Parents upset by the news that two elementary schools are likely to close at the end of the school year crammed into the Grapevine-Colleyville school board meeting Monday night and also filled an overflow room.
There were 70 speakers and most sharply criticized the board’s recommendation to close Bransford Elementary School in Colleyville and Dove Elementary School in Grapevine.
Lindsey Schugat was among the speakers who opposed school closings.
“You’re looking for a fight, and now you’ve found it,” she said.
Maggie Taylor, a parent of a Bransford student said she was speaking with a “heavy heart.” She praised the fine arts program at Bransford, where all students learn to play the piano and teachers worked closely with them.
“My question is, why are you dismantling one of our most effective schools and why are schools with poorer infrastructure remaining open?” she asked.
But others spoke in support the closures, saying they understand the challenges brought on by less funding from the state and rising costs.
Tammy Grotham expressed her gratitude for the hard work of the district’s Education Master Planning Committee.
“Their commitment and sacrifices didn’t go unnoticed by some in this community,” she said.
After the parents spoke trustees got a detailed presentation from district officials in which they learned that closing Bransford and Dove would result in less disruption to students at other campuses.
The district is also exploring other ways of bringing in additional revenue, such as selling property and marketing its programs.
The recommended closures are among plans to address the district’s $10 million shortfall and are estimated to save around $1.1 million.
Community forum on closures set for Dec. 2
Board president Shannon Braun told the Star-Telegram on Friday that the board is not going to vote on the school closure recommendations until Dec. 10. There will be a community forum to discuss the recommendations on Dec. 2, she said.
Parents are organized in their fight to save the schools.
Over the weekend, they gathered for a prayer walk, and on Friday night, parents hosted a movie night at Dove Elementary where dads grilled burgers. Also on Friday, the PTA at Dove passed a resolution opposing the closings.
With my guide dog Freddie, I keep tabs on growth, economic development and other issues in Northeast Tarrant cities and other communities near Fort Worth. I’ve been a reporter at the Star-Telegram for 34 years.
Progressive-backed candidates flipped three school board seats in a district near Houston, Texas, as Democrats flipped seats across the country Tuesday night.
Mike Doyle, chair of the Harris County Democrats, told Newsweek in a phone interview that the wins in a red-leaning, suburban area are a testament to “a lot of hard work” by candidates and their supporters.
Newsweek reached out to the Harris County GOP for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Tuesday’s elections were a key bellwether for the electorate’s mood ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when Democrats are hoping to stage a comeback following losses in the 2024 elections. The results fueled Democratic optimism after a year of uncertainty about the party’s future, with Democrats outperforming expectations in key races.
Those victories extended to suburban Texas. The Lone Star State has been viewed as a reliably conservative state. Democrats did make some gains in the first Trump administration, but it shifted back toward Republicans last November. Still, Democrats are hoping to make the state’s Senate race competitive next November.
Public education has remained a divisive issue in Texas as some state legislators have supported bills that would infuse religion into schools, including by requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms across the state.
What to Know
Three candidates who have identified as being more progressive flipped seats on the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD school board, reported local news outlet Houston Press. Lesley Guilmart, Cleveland Lane Jr. and Kendra Camarena all defeated Republican-aligned candidates in the race, the news outlet reported.
That is the third-largest school district in the state
Technically, the board is nonpartisan, but Guilmart, Lane and Camarena have all voted in Democratic primaries, while their opponents were viewed as more conservative. They have said they would keep their personal politics off of the school board due to its nonpartisan nature, the news outlet reported.
Conservatives previously held a 6-1 majority on the school board, but will now be in a 4-3 minority, reported Houston Public Media. They have implemented policies including book-banning practices and adding a Bible-focus elective course for students, according to the report.
The races became competitive as voters saw “Republican ideologues fully revealed themselves,” Doyle told Newsweek. The race, despite the nonpartisan nature of the board, had become partisan, he said.
