000			02212nam a22001337a 4500
999			_c532382 _d532382
008			260202b ||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
100			_aMellon, Greer _958683
245			_aCompetence over partisanship: Party affiliation does not affect the selection of school district superintendents
260			_aAmerican Sociological Review
300			_a90(4), Aug, 2025: p.561-593
520			_aIn recent decades, affective polarization and partisan animosity have risen sharply in the United States. To what extent have these trends affected hiring decisions? I examine partisan biases in hiring by considering the case of school district superintendent appointments: chief executives of local U.S. elementary/secondary education systems. I analyze mixed-methods data on a decade of hiring outcomes in Florida and California from 2009 to 2019. Despite rising polarization, the data consistently show that partisan affiliation is not a primary factor in these hiring decisions. Quantitative analyses reveal no significant relationship between changes in board partisan composition and superintendent hiring outcomes within school districts. I find no relationship between board-level partisan composition and superintendent exits. Qualitative findings show hiring decisions are primarily shaped by evaluations of candidates’ interpersonal skills and competence, even among board members with strong partisan views on other policy issues. Board members discuss a strong commitment to building consensus in their selections. While I cannot rule out very small effects, these results show that school boards do not routinely prioritize applicants from their own political party. This study advances research on affective polarization and social closure by demonstrating the contingent nature of partisan affiliation on decision-making and by providing evidence of a strong respect for professionalism in a critical U.S. public sector setting.- Reproduced https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00031224251346993?_gl=1*q4t3es*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTkyNjg1NzY3LjE3NzAwMjM4MTQ.*_ga_60R758KFDG*czE3NzAwMjM4MTMkbzEkZzEkdDE3NzAwMjM4NDAkajMzJGwwJGgxMjkzNDc1Nzgw
773			_aAmerican Sociological Review
942			_cAR