Serving on a School Board, 2019-2023: Strengths and Vulnerabilities of a Democratic Institution

Local school governance in the U.S. has evolved in structure and influence over the last century. Today, school governance as an accessible, responsive, and effective democratic institution providing high quality educational outcomes relies on specific political and civic conditions in the broader society that are, at present, deteriorating. This multidisciplinary, descriptive-interpretive interview study centers the perspectives of diverse school board members across a range of Ohio districts regarding how they navigated conditions of political and cultural conflict during the 2019–2023 term. Board members’ perspectives reveal strengths of the institution, including the communal stewardship of shared resources and values in raising and educating healthy children. Their experiences of school board service also reveal vulnerabilities of local control governance, including the multiple barriers to board service and functioning in the present political and cultural environment.