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By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –
The founders of this nation feared centralized power. They knew that unbridled concentrated power exercised by any public official or public body would lead to abuse. Our representative government was specifically structured to decentralize power with cumbersome checks and balances. This concept is grounded in the U.S. Constitution and is essential to the keeping of our republic.
“A republic was to be maintained by a combination of elements: morally virtuous citizens, virtuous leaders, and a constitutional arrangement that would prevent the centralization of power and ensure the preservation of private liberty” – George Athan Billias, American Historian commenting on the political philosophy of constitution signer Eldridge Gerry.
The radical left prefers the administrative state over elected office holders. This radicalism played out in the state of Tennessee in 1992 when the democrat-controlled legislature stripped the right of voters to elect school superintendents and mandated, through a public act, that school directors be appointed by local school boards. In 1992, school directors became bureaucratic stooges controlled by their respective boards, no separation of power, no competing forces, no disagreement with their governing board, and no broad accountability to voters. Nearly every state in the nation fell victim to this globalist mantra.
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Elected officials are central to the idea of accountable leadership.
The many states adopted their own constitutions and codified the powers of elected officials to further guarantee that government officials operate within specifically defined boundaries. Tennessee is no exception. The opponents of elected school superintendents falsely claim that elected ones have the power to make policy and impose rule with impunity. They forget that state law strictly defines and limits the authority of public officials, including school superintendents.
Radical leftists and globalists view the decentralized power structure of government as an impediment to their agenda, preferring instead appointed bureaucrats, activist judges, and centralized agencies. Accordingly, appointed school directors fit this globalist design because they are beholden only to the board which appoints them. This may explain why controversial and questionable practices are so easily infused into public schools and why they are so difficult to remove. Elected superintendents would be less likely to impose questionable and objectionable education practices because they are accountable to all voters of a school district.
Conservatives understand the importance of accountability to voters.
For over thirty years, the radical leftists and globalists have used a set of ludicrous arguments to perpetuate the administrative state of appointed school directors and to detract from the sacred right of voters to elect them. They falsely claim that appointed directors “take politics out of education” and that better quality directors can be chosen from a large pool of applicants outside the school district. In the mind of radical leftists, a school director should not spend time campaigning and should be subject to dismissal for poor performance. They overlook the value of connecting with voters through campaigning.
There is no constitutional requirement that school superintendents be elected rather than appointed. However, State legislators should take a lesson from the concept of decentralized power and apply it to the governance of local school systems, separating the power of superintendents from their respective school boards. Just like the governor is elected by all the people of the state; and legislators are elected by the people of their districts, school superintendents should be elected by all the people of the county (or city); and school board members should be elected by their respective district voters.
It is time for conservatives to act on this important issue and return the sacred right of voters to elect their school superintendent.
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and current Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level.
2 Responses
I would agree with School Supt being Appointed if they could be recalled at the same time the school board could be recalled.
I agree the voters should have the right to vote for who they want as the school superintendent and the voters should also always have the right to vote who is on the school board. We don’t need a Globalist agenda in Tennessee. People need to stand up and fight back against this Evil that is called the Globalist agenda that has not only taken a hold of Tennessee but our Nation.