“They were focused on banning books and running off good teachers and cutting school budgets, and pretty much ripping into the fabric of the school system out there,” he said.
Their defeat comes amid a broader debate about religion in schools, of which Texas has found itself the center after lawmakers passed a bill that required schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. In August, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, issued a statement directing schools to abide by the order.
“The woke radicals seeking to erase our nation’s history will be defeated. I will not back down from defending the virtues and values that built this country,” he said in a statement at the time.
What People Are Saying
School Board Trustee-elect Lesley Guilmart wrote in a Facebook post: “’Im so proud of us, and I am deeply grateful. We came together across lines of difference, from across the political spectrum to do right by our children. Every student and staff member deserves to thrive in our district, and Cleveland4CFISD, Kendra 4 CFISD, and I will fight for just that.”
Zeph Capo, president of Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) wrote in a statement: “While there’s more work to do to make this board representative of the community and responsive to its needs, this victory turns the page on a dark chapter in this district’s history. The trustees defeated last night routinely pushed the school board into a hard right turn to the extremist fringe, and voters said enough.”
What Happens Next
Republicans will continue to grapple with losses during Tuesday night’s elections. Democrats performed well across the country, including in high-profile contests like the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races. Victories also extended into states like Georgia and Mississippi.
Four years ago, political newcomer Timothy Simmons narrowly defeated incumbent John Ocheltree by 144 votes in the race for the Pastures District seat on the Augusta County School Board.
Those two are squaring off again this year for the same seat, only this time Simmons is the incumbent. And, unlike four years ago, it’s only a two-person race. In 2021, Nick Astarb pulled in 573 of the 4,001 votes cast. There were also 50 write-in votes that year. Without a third person, the race between Simmons and Ocheltree could be even tighter this time.
In 2021, after losing, Ocheltree said he was about 50-50 that he’d run again in four years.
“I enjoy the school board,” he said. “I just love to see children excel from preschool all the way through high school. Having a wife as a teacher, I appreciate teachers. I know the frustrations they go through. I think they need to be appreciated and compensated.”
Within the last year, Ocheltree said he was approached by community members, school board members, administration and even some students asking him to run again this year. That got him from 50-50 to 100%.
“A lot of that had to do with not seeing their school board member,” Ocheltree said of his opponent. “They knew that when I was there for 12 years I was hanging out, I was around, even though I had a career and a private practice in medicine I was still there. I took the time to be there for the things that are important for the kids.”
Simmons ran on a platform of parental rights in 2021, an issue that Glenn Youngkin also used to help get elected as Virginia’s governor. He feels he’s lived up to his promises to help give families a voice in the school division.
“During my time on the board, I’ve helped mediate countless situations between parents and grandparents and the schools to ensure parental rights are upheld while also meeting the school’s obligation to educate our children,” Simmons said.
It’s still an important issue for him as he runs for a second term.
“To me, parental rights mean parents are informed, their voices are respected, and, when needed, they have the ability to request alternatives for their child,” he said. “This is not about parents versus teachers. It’s about communication and partnership. Families have different beliefs and values, and schools must work with parents while meeting their own obligations.”
Both candidates say they will support the new superintendent, Kelly Troxell, when she takes the position in January, 2026. Troxell was approved in a 4-3 vote in May. One of the three votes against her came from Simmons, but when asked if he would support her, the Pastures District representative said he would.
“The new superintendent has my support,” he said. “Support from me does not mean I will rubber stamp her decisions or recommendations. My critics seem to view challenges or opposition as not being supportive and that’s simply not true. When our superintendent is successful, we’re all successful. With that, support also means holding people accountable and challenging the status quo to achieve excellence.”
Ocheltree said if elected he will also support Troxell.
“I wasn’t there to see who may have been running against her for that opportunity,” Ocheltree said. “I didn’t make that decision, but I’ve seen Dr. Troxell rise up through the system. Every job she’s had within the division she’s done a great job at. I fully support her and feel like she’ll do a good job.”
