School Board and Trustee Elections 2015

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 To improve our lives To make every public school great for every student To solve our problems To move our agenda!

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 They determine education policy, funding distribution, and our salaries, benefits and working conditions. Education professionals cannot afford to stay silent while these critical decisions are being made.

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Either we fight to influence policy... Or we leave the field to our adversaries and become the victims of the decisions that others make without our input.

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 The election... The candidates... The issues... The process…

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Determine the candidate’s philosophy Seek out the candidates views on specific issues Outline the Association’s goals and priorities Clarifying areas of concern

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Information about the campaign Help determine what form of support the candidate wants Answer any questions or concerns the candidate may have

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 The Candidate Make them comfortable Invite all candidates Pay attention to more than verbal and written responses Interview candidates separately

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 The Team: Select a chairperson to lead the interviews Train members of the team on what to expect, what to do and how the process works Use the same interview team for similar interviews Provide name tags, or badges to identify each team member

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 The Process: Make sure candidates are clear on the process and how they will be notified Interview candidates separately Complete the tally sheet immediately upon completion of the interview Inform all candidates of the Association’s final decision

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Do not argue or be combative with the candidate Let the candidate do most of the talking Do not let the candidate interview the team Do not commend the candidate for answers given during the interview Do not guide or tip off candidates concerning any answers

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Training Financial support GOTV help Encouragement Make sure you know what is allowable under your state law!

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 What the Heck is GO Television And will it be as successful as MTV?

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 The process of getting your voters to the polls Your voters – not all voters Remember 50%+1

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Small turnout!!

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Who are your identified or targeted voters? When and how are voters voting?  Election Day?  Early voting?  Absentee?

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Door-to-Door or ONE-to-ONE Phone calls – volunteer or paid Direct mail Lit drop or leafleting

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Personal contact Labor intensive Effective

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Labor intensive The more personal, the more effective Volunteer calls

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 More effective with targeted audience

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Expensive Timing Most effective with base

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Door-to-door or one-to-one Volunteer phone calls Leafleting targeted audience Direct mail Robocalls and have no detectable effect on voter turnout

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Are you going to run an absentee program? What is the law? Is it worth the resources ?

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Continue to call and contact those that have not voted, especially those in your local

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Identify your voters Get them out to vote 50% +1 Victory party!

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Start Where They Are …………… Not Where You Are

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Self-Contained Value Systems Experts on Specific Systems Career Ladders Informal Vs. Formal Decision Making Rewards and Punishment

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Bright Hardworking Unresponsive to Pressure Detached & Objective Responsive to the People Potential City, County, or State Elected Office Holder

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Ignorant About Our Issues Average Ambitious Inconsistent Unresponsive

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Most are conscientious Brighter than average Trying to do the right thing, as they see it

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 They are more responsive to pressure than they think More likely to do things for people they know and trust

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Board members think our role is to provide input they balance against others to make an objective decision.

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Our role is really to persuade them to do what we want them to do.

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 The desire to win election is the factor that makes representative government representative The most important factor deciding what policies pass the school board is who sits there and how they interact with their administrators.

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Group 1 Those who know and care about the issue and are with you Group 2 Those who know and care about the issue and are against you

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Group 3 Those who are not very interested or informed about the issues This group usually comprises the deciding vote of the school board Focus persuasion efforts on these people

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Most work on a school board is not controversial or dramatic Board members are in the business of not making people mad

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Taking any action on a controversial issue will anger someone Convincing board members to move on a tough issue is difficult

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Getting them to act your way and against someone else is even more difficult

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Information-based Coalition-based Relationship-based Power-based

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 You need a combination of these working effectively to succeed over the course of a school year

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 You can’t win everything Pick your fights carefully You should choose tactics appropriate to the issue and board member

School Board and Trustee Elections 2015 Your job has two parts: 1.Interpreting your needs to the board member 2.Interpreting school board behavior to your members