SPREADING THE FIELD: SCHOOL BOARDS AND EDUCATION REFORM

In the plan we have proposed, we discuss “spreading the field” in Harris County by putting a precinct chair in every precinct and a candidate on the ballot for every office. This approach includes promoting candidates even for officially non-partisan positions, including local school boards.

There are three reasons for promoting candidates for school boards. First, we care deeply about education and local government. Republicans have talked for decades about the need to address the problems with our educational system, and with keeping the power over that system at the local level. It makes no sense to continue, year after year, to argue these policy points if we do not actually promote candidates for offices that actually have the power to address them. If we truly believe that improving education is the key to solving so many of our economic and social problems, and believe that the effort to improve education should be directed locally, then we Republicans need to participate in that local effort.

Second, effective outreach requires establishing roots in every community and neighborhood. The one institution in American life in which every person participates at some point in their life is school—either as a student, a parent, a teacher, or a taxpayer. The school is the heart and soul of the community in which it sits. If we sincerely want to reach-out to the members of every community in this county, we need to be involved in the schools. To win the allegiance of our neighbors, we have to be good neighbors.

Third, recruiting good candidates for county, state, and federal offices requires a “farm team.” By learning to be good public servants in their neighborhoods, prospective candidates learn the facts and skills they will need for future office. If we are to remain competitive politically in Harris County, Republicans need to groom a new generation of candidates, and the best way to do that is to cultivate a new generation of local public servants.

So, by getting involved in local races in each neighborhood we get a “three-for”: we promote the principles we cherish; we reach new communities with our message; and we train a new generation of Republican candidates.