Timothy Simmons
School board members David Shiflett, Tim Simmons and Sharon Griffin talk before the ribbon cutting ceremony at Buffalo Gap Middle School Wednesday, July 31.
Simmons is a native of Augusta County and a law enforcement supervisor. He lives in Churchville with his wife and young son. He has been a bit of a lightning rod on the school board, not afraid to question administration or fellow board members about things with which he doesn’t agree. He’s drawn both praise and criticism for his approach the last four years.
During the August school board meeting, Simmons was one of three members to abstain from a vote on four administrators. At the time he said his reason wasn’t something he could share publicly. Simmons did receive some criticism from the public for the decision at the September school board meeting.
Simmons told The News Leader that abstaining from a vote is an option under Robert’s Rules of Order and it simply meant he wasn’t taking a position on the decision one way or the other. He said he was not required to give a reason, and felt like the board chair, David Shiflett, was out of order for asking him to give a reason.
“No one has a right to compel a member to state why they abstained,” he said.
However, Simmons said he did agree the night of his vote to give a reason in closed session, but he said the closed session was for another issue and he didn’t feel it appropriate to talk about his vote.
“As I reflected later on what I had said publicly, it occurred to me — by the level of badgering I was receiving from the board chair, his intent was not coming from a place of interest in knowing my point of view but rather coming from a place of wanting to attack me,” Simmons said. “That was evident in public but it became even more evident later. Based on that, I changed my mind, which is something we’re all entitled to do.”
Simmons has questioned administration about providing more information on staff hiriings before asking the board to approve those hires. The information the board receives, according to Simmons, is the same thing the public hears the night of the vote — a brief summary of the person’s qualifications.
“Information such as who applied for the position and the number of qualified candidates, along with their background information, as well as who was on the interview panel and what questions were asked would all be helpful information,” Simmons said.
He would also like time to discuss the decision with the other board members, something that would have to take place in closed session.
Simmons has also asked for exit interview data, saying the board can’t fix retention problems without knowing why staff is leaving. That request, he said, was denied.
“If I remain on the board, transparency within the promotional process will continue to be an area that I push for,” Simmons said. “I’d like to revamp the promotional process completely so that promotional decisions are based on objective factors and merit rather than being subjective.”
Asked what the major issues facing Augusta County Schools will be over the next four years, Simmons said academic achievement; recruitment and retention of teachers, staff and bus drivers; school safety; artificial intelligence; and special education.
“More students are entering schools with complex needs, and teachers and the parents of these students both feel the strain,” Simmons said. “We need a comprehensive plan that provides resources to both sides.”
Although the school board hasn’t discussed the issue officially, there is concern among some that Craigsville Elementary may close because of low numbers. Simmons is strongly opposed to that happening, but said he wants to be clear that a lot of the concern came from rumors, not reality.
“I will never vote to close Craigsville Elementary,” he said. “Craigsville is a very remote community on the western side of Augusta County that is self-sufficient. Much like a volunteer fire department, a school is the heart of a small community so Craigsville Elementary is more than just a school – it embodies that community. To close the school would have devastating effects on the Craigsville community and for those reasons, I would continue to advocate fiercely for it to remain open.”
Simmons said he thinks the school division is doing well in many areas, but no one should ever be satisifed.
“Our students, teachers, staff and families deserve excellence,” he said. “It is the school board’s job — our responsibility even — to fight for high standards, accountability, and a culture of excellence in our schools and I continue to be committed to that goal if reelected.”
John Ocheltree is running for the Pastures District seat on the Augusta County School Board. A former member of the board, Ocheltree lost in 2021 but hopes to regain the seat this year.
Ocheltree is a podiatrist with his practice based in Staunton. He grew up in the Staunton area, graduating from Robert E. Lee High School (now Staunton High School) but spent a lot of his youth on his grandparents’ farm in Swoope.
