Proposed bill to require school board officials display political affiliations on ballots

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Earlier this week Bowling Green Independent School Board welcomed their newest member tonight to fill the district’s open position.

However, this appointment could mark a turning point in Kentucky elections as a bill proposed in the 2023 legislative session could require all future board members to have their political affiliations listed on the ballot.

Kentucky’s proposed Senate Bill 50 mandates candidates for offices such as mayor, city council, county commissioner and school board to have their political affiliations, either Republican or Democrat, displayed on the ballot.

If Senate Bill 50 becomes law, Bowling Green Independent School Board’s newly elected Cierra Waller could be one of the last board members without a stated political affiliation displayed.

The bill has sparked a divided opinion, with some advocating for increased transparency for voters, while others worry about the infusion of politics into the educational system.

Republican Kentucky State Senator Mike Wilson said Senate Bill 50 came to be because, “The Department of Education has recently issued information out to teachers… recommendations for them to use: things like pronouns. whatever pronoun that a kid wants to be called by, if a ‘he’ wants to be called a ‘she’ but doesn’t want their parents to know that, they’re telling the teacher, ‘Don’t tell the parents and when you talk to the parents, the ‘he’ that wants to be called a ‘she’, you call it a ‘he’ to the parents…. That’s coming more from a very narrow spectrum…. People that we’ve talked to feel like those kinds of issues that are being pushed by education would be more defined by what party they belong to.”

BGISD Superintendent Gary said who was a part of Waller’s induction shared, “I don’t think it’s a necessary change in the law…. I think we have people in this community from all different backgrounds from Republicans, Democrats, independents, who want to do right by our schools and our school district, and our students. So, I just think we don’t want to bring that contention to an election cycle.”

Presently, except for six cities, elections for city councils, mayors, and school boards in Kentucky are non-partisan, meaning candidates don’t align with a particular political party.

If Senate Bill 50 passes, we will likely see the changes take place as early as July 1st.