The St. Charles County Council passed a resolution in support of a plan in the Missouri Legislature that would move local school board elections from April to November.
Council members Terry Hollander and Patti York voted NO on the resolution, but the rest of us—the majority—voted yes.
I’m glad we’re showing our support for the bill that already passed through the state Senate. (Representative Richard West is carrying it through the state House.)
This is important for many reasons: First and foremost, in the last several elections, not one conservative school board candidate has won an election.
Think about that.
That outcome is NOT a reflection of who we are as a county. The majority of the residents in St. Charles County are conservative. This is a conservative county, and when a fair sampling of the people show up, the results are conservative.
The school districts are not being represented appropriately, based on the politics of the community. We are not getting the voter turnout in April to measure what most people want in a school board.
Certain organizations like the very large National Education Association (NEA) union lean extremely left and often push social policies that are NOT in the best interest of the kids, such as boys in girls’ sports, and a unisex bathroom policy.
A high majority of the residents in this county would not choose those policies.
The NEA promotes school board candidates to push agendas that benefit the teachers’ salaries and benefits, but often what’s not in the best interest of the district’s budget.
To go further, the elections should be partisan, so voters will have a better idea of what to expect. For those who say that we shouldn't make the school elections partisan, I say the NEA has already made it partisan with all their left-leaning ideals that do not benefit the best interests of the children.
Also, the state should push for moving tax increase ballot issues to November as well to get full participation. In today’s busy lifestyle, most people don’t take time to vote in April.
There’s just not a lot of public awareness about the April ballot, compared to the November ballot.
Right or wrong, that’s the reality. We shouldn’t let special interests take advantage of this and sneak things through on the April ballot that wouldn’t have a chance in November.
November is a good month to decide things that matter. April is a sneaky month, and I’m tired of people trying to sneak things past voters. I support what the Missouri Legislature is doing to make this right.
Respectfully,
County Councilman District 2
Joe Brazil