“I went away for a while for school, hit some big cities, and realized Staunton and Augusta County wasn’t as boring as I thought it was,” he said.
Ocheltree won his first term on the board in November 2007 and won re-election in 2011, 2015 and 2017, all without challengers. The 2021 election was the first time he faced any opposition.
After being off the board for four years, he decided to run again.
“I’m a big believer in giving back to the community,” Ocheltree said. “That was inspired to me by my parents and grandparents, growing up with different things I saw them do.”
Ocheltree doesn’t like to consider himself political. He calls himself “just a community member like anybody else.” Politics, however, has become a bigger part of school board elections across the country with the typically non-partisan races becoming more and more divided with national issues like transgender rights, critical race theory and book bans entering the discussion. All of those topics have come up at school board meetings in Augusta County in the last eight years.
Ocheltree doesn’t like politics becoming interwoven with schools.
“It shouldn’t be a thing in our children’s education,” he said. “It shouldn’t be.”
He said the way you get back to a less political school board is by electing someone like him, who he said is there for the kids and teachers and administration.
“Not so much for a political gain or a self-serving agenda,” Ocheltree said.
Ocheltree’s wife is a retired Augusta County teacher who is now teaching at a small private school in Staunton, Anna’s House School. Having that connection, Ocheltree believes, helps him understand the issues teachers face better.
Ocheltree is planning to retire from his medical practice in a couple of years, saying he will be even more accessible to the school board if he is elected.
“Engaged” and “accessible” are two words that describe Ocheltree’s campaign. He will be both, he said, if elected.
Ocheltree believes that parents have a line of communication with the schools. Parental rights is important, but he doesn’t think Augusta County restricts those rights.
“Every administrator I know in the county that is a principal in the school or a vice-principal welcomes parents to come in and talk with them about any issue they have,” he said. “I don’t think they’re hands off with the parents. The opportunity is there, you’ve just got to take advantage of it.”
When it comes to hiring staff, Ocheltree said he has full confidence in the superintendent and the central office staff to make selections.
“There’s this term that floats around about the old boy system,” Ocheltree said. “I’m not like that, but I feel confident in our adminitrators making those promotions and putting people in place.”
Ocheltree loves the Pastures District. He said it’s a very conservative area, and he considers himself conservative. He has lived in his current location for 24 years.
“I just love the people out there,” Ocheltree said. “I feel strongly about representing them properly. The Pastures Distirct is the biggest area in Augusta County geographically with the smallest population. That’s why I call it a big secret.”
He was on the board during the planning of the two new middle schools, including the one in Buffalo Gap. He likes that the school divison considered travel time for families with building a middle school next to the high school. Before families had to travel almost to Staunton to Beverley Manor Middle School.
“It saves everybody a lot of time and gives more instructional time,” he said. “I think it’s just a great educational opportunity out in that part of the county.”
Like his opponent, Ocheltree feels strongly about keeping Craigsville Elementary School open if the issue of closing it ever came up on the board.
“Craigsville Elementary is a big thing in the community out there,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes on there. The parents and grandparents feel very strongly about keeping that school open. I can say that I would hang off the edge of a cliff to keep that school open and there’s no ‘but’ about it.”
The News Leader and Victory Worship Center will be hosting a candidate forum for school board members Sept. 25 at the Augusta County Government Center. Only Ocheltree has agreed to participate from the Pastures District. Simmons declined the invitation.
The general election is Nov. 4 and early voting is already underway. The deadline to register to vote or update existing registration is Oct. 14. To register, complete and submit a Virginia Voter Registration Application. Applications may be obtained and submitted at the local voter registration office, or through online application submission through the Virginia Department of Elections.
Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips are always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and on Instagram @hitepatrick. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
Police officers will not be back inside Seattle schools for the start of the school year on Sept. 3rd, but the school board could vote this month to allow a pilot program at Garfield High School.
