Does school board turnover matter? Revisiting critical variables in the Dissatisfaction Theory of American democracy

Abstract

The frequent turnover of school board members in the US represents a concern for many educational practitioners who worry about the discontinuity of leadership, leading to negative impacts on students and staff. School board member turnover is also a key variable in studies of democratic theories of public school governance. Using descriptive and comparative quantitative methods, through a survey of 176 school superintendents in Washington State, USA, data were collected on why school board members retire and resign. The purpose of the study was to rank the reasons given for school board turnover, delineate between political and apolitical turnover, and compare turnover results by district size and rate of superintendent turnover. Results indicated that in 807 school board turnovers from 1993-2000, 73% were apolitical turnover, with politically-motivated turnover and defeat increasing with district enrollment. Generally, superintendent turnover increased as politically-motivated school board turnover increased and districts grew in enrollment. However, superintendent turnover was highest in schools of 0-500 enrollment, despite the lowest rate of politically-motivated school board turnover, and lowest in schools of 5000-9999 enrollment with nearly the highest rate of politically-motivated school board turnover and defeat. The study concluded that unique contextual factors have a major impact on results in school governance studies and are difficult to measure with traditional quantitative methods and analysis.

Speaking out in public: citizen participation in contentious school board meetings

“…Zeigler et al (1974) made this point more than 30 years ago in a study of local school districts. The 'dissatisfaction theory of democracy' (Lutz and Iannaccone, 1987; see also Alsbury, 2004), in fact, argues that participation in school districts needs to be thought about in a multi-year time frame that recognizes the reasonableness of different levels of participation across time. Citizens, the dissatisfaction theory argues, will turn out when they have concerns.…”

Roles and responsibilities of local school board members in relation to student achievement

“…This study was also built upon numerous other studies (Ainley & McKenzie, 2000;Alsbury, 2004;Brown et al, 1985;Campbell et al, 1965;Greene, 1990;Hofman, 1995;Kerr, 1964;Kirst, 1994Kirst, , 2002Lutz, 1980;Parelius, 1982;Steltzer, 1974;Wirt & Christovich, 1989;Wirt & Kirst, 1982) that have provided evidence of the impact of various contextual factors and characteristics on the beliefs and behaviors of board members. This…”

Building and Maintaining Relationships Between Superintendents and School Board Members: The Approach of Two Public School Superintendents

“…Perhaps the limited participation of electorates in school board elections is perpetuated by the fact that incumbents are often defeated. Alsbury (2007) suggested board turnover and lack of interest was connected to dissatisfaction theory (Iannaccone & Lutz, 1970). According to this theory, when people are dissatisfied with school boards, they will take action to cause board defeat or resignation.…”