This paper investigates the relationship between the demand-response behavior of school boards and incumbent school board member defeat. Demand is defined as public demand as operationalized by social, economic, and political indicators (listed in Appendix A). Response is defined as school board response to public demand as operationalized by the school tax levy (indicators are listed in Appendix B). When the socioeconomic and political trends in a community are in disagreement with the demand-response indicator of the school board, an educational gap in a school district is likely to exist. Incumbent school board member defeat is more probable in districts that have indicator disagreement than in districts with indicator agreement. (Author/IRT)