COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio School Boards Association, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials and the Buckeye Association of School Administrators — which represents superintendents across the state — are petitioning Governor Mike DeWine to line-item veto several provisions of the recently passed state budget bill, including one that would make big changes to local school board races.

Hidden in the budget bill is a measure that would require candidates for school board to appear on the ballot with a political party designation, ending decades of nonpartisan races. Supporters of the change say it will help voters stay informed about the candidates’ beliefs, and make elections more transparent.

In the letter, the OSBA, OASBO and BASA argued that introducing party labels shifts the focus away from a candidate’s qualifications and individual platform. 

“The education of our children has always been a nonpartisan issue, and it should remain that way,” the letter said. “Politics has no place in the classroom, and it should have no place on the ballot for those who seek to govern our schools.”

The organizations also raised alarm that the provision would disqualify some current and future  school board members from serving, because they are government employees. Under state and federal law, these individuals could lose their jobs if they run in partisan elections. 

In the Mahoning Valley, school leaders had mixed reactions to the proposal. Joe Meranto, a school board member at Youngstown City School District, said he opposes it because he feels people will end up voting based on party instead of ideas. 

“The political climate today, nationally and even locally, it's become where you are judged by your political affiliation,” Meranto said. 

Meranto also voiced concern that the change will embolden school board members to take on controversial political issues. 

“Right now, there's attempts to bring things into schools that really have no business being there, that are parental choices,” Meranto said. “We're here to educate students. We're here to make them better people and future good citizens. We're not here to take stands on controversial issues.”

Not every local leader is strongly opposed to adding party designations to the ballot. Damon Dohar, the superintendent at Weathersfield Local School District, told 21 News it “doesn’t really make a difference” to him whether the provision is vetoed, because he isn't overly convinced it will have a positive or negative impact. 

“The school board is elected by the locals,” Dohar pointed out. “Most places are going to know the people. In some bigger areas, that may be a little bit different.”

“If a person is running for school board and they're a Republican or Democrat, they're going to say their reasons they're running for the school board,” he added.

Dohar also expressed skepticism that introducing partisan elections would make school board members themselves more politically motivated. 

“I could see a possibility of some of that stuff creeping in, but as long as you are staying true to your community, you're staying true to your kids, and you're educating kids to think properly, to think in a logical manner  … Those are things that we've always done, and I think will continue, no matter whether I have five Republicans or five Democrats or a mixture of both,” Dohar said.

If DeWine does not line-item veto this portion of the budget bill, Ohio would join four other states with partisan school board elections: Alabama, Connecticut, Louisiana and Pennsylvania.