Political Polarization
Liberal-Conservative Polarization on Culture War Issues
As Figure 20 shows, liberal and conservative board members did not diverge greatly in their concern with top issues like mental health, staffing, and behavior.
Figure 20. N=83-85 (40 liberals and 43 to 45 conservatives depending on the issue).
However, when it came to culture war issues, liberal and conservative board members shared little common ground. Figure 21 shows liberal and conservative board members’ views on activism, gender and sexuality, and diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. The differences are stark. For instance, just 5 percent of liberal board members are concerned or somewhat concerned about critical race theory being taught to students while 73 percent of conservative board members are. Sixty-three percent of liberals expressed concern about the lack of diverse representations in curriculum and materials, while just 18 percent of conservatives shared this concern. Regarding transgender issues, over twice as many liberals as conservatives worried about transgender students being mistreated at school, while over four times as many conservatives as liberals expressed concern about students gender transitioning at school without their parents knowing.
Figure 21. N=83-85 (40 liberals and 43 to 45 conservatives depending on the issue).