SCHOOL BOARD INCUMBENT DEFEAT IN PARTISAN ELECTIONS

This research replicated earlier research done in non‐partisan school district elections, concerning the effect of school board member incumbent defeat on non‐voluntary superintendent turnover. In earlier research incumbent defeat was related to involuntary superintendent turnover at the .001 level. It was felt that the partisan (Democratic‐Republican) nature of school board elections in Pennsylvania might change the nature of this relationship and offer some insight into the effect of partisan politics on the local politics of education. Based on the research reported in this article it does not appear that partisan elections have the predicted influence on the politics of local school districts. No partisan predictors supplied a more significant relationship with non‐voluntary superintendent turnover than the general category of incumbent defeat regardless of partisan relationships.