Despite an effort from the district, city, and the Seattle Police Department that KIRO 7 first broke in May, lifting a 2020 moratorium that bans police inside Seattle Public Schools is still up in the air.
Instead, on September 9th, the Garfield community will have one more chance to weigh in.
Parents, students, and community activists have strong feelings about the proposal.
“The violence that Garfield faces stems from the outside community and bleeds into the school,” Garfield graduate Athena McDermott told the school board at its August 27th meeting. “Kids will not stop getting shot and killed at Garfield because of counselors alone.”
“Students don’t need to be policed, but protected,” Garfield graduate Rilan Springer said. “When letting an SRO back in, we demand they remain around campus, not inside the building… SPD should not be there to punish students, should not able to punish students.”
“I see the introduction of SEOs as oppression of black people at Garfield,” Sonya Herrera, a member of the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said.
“Parents and students have already fought to get cops out of schools once before,” Jonathan Toledo, also a member of the Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, told the board.
“We don’t want cops at all,” Seattle Student Union President Leo Falit-Baiamonte said.
He told KIRO 7 some students at Garfield shared their discomfort with the idea of a police officer back inside the school. And the group has a lot of questions if the pilot program at Garfield does move forward.
“Where would this money be coming from to hire this cop?” he asked. “How will we make sure that cops do not play a part in discipline? If it’s at Garfield, what stops it from going to other schools?”
The student union’s fight began this spring.
“Yeah, so after we saw on KIRO News that Police Chief Barnes intended to bring cops back into school, that was a shock for many organizers in the Seattle area,” he said.
That was when KIRO 7 reporter Linzi Sheldon sat down exclusively with Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington and Chief Barnes.
“When I talk to people, they want us to return to the schools in some capacity,” Barnes said then.
SPS Executive Director of Safety and Security Jose Curiel Morelos told Sheldon that a memorandum of understanding to lift the current moratorium was ready for the school board to consider.
That was back in May.
“We believe that it is enough time, at least for Garfield, to have somebody in place by the start of the school year,” Morelos said.
So why is it September and no decision?
“Why are we continuing to spin our wheels?” Garfield PTSA board member Alicia Spanswick asked. She’s been waiting for an officer since last year. Her daughter is a senior at Garfield this fall.
“We can’t be lulled into thinking that crisis is over, and we can just go back to whatever we were doing before,” she said, “because I do think that it will spill back onto campus.”
“Some people might look at this and say, why is it taking so long?” Sheldon asked SPS Interim Superintendent Fred Podesta.
“So, we did bring it to the board in June, introduced it,” Podesta said. He said based on the testimony they heard at that meeting and feedback at the board, they needed to do more engagement.
SPS held a meeting with the Garfield community in July and will hold another session on September 9th.
SPS Accountability Officer Ted Howard, a former principal at Garfield, tried to assure board members about the role of an office there.
“Who picks the officer? Well, that happens jointly between SPS and SPD,” he said. “Are they directly involved in discipline? They’re not. Not at all.”
The city of Seattle said if the pilot program does move forward, funding would come from SPD’s budget.
But some board members appeared unconvinced about lifting the moratorium and leaning toward an exception for Garfield alone.
“Would that mean then that the moratorium would stay in place and there would be a narrow agreement just for Garfield?” Sheldon asked Podesta.
“I mean, we haven’t worked through the mechanics yet,” he said, “but I think there’ll be a space in that moratorium to allow for a pilot at Garfield and I expect that the board will then want us to explain, well, how did that work out before we consider other campuses.”
The school board is expected to discuss the school engagement officer proposal at its next regular meeting on September 17th. It could vote on the pilot program then.
A former Denver Public Schools teacher who graduated from DPS and whose children are current students is running to represent northeast Denver on the school board.
Monica Hunter is vying for the District 4 seat held by Michelle Quattlebaum, who is running for re-election. Hunter will face at least two other opponents as well.
