Tennessee State Representative Scott Cepicky (R-Culleoka) has filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, permit school board candidates in the state to campaign as the nominee or representative of a political party.
Cepicky filed the bill for the Tennessee General Assembly’s current special session. The Tennessee Star’s attempts to reach Cepicky on Thursday were unsuccessful.
Hamilton County District 1 School Board member Rhonda Thurman said Thursday that the bill has advantages and disadvantages.
“I have said before that the people running need to declare a party,” Thurman said.
“School board members should declare a party just so people can know who they are and what they think and what their platform is and the direction they want to go on the school board.”
But Thurman said Cepicky’s bill could restrict people who aren’t wealthy or well-connected politically from seeking a school board seat.
“The downside is you will have to have a primary, and that is expensive. That means you will have to run two races instead of just one. School board races are already so expensive. It’s crazy, and I don’t want to cut people out who would make really good school board members,” Thurman said.
“I don’t want to scare them away from running because of the amount of money they will have to raise. Some school board races here last year were $30,000 to $40,000, and that’s crazy.”
Cepicky’s bill, if passed, will have no significant fiscal impact on taxpayers, according to the Tennessee General Assembly’s website.
“School board member elections are held in even-numbered years. In Presidential Preference Primary years, the state reimburses counties for the cost of holding the primary election. However, placing the school board offices on primary election ballots will not result in any additional expenditures to the state or local government,” according to Cepicky’s bill.
“County executive committees are currently allowed to call for primary elections and are encouraged to include the cost of a May primary, in non-Presidential Preference Primary years, in their county budget. Therefore, if a primary has been called, the proposed legislation would not result in additional expenditures for local governments associated with placing school board offices on primary election ballots.”
School board members in Davidson and Williamson counties did not return The Star’s requests for comment before Thursday’s stated deadline.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “School Board Meeting” by KOMUnews. CC BY 2.0.
