As they say, all politics is local, and in Lane County, local politics gets heated when it’s school board elections.
The issues are huge in K-12 education racism and diversity, COVID, standardized testing and more. We are impressed by all the people willing to take on this tough and important duty. Good board members are simultaneously independent thinkers, willing to question how the board is voting and why, and yet also able to function effectively with other board members they may not always agree with to get things done.
It’s great when voters and candidates get fired up about the school board especially if it means positive changes for the kids. So knowing that Eugene and surrounding communities take their school boards seriously, our small editorial board Zoomed with as many candidates as we could, and sent surveys out to the ones who we either couldn’t squeeze in or who didn’t respond. Some candidates didn’t respond in time or at all.