Scarier Than Fighting Wildfires: California School Board Members as Targeted Decision-Makers in the Conflict Campaign

• In Event: School Boards Under Fire: Governance, Demographics, and Politics

Abstract

Since 2020, a nationally networked and purposefully partisanized “conflict campaign” has invited community members to target local school boards around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) topics. Building on previous work, this study interrogates an under-explored aspect of the conflict campaign: the experiences and decision-making of board members themselves. We explore this topic via interviews with board members from eight districts in California – a state which is often positioned as a bastion of pro-DEI policies. We found that most participants experienced the conflict campaign in some form, with half encountering a dynamic of intimidation in which community members aggressively challenged board decision-making and/or threatened consequences, including violence. Districts where this dynamic persisted saw DEI efforts in schools slowed or stunted.

Authors

• Sarah M. Fine, University of California - San Diego

• Mica Pollock, University of California - San Diego

• John Diaz, University of California - San Diego

• Marco Chacon, University of California - San Diego

• Rebecca S. Levine, University of California - San Diego