The big news on the education front in Polk County is the end of non-partisan elections for the school board. In a move that almost no one in the county thought was an even marginally bright idea, the state legislature voted this summer to make elections for seats on the Board of Education partisan races. Like it not changes are on the way for Polk Schools.
So, I thought it would be a good time to check in once again with Polk Schools Superintendent Aaron Greene to see how things stand this year and establish a baseline against which future change can be gauged.
He’s not in a position to speak about the merits, or lack thereof, of introducing party politics to our schools, but he can talk about things like the extra short summer break our students just had, the situation with bus drivers, and what his staff is going to do with all the bonus tax revenue that County Commissioners approved for the schools in this year’s budget. We talked in his office in Columbus at the end of the first week of class.
Further reading:
Things could be a lot worse:
https://www.them.us/story/idaho-teacher-of-the-year-flees-rightwing-attacks
Partisans school boards are a growing trend:
https://www.wfae.org/education/2023-03-14/will-partisan-school-board-elections-keep-growing-in-nc
https://my.aasa.org/AASA/Resources/SAMag/2018/Jun18/Board-Savvy.aspx
