SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS: Different this time around...

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Today (Tuesday, Nov.8, 2011) we in Michigan, have our local elections and in Canton, MI we are electing new school board members.

BUT this election, things were a little different.

First, the local school board election took on a partisan flavor. Usually the locals running for the school board are not pushing their political affiliation as to Republican or Democratic but what they intend to do to make our schools better for our children. This year the Republican Party of Michigan decided that they would make the school board race a political race.

Conservative leaning candidates were identified as candidates that would follow a more fiscally responsible path as opposed to the free spending and fiscally irresponsible liberal candidates.

I found this a little strange but then I read that the teacher’s union (MEA) or more accurately, teacher union members (teachers) were contacting local businesses that displayed political signs of school board candidates that the union considered as non-union friendly, threatening those businesses with a boycott; since there are many teachers in our area, businesses (restaurants) were naturally afraid of any organized boycott of their already fragile businesses.

Teachers are saying that their threats of boycotts are perfectly legal and a valid and effective union weapon. I think the tactic is plain blackmail and I am getting tired of union coercion to get their way or else.

In the past, parents ran for the school board so they could make sure the schools are run properly and in a way that would benefit the children attending the particular school system BUT now due to the economic depression we as a nation, find ourselves in, money and the lack of, is the central issue in managing even our schools.

The teachers union obviously feels that teachers have given up enough in wages and benefits and cuts have to come from somewhere else. Conservatives / Republicans feel that the teachers and their union are greedy and have been getting a premium employment package for years and that needs to stop.

I have made my arguments for union greed in the past but have also taken the teacher’s side in some instances BUT here my main objection is the tactic of threatening supporters or even businesses that allow all candidates to display their political propaganda, with an organized boycott of their businesses.

In my mind, you can promote your candidates as hard as you can and use every marketing tactic at your disposal to influence people’s votes BUT to threaten people (that own businesses) if they don’t agree with your position is AGAINST THE FIRST AMMENDMENT AND OUR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH and as such is unconstitutional and therefore a crime.