the White House to sic the federal judicial system on uppity parents. Some of the NASB members, it seems, didn't appreciate the blowback from its characterizing parents as domestic terrorists for having the effrontery to speak up at school board meetings. Parents should be seen to drop off the bums on seats, not heard.

The NASB official who seemed to have the chummiest relationship with White House staff was given the ax early. NASB then followed up with an outside audit that established two valuable points: the White House's fingerprints were all over this disgraceful episode, and the NASB board itself can make a case that it was cut out of the loop by a rogue official who's now been safely defenestrated. Whether or not the latter claim is true, the NASB certainly making some very different policy noices these days:
The organization said it was implementing several actions based on the review’s findings. These include amending its constitution to confine its advocacy to “a united, nonpartisan national movement.”
The NSBA also said it would adopt a resolution that opposes federal intrusion and expansion of executive authority by the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies in the absence of authorizing legislation.
Soccer moms vote. I doubt this travesty contributed as much to President Biden's amazing slide in the polls as the Afghanistan debacle, inflation, or the empty shelves where infant formula should be, but any professional political advisor can read the tea leaves in the many elections that have swung against educrats on school boards and in state houses.

4 comments:

  1. The TEXAS Association of School Boards (daughter of the NATIONAL team) sells a number of governance tools to TX's local "independent" school district boards. These include on-line publication of policy documents; a "board book" organizing meeting agendas and minutes; an a sort of brokerage service suite to help buy insurance, find senior management employees, and manage long term investments.

    There are good political reasons a local board might like to leave TASB but a dependency on the tools makes it more difficult. It's very much like relying on a labor union for benefits even when one strongly disagrees with the union's lobbying efforts. Or taking AARP discounts on travel and auto insurance while deploring their ideas about Social Security.

    All that in background -- the fact that some districts ARE overcoming those reluctances and leaving is VERY remarkable.

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  2. I think this is a very real short-term victory. My worry is that this is an established bureaucracy which already has too many in place in Pournelle's second category of those whose master is the organisation, not the organisation's goals. They will regroup and move those members who still support the idea of good school governance out. The trend is ever-downward with bureaucracy.

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  3. ...the NASB certainly making some very different policy noices these days....

    Time and concrete, measurable actions will indicate whether the NASB is serious or just blowing more smoke. One mechanism for encouraging the NASB to be serious in these implementations and resolutions is the 40% of members who've left staying gone until the NASB demonstrates over a substantial period of time that it's acting in accordance with its words.

    Eric Hines

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  4. I was thrilled this morning, however, to read that the Texas ASB has just withdrawn from the NASB. I really didn't think they'd do that, the little lily-livers. Good on them. They announced that they changed their minds after this report came out. They also said, however, that individual school board members who wanted to continue to attend NASB would be welcome to do so--something they worked out with the NASB.

    Starve the beast.

    https://texasscorecard.com/state/texas-association-of-school-boards-to-leave-national-organization/

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