Getting Politics Out of Education

My Views Are My Own

By Lisa Schonhoff, Ed.S.

4/29/2025

In speaking with people about education, there is a general consensus that keeping politics out of education would be best for students.  I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment.  Unfortunately, we will never be able to keep politics out of public education while our state spends approximately $5 billion per year on public education.  It costs our taxpayers an average of more than $18,000 per pupil per year to educate our students.  According to our state auditor, “the median and average Nebraska superintendent salaries appear to be well above those of their national counterparts – not to mention closer to, or even above, the 75th percentile for superintendents at similarly sized school districts throughout the country.”  As Nebraska’s property taxes continue to increase, constituents are becoming more involved in the politics of education rather than less and that is a good thing.   

When large quantities of tax dollars are being spent, it should be no surprise that special interest groups and lobbyists are heavily involved.  The Nebraska State Education Association charges teachers $658 to become a member for a year while making significant contributions to political candidates and initiatives, according to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission website.  The NSEA heavily invests in politics relating to our preK programs through our university programs.  Many recent education graduates will tell you that more time was spent on political and social agendas during their coursework at universities than focusing on the basics of teaching kids to read, do math and science, and American civics.  While keeping politics out of public education is impossible, it is critical that administrators and local school boards work hard to keep political and social agendas out of our classrooms. 

On multiple occasions, I have received messages from constituents that include photos like the one below.  Constituents are concerned that political and social agendas are being pushed on our youth.  As a local control state, I encourage constituents to be in the schools, attend local school board meetings, and reach out to school administrators to ensure that educators are checking their politics at the door and focusing on teaching students how to think, instead of what to think.  When this happens, we set students up for success.