Hunter, 37, said she decided to run because it has been frustrating to watch important decisions about school funding, mental health, and other issues being made by board members who have never been a DPS student or taught in a DPS classroom.
Hunter has been endorsed by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association.
“I entered the race sort of late because for me, this is not a stepping stone,” Hunter said. “I’m doing this out of a need. … I was hoping for someone to run that was connected more to kids and to families and to teachers, and that did not happen.”
Four seats on the seven-member Denver school board are up for grabs in the Nov. 4 election, which comes at a key time. Declining enrollment has led to more than a dozen school closures in the past two years, and a new policy for low-performing schools could lead to more closures.
Born and raised in Denver, Hunter is a graduate of George Washington High School. She was a student teacher at Willow Elementary before getting a job as a first grade teacher at John H. Amesse Elementary. Hunter said the difference between the two DPS schools was glaring.
Willow had a new building, iPads for every student, and parents who raised enough money for the school to hire additional teachers, Hunter said. Amesse had none of that, she said, and was facing a potential closure vote by the school board due to low test scores.
“Closing a school and penalizing it for not having the same amount of resources, it just isn’t equitable,” Hunter said. “I cannot reduce any student or school to a test score. Does reading need to improve? Absolutely. … Do we need to close the achievement gap? Absolutely. Is shutting down their school really going to close it? No, it’s not.”
Amesse avoided closure, and Hunter took a job at Green Valley Elementary, a nearby DPS school where she stayed until she left teaching in 2020. Hunter now works as a director of human and civil rights for the Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union. In that role, she said she helped launch a mental health hotline for educators and a fellowship for teachers of color.
Hunter was active in her local union, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, when she taught in Denver, helping to found DCTA’s Black Educator Caucus. The caucus advocated for teachers at semi-autonomous innovation schools to retain their union contract rights, a change the school board eventually adopted.
Hunter has a blended family of six children, five of whom will attend DPS in the fall. Her kids range in age from preschool to fifth grade, and Hunter said they attend a mix of traditional district-run and innovation schools. Her oldest attends a private school. Hunter declined to name the schools to protect her children’s privacy.
If elected, Hunter said she would prioritize keeping any budget cuts due to state or federal funding shortfalls from impacting DPS classrooms. She said she’d also prioritize providing mental health support to both students and educators.
“We cannot afford any more cuts to education and to classrooms,” Hunter said. “I just want to start there because I think people can promise a lot of things.”
Enrollment in DPS is expected to decline 8% by 2029, which could mean more school closures. Hunter said it would be “very hard” for her to vote to close a district-run school.
“I’d truly want to look at other solutions,” she said.
Hunter said she does not have a personal opinion on Superintendent Alex Marrero, but she questioned why the board renewed his contract in May before the district came to a tentative agreement with the union on a new teachers contract in June.
“From a parent lens, I did not understand the rush,” Hunter said. “We want good board members, we want superintendents who want to do a good job … but we can’t have a school without students and teachers and support staff. Those are the essential heart and soul of schools.”
Over the last few years, elections for public education officials have gone from overlooked and low-profile to heated and politicized affairs, a shift that’s due in large part to conservatives increasingly eyeing schools as places where they can wield significant influence and enact a specific agenda.
Moms for Liberty, a far-right group that popped up in Florida during the COVID pandemic and has since campaigned nationwide for a variety of conservative causes, is a significant driver of this shift. The so-called “parental rights” organization has thrown its support behind school board candidates across the country who have gone on to ban books, pass policies that hurt LGBTQ+ kids, and limit what teachers can do and say in their classrooms.
In 2022, more than half of the candidates endorsed by Moms for Liberty won their races, with those in Florida seeing particular success. But the following year, the group’s high-profile attempts in Pennsylvania were largely a dud.
This year, the group said it has identified 77 candidates for endorsements but has not publicly released the list.
