Who really makes education policy in school districts?

We had a delightful time with Annette Meeks, of the Freedom Foundation, today who discussed:” Who really makes education policy in school districts?” Listeners were interested to know the history of Depts. of Education from 1890 with only 2 employees. As elections to school boards began in the 60 and 70’s politicization of boards began and Unions (looking for protection from all the entities telling them how to run schools) pushed for a US Dept. of Education. After the NEA endorsed their first Presidential candidate in 1976, Jimmy Carter, they succeeded two years later to overcome opposition and have the US Dept. of Ed established. This empowered Unions tremendously. In 2016 alone Unions spent $2.7 Million lobbying and collected $27 M in dues, not to mention all the campaigns they donate to (almost all supporting Democrats).  Meeks feels the end is near of Union dominance of school board policy because teachers are tired of it. In addition, parents often feel schools don’t fit their needs and are moving their kids to charter, private and home schooling. The one size fits all approach will fail in years to come allowing for increased freedom of choice for all parents and students. We appreciate Annette’s knowledge on this subject very much.