TY  - JOUR
AB  - Local school boards have historically played a major role in the functioning and character of US schools, providing fiscal oversight, shaping policy, and creating avenues for community voice, representation, and accountability. As such, school boards have regularly served as critical sites for political struggle and public discourse on a range of issues. Yet growing demands on schools, political extremism, and well-coordinated attacks on public education are testing the capacity, legitimacy, and purpose of these democratic institutions. This qualitative, multiple case study of 10 California school board members examines the everyday realities of local school governance and how these realities speak to the possibilities of democracy in public education. Ultimately, our findings address under-examined questions about the nature of local democracy: for what and for whom? – democracy in service of maintaining the status quo or challenging it and advancing the needs of marginalized groups often left out of the process.
AU  - Bridgeforth, James 
AU  - Marsh, Julie 
AU  - Uka, Akunna 
AU  - Casar, Miguel 
AU  - Mulfinger, Laura 
AU  - Alonso, Jacob 
PY  - 2025
ST  - Democracy For What and For Whom?: The Possibilities and Challenges of K-12 School Boards
TI  - Democracy For What and For Whom?: The Possibilities and Challenges of K-12 School Boards
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1277
ER  -