“We continue to strive to have all voters across the country engage in their local school board elections and get to know the candidates because we know that change happens at the local level,” Moms for Liberty co-founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich said in an emailed statement to HuffPost. “We have seen an incredible win rate the past two years that shows the power of our grassroots organization and we are excited to see that same kind of win rate this year.”
But even as the group keeps a lower public profile than it has during previous elections, its impact is clear. Across the country, far-right extremists are looking to get on school boards and reshape public schooling.
The blueprint for a right-wing, Moms for Liberty-style candidate has been made, and conservatives are following it. These candidates typically rail against “critical race theory,” a college-level academic framework for understanding structural racism that has been co-opted by conservatives to mean talking about race at all and making white people feel uncomfortable. They falsely claim books about gender or sexual identity are inherently pornographic. They may smear teachers as groomers, and make sure transgender children are targeted and ostracized at school.
Parental rights and fighting to keep trans kids from playing sports are now Republican talking points at all levels of government.
“The work of Moms for Liberty hasn’t been as visible. But the rhetoric they use and their candidates are very much visible,” Tamika Walker Kelly, the president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, told HuffPost.
In blue, red, and purple states alike, this election is shaping up to have dozens of hotly contested school board races that feature right-wing candidates going up against their more liberal counterparts and hoping to shape the next generation of public school students.
North Carolina
There is perhaps no state where more is on the line for public education than North Carolina. Some of the largest school districts in the state could end up with an ultraconservative majority, and the Republican candidate for the top statewide educational role attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally at the U.S. Capitol and has no experience in education.
The Wake County school board, the state’s largest school system, is at the epicenter of the fight for North Carolina’s schools. Five of the board’s nine seats are up for grabs.
This isn’t the first time right-wingers have tried to influence Wake County schools. In 2009, after a Tea Party takeover of the school board led to the erosion of long-term integration policies, the Democrats took action and have managed to keep the school board liberal for the last decade and a half.
But now, Republicans in Wake County are trying to make inroads in the schools again. Conservative activists have tried banning books in the county and recently ginned up a moral panic about sexually explicit content in schools after a high school student claimed a book she read in class was inappropriate. (The book in question was “Tomorrow Is Too Far” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which depicts a relationship between cousins and has the line “he tried to fit what you both called his banana into what you both called your tomato.”)
To Democrats, the GOP vision is clear. “Their goal is to make public schools go away,” Kevyn Creech, the chair of the Wake County Democrats, told HuffPost. “They want to get rid of the Department of Education, make everything religious, and privatize it all.”
Democratic leaders are particularly worried because a Republican win for state superintendent, coupled with GOP victories at the county level, could create the perfect storm.
The state superintendent for public instruction oversees more than 2,500 schools in North Carolina and an $11 billion budget. The race is between Democrat Mo Green, the former superintendent of Guilford County schools, and Republican Michele Morrow, who homeschooled her own children.
After defeating the Republican incumbent in March, Morrow made headlines when CNN discovered that she had attended the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection with her children. (There is no evidence that she entered the Capitol building or committed any crimes.) She has also called for the execution of prominent Democrats and made a video saying former President Donald Trump should use the U.S. military to stay in power after he lost the election in 2020.
Morrow ran for school board in Wake County in 2022 and lost by 20 points. As a candidate for superintendent, she has lobbed homophobic and transphobic attacks at Green and vowed to rid the state’s schools of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and censor what teachers can say in the classroom.
Educators believe that a Morrow win will set the state’s schools on a dark path.
“Morrow and her extremist agenda will push our public schools further behind,” Walker Kelly said. “We will continue to see the further underfunding and disrespect of our public school system.”
The state superintendent would work closely with the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly — meaning Morrow could wield influence over the schools and usher in her extremist agenda, which centers white conservative Christian ideology.
“As a department of the state, there’s still enough power to do damage to public schools,” Walker Kelly said.
South Carolina
In South Carolina, the school board race in Berkeley County, