School Board Candidates: Answer to School Leaders First

CBoE + CPAA Candidate Convos run October 6 through October 20. Show up. Bring a colleague. Make them answer.

Election season is here, and board candidates want into our schools. They want photos with our students. They want to stand next to our principals. They want voters to believe they care about public education.

Good. Because we have questions for them… and expect answers. Questions like:

  • Do you understand the work principals and assistant principals do every single day? 

  • Will you uphold our collective bargaining agreement? 

  • Will you engage and listen to school leaders before a board decision lands on the agenda? 

  • And when you say schools need more resources, what exactly will you do to get them?

"We are the individuals directly impacted by what you do. Every decision you make on that board has a direct impact on my ability to do my job."
Kia Banks, CPAA President

That is why we are holding district Candidate Convos starting October 6. We are putting every candidate on the record, giving our members what they need to know, and building the tools to hold board members to their word after the votes are counted.

This is political. We're done pretending otherwise.

Many of us never thought of ourselves as political people. We became principals and APs to lead schools. But the dollars that staff our buildings, the terms of our contract, district policy, and decisions about outside contracts all come from people in elected office. We live with every one of those decisions. So do our students.

We have watched board members fight in public while our schools waited for answers. We have watched the line between governance and interference get blurry. We have walked into conversations about our own schools and found that no one asked the person who leads that school. In a recent CPAA member meeting a colleague offered a frustration with the current process saying:

"We are the people you will be making these decisions for. Your policies and decisions fail when we are not included."

President Banks has been clear that we intend to get ahead of "the blurred lines between governance and interference." A campaign statement saying "I support principals" costs nothing. We want to know what candidates will do when those lines are tested.

They want our support? They will have to earn it.

They all want to visit a school. They want to smile for a photo with students. Giving a straight answer on bargaining rights, school resources, and principal voice is the  real work required of someone representing student interests. To that end, your CPAA union staff has been doing our part for months. We have:

  • Formed a Political Action Committee to review candidates and member input.

  • Sent every candidate a detailed questionnaire - based on MEMBER questions.

  • Created space for board members and candidates to hear directly from school leaders.

Some candidates stepped up. Some did not. We will publish the verified record of who completed the questionnaire and who shows up to a Candidate Convo, so every member can see it for themselves.

READ THE CANDIDATES' QUESTIONNAIRE ANSWERS

READ THE CANDIDATES' QUESTIONNAIRE ANALYSIS

Of the 45 candidates on CPAA’s list, 29 completed our questionnaire. They made time to answer questions from the principals and assistant principals whose work will be shaped by this Board’s decisions. We have yet to hear from the others, and although we hope they will take the opportunity to engage, our responsibility is to share the information as we have it . School leaders deserve to know where every candidate stands on the decisions that affect their schools. Please review the questionnaire record and read the responses below. As Candidate Conversations take place, we will also publish a verified record of who participated and what they said.

We want to see: 

  • Governance.  Oversee the district and stay out of the daily running of our schools.

  • Our contract. Uphold CPAA's collective bargaining agreement and respect the responsibilities of principals and APs.

  • Our voice. Give school leaders a real seat in board and committee discussions before decisions are made.

  • Resources. Tell us how you will work with others to get schools what they need, and name the specific action you will take.

President Banks put it more bluntly:

"Will you keep your nose out of HR relationships in our building? Will you do more than take pictures? What is your plan for actually getting money?"

Every race. Every candidate.

We are asking these questions in tight races and safe seats alike. Incumbency excuses no one. Neither does a comfortable lead. If you want to govern our schools, you answer to the people who lead them.

"If you want the opportunity to talk to the people who make your vision a reality, here's your chance."
Kia Banks

We are keeping the receipts.

We will publish verified summaries of every Convo and keep a running tracker on our website of how each candidate answered and what they committed to. If you miss a Convo, check the tracker. If someone wins a seat and then votes against what they told us, we will show members exactly what they said when they wanted our support.

"When you were running, you said this, and this is not what you're doing. That's what this process gives us."
Kia Banks

Our Governing Board decides endorsements through its own process, and joining a Candidate Convo earns no one an endorsement. Accountability applies to every candidate, whether we endorse in that race or not.

Members, we need you.

  • Save the dates now. Convos run October 6 through October 20, and every CPAA member can attend any of them. 

  • Submit your districtwide question when you register. We are focused on issues that affect schools across the district. For concerns specific to your building, reach out to your auxiliary president, who can help you connect directly with your board member.

  • Bring another principal or AP with you.

  • When a candidate walks into your building, ask them two things: "Did you complete CPAA's questionnaire? Will you join our district's Candidate Convo?"

They are asking for the power to make decisions about our schools. We are asking them to look the people who lead those schools in the eye and tell us what they will do.

"This is about showing these board members who we are as a union, so we can command the respect our union and our members deserve."
CPAA Board Representative

The more of us in the room, the harder we are to ignore.

One Union. One Voice. One Direction.