The Springfield school board has experienced unprecedented turnover and conflict in the past few years. That may continue, or start to stabilize, depending on the outcome of the April 2 election.
Seven candidates, including three incumbents, are vying for three open seats.
Members sworn in mid-April will join a relatively inexperienced governing body — six of seven current members are in their first three-year term — with a history of split votes, contentious debates, and different approaches to leadership and board service.
“I am certainly concerned with the board and the way it functions. I think the kids deserve better and the community deserves better than what is happening at the board table right now,” said Gerry Lee, who served on the school board from 2006 to 2021 .
“How can we accomplish what we want to accomplish instead of drawing lines in the sand and (saying) ‘Thou shall not go past that line’? That is somehow par for the course for our whole political system and I don’t think our school board is any different. It is kind of a microcosm of what is going on in the political world right now.”