Alabama school board member Jackie Zeigler, R-Mobile, today launched a formal campaign against a Constitutional amendment that would remove her and other current members of the state board of education.
“As representative for State Board of Education District One,” Zeigler wrote in a press release Monday, “I am vehemently opposed to any attempt take away the voice of the people.”
Zeigler, first elected in 2016, created a Facebook event, “Vote No on CA1: Keep your right to vote on State School Board” as part of her campaign to defeat the amendment. The amendment will be on the ballot in March alongside candidates running in the primary election.
If voters approve the amendment, current state school board members will be replaced as soon as new members—called commissioners—are appointed.
Zeigler, a career educator and retired as principal of Mary B. Austin Elementary School in Mobile, represents a large portion of south central Alabama, including parts of Baldwin and Mobile counties. She was chosen President Pro Tem of the state board by fellow board members in July.
Lawmakers approved the Constitutional amendment changing the board of education from being elected among eight districts to a commission appointed by the Governor—one from each of Alabama’s seven Congressional districts and two at-large members—subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Zeigler, in her statement, wrote, “I find it extremely insulting that our Governor and legislators think the citizens’ vote to put them into office was a brilliant move but then turned inept when electing our (State Board of Education) representatives.”
Gov. Kay Ivey, who is president of the state school board, strongly supports the amendment. “We have been listed at the bottom of just about every education ranking you can find,” Ivey said. “We need education leaders and a structure that works in the best interest of our students."
The state superintendent of education position would be called the secretary of elementary and secondary education and would be appointed by the commission subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Once appointed, among the commission’s responsibilities will be to replace the Common Core State Standards in Alabama’s courses of study in English language arts and math.
Advocates for the change, including Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, the bill sponsor, said Alabama’s low rankings on national tests, turnover in the position of state superintendent, and other problems demonstrate the need for a new approach to education governance.
Most of the elected state school board members, with the exception of Dr. Cynthia McCarty, R-Jacksonville, and Tracie West, R-Auburn, have said they support keeping an elected board. McCarty, in July, said she trusts voters to make the right decision. West has not indicated her support or opposition to the amendment.
The Alabama Republican Party’s executive committee voted in August to oppose the change to an appointed commission.
Alabama is one of seven states and the District of Columbia where voters elect all members of the state board of education, according to the National Association of State Boards of Education.
In 33 states, the Governor appoints members and lawmakers approve the appointments. In a few states, there is a combination of elected and appointed state school board members.
Of those states electing a board of education, five states—Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, and Texas—elect state school board members by partisan ballot. Utah will begin partisan state school board elections in 2020. Nebraska and D.C. elect their state school boards via nonpartisan ballot.
In three more states—Louisiana, Nevada, and Ohio—some members are elected, and some are appointed.
In supporting the amendment, Ivey has been clear about her dissatisfaction with the state school board.
“We need to take bold action,” Ivey said after a state board meeting recently. “And this is not the fault of teachers or superintendents and change must start at the top. And so, the bill that was passed by the Legislature gives the people of Alabama a chance to help Alabama take the lead and move forward so that we can make progress in our educational endeavors and raise our academic level of performance.”
The amendment had bipartisan support in the Senate, where it was passed with no opposition. In the House, opposition ran mostly along party lines, ultimately passing by a 78 to 21 vote.
Zeigler, whose is married to State Auditor Jim Zeigler, said her allegiance as an elected official is to the people who elected her, “not to Montgomery.”
“As your elected official,” she wrote, “I serve the students, parents, and citizens of Alabama. I am their voice as well as their contact with any of their school issues, concerns or questions. I am available to direct them to the proper contacts, inform them of current policies, or just serve as a sounding board. I am available. I am accountable. I am their representative.”