Board conflict ranks among the top reasons superintendents leave their positions, yet a recent survey finds that partisan battles are far rarer than media coverage suggests—pointing to a governance gap that leaders can close with the right strategies in place.
The October 2025 study by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found that most school board meetings center on budgets, staffing, and student resources, not ideological conflict. Few boards have become embroiled in contentious disputes over DEI policies or transgender student issues, the report concludes.
Nationally, nearly four in 10 board members identify as politically moderate, with board members’ political and educational views tending to align with those of the voters in their districts and with the U.S. public as a whole. That alignment suggests that extreme partisan conflict at the board level may be less inevitable than it appears and, critically, more preventable.