Have you signed up for The Educator’s Room Daily Newsletter? Click here and support independent journalism!
It was nothing like what I thought it would be. Running for a seat on my local school board turned out to be more than just filing my candidacy, putting up a few yard signs, and waiting for the election results. Even getting into what is the lowest level of governance took an effort tantamount to a presidential run – or so it felt.
But let me back up.
I retired from 34 years as a high school English teacher this past year, and just when I thought I could put my teaching skills to rest, I found that they were the most important skills I would need to run for elected office.
In my 34 years in this school district, there has never been anyone on the school board with a background in education, and it was long past due for that to change. And so, for weeks leading up to the November 7 election, I worked extra hours, conducted research, spent lots of money out of my own pocket, and spoke before reluctant and disinterested audiences. In some ways, it wasn’t so different from my work as a teacher.
Like Teaching, You Can’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
To start at the end, I won. But I had help. A lot.
I was lucky at the start to get help from a fellow educator who had worked with another school board candidate in the past. He became my mentor and teacher. He somehow knew I was in over my head. As we discussed the process, I came to realize that I was terrifically under-informed.
As a teacher running for school board, I had a wealth of resources to help. My local teachers’ union, as well as the state union, California Teachers Association (CTA), were instrumental in my campaign. They used polling to provide me with vital campaign strategy information. They also assigned a staff campaign strategist to work with me on messaging.
While CTA’s help was important, it didn’t compare to the support I received from my fellow teachers. My local teacher’s association PAC interviewed all the candidates – there were six – and I was fortunate to be selected with two others to earn their support. They were delighted to help an educator win a spot on the school board. Teachers wore my buttons, lined their yards with my signs, put signs in their car windows, hosted fundraising events, walked neighborhoods and talked with their neighbors, and stood on busy street corners, sometimes in snowstorms, waving “Mooney for School Board” signs. I was humbled by their support.
You Will Spend Your Own Money
In the midst of all this, I became aware of certain realities. Yard signs cost $7 each – for the cheap ones, directed text messages cost hundreds of dollars, and directed mailers were thousands of dollars. I honestly thought I could run without these campaign items until I realized I needed to take my opponent more seriously. He was well-funded and well-supported. I spent several thousands of dollars of my own money in an effort to keep up. In the end, I was lucky – not only did the teacher’s union donate to my campaign, but they also organized fundraising events that raised even more.
Finally, two weeks prior to the election, my time spent marketing myself to voters finally paid off, and donations started pouring in. In the end, enough donations were made to pay me back for the money I loaned my campaign. That’s more than I can say for the thousands of dollars I spent on my classroom over the years.
Plan Ahead and Show Up Prepared
Five weeks before the election, our local newspapers held a candidate forum that was streamed live. Think of a job interview with hundreds on the panel evaluating you. Not at all intimidating, right? But like any job interview, as long as you’re prepared, you’ll do fine. When the forum was over, I received thanks and congratulations from supporters and non-supporters alike. I walked away from that forum proud that my responses not only made sense but reflected who I was and who I would be as a school board trustee.
To prepare for these types of forums, I conducted opposition research. What I learned not only helped me craft my responses but also made the stakes of the race crystal clear. On the surface, it seemed my opponent was just like me. He was a local person who had lived in the community for many years.
Then I found his campaign website and discovered that his supporters included two former school board members from Orange County, California. These people made a name for themselves by fighting mask-wearing throughout the pandemic, opposing ethnic studies in schools, supporting book bans, and fighting to limit the rights of students from historically under-represented communities. My opponent had invited this couple to speak at a campaign event he was hosting.
I poked around some more and discovered that my opponent was financially supported by the American Council, a political action committee focused on, according to its website, “electing conservative, Godly men and women to local and state positions across the nation to counter the depravity we see in America.” The organization works to recruit, train, and support candidates who “align with a Biblical worldview” to get them elected to office, particularly to local school boards, and they’ve donated nearly $500,000 to those efforts. My opponent’s name was listed on their website’s list of endorsed school board candidates.
The research I conducted prepared me for forums. It also solidified my reasons for running for a school board seat.
Keep Your Cool
While I did not use this information to disparage my opponent (I stuck to the issues), others did get ahold of this information and published it on social media. My opponent’s mistake, in my opinion, was to engage with his detractors on social media, where he exchanged many aggressive and unkind words with others. It made him look unprofessional, emotional, and ill-equipped for office. I chose to stay out of the fray.
This wasn’t always easy. I had a couple of disgruntled parents from my years in the classroom attempt to assassinate my character on social media. It was hard to think that after devoting my life to my students for so long, that there would still be a few parents who thought so poorly of me, they would be willing to try to destroy my reputation on social media. But by not responding to them, interest in their comments soon faded and disappeared altogether. It was challenging to wait and remain quiet, like a teacher being berated in a parent meeting. But I was able to do so by keeping in mind that this election was not about me. It was about an idea, an idea that public education should be open to all, free from discrimination, and transparent in its mission.
When election results started becoming available about an hour after the polls closed, I was relieved to see that our voters had spoken loud and clear. Our side had won with 74% of the vote.
Lean on Your Community and Remember Your Purpose
One of the greatest factors in this election for me was the support of my family. There were many times when I wanted to throw in the towel. Character attacks, mounting bills, and a lack of self-confidence constantly harangued me. But it was my wife and sons who propped me up by reminding me of the importance of what I was undertaking and the confidence they had in me to be a strong advocate for the students of our community. This is what sustains me.
At the same time, when I learned of my opponent’s extreme viewpoints, I came to the staggering realization that I was at a crossroads in my life. Running for school board had become a moral imperative to protect the educational integrity of our schools from the radical right not only for the 4,000-plus students in my school district but also for my own 4th grader who attended a district school. Thankfully my hard work and the hard work of my team paid off.
Now though, it is time to put the election behind me and look ahead to the work to be done. I stepped into the middle of a contentious contract negotiation with our teacher’s union that began with our previous board. Now I must find where I stand in all of this in my new role as a school board trustee. I am no longer a teacher, but I am in a unique position to help create a collaborative and collegial relationship between the school district and its bargaining units. Not because I am anyone special but because I was a teacher. I have lived in the classroom, and now I can transfer that experience to the boardroom.
Patrick Mooney is a recently retired 34-year secondary English teaching veteran in Northern California, with a bachelor’s in English and an MEd in Educational Management, and he currently serves on his local school board. Patrick has written for a variety of publications on the topics of education, writing instruction, mentoring new teachers, raising children, and ski racing. He is also the dad of three fine boys.
Editor’s Note: If you enjoyed this article, please become a Patreon supporter by clicking here.
