ASK THE STAFF
Election turnover data By Gary Adkins
Q
uest ion : A re there fewer
Of the approximately 2,000
facing opposition, the success
incumbents on school boards
incumbent school board members
rate declines to about 65 percent,
who likely sought re-election, between
meaning there is about a 2:1 chance
600 and 1,000 will run unopposed.
of re-election.
this year than in most years? Answer: Records maintained by the Illinois Association of School
Of those who face opposition at
The defeat of an incumbent may
Boards suggest it has been 14 years
the polls, anywhere between 50 and
signal voter dissatisfaction with one
since fewer incumbents were returned
58 percent win re-election.
individual board member or the board
to office than at the 2017 school board
as a whole. And sometimes, there
elections in April. While the 2017
may be a variety of reasons leading
count is not final, the numbers are shaping up to be very similar to the 2003 board election, when just 50.1 percent of board incumbents were returned to office. In that year, a total of 1,464 board members were returned to serve another term, far fewer than the total of 1,779 re-elected two years before, or even the 1,711 two years later. At any given time, there are approximately 6,000 school board members in Illinois. Depending on the local election cycle, three or four of a school board’s members are up for the biennial re-election each cycle.
While the mood of the electorate may be fickle, staying in tune with community values and aspirations, and effectively representing them on the board — tenets of IASB’s governance principles — makes more sense than ever.
which may or may not be in their control. Voters don’t have to state their reasons; they just have to vote. In fact, voter turnout may be the single largest factor in the success or failure of a candidate to win or retain their seat. The number of candidates running can also significantly affect the vote tally for any single candidate. As much as we would like to acknowledge it is what a board or board member has done that matters; sometimes it is how the board or board member has done it, or how well it has been explained or adequately
IASB does not track the number
explaining why.
of incumbents who do (or do not) seek re-election, but experience suggests
to defeat of an incumbent, some of
Results can diverge tremendously
While the mood of the electorate
from district to district and year to
may be fickle, staying in tune with
One in three incumbents chooses
year, and national studies suggest
community values and aspirations,
not to seek re-election, which should
that incumbents who have sought
and effectively representing them on
account for about 1,000 new board
re-election are successful about 80
the board — tenets of IASB’s gover-
members being added to the board
percent of the time. Among those
nance principles — makes more sense
membership rolls in Illinois this year.
incumbent school board members
than ever.
that on average:
IASB Director of Communications/ Editorial Services Gary Adkins answers the question for this issue of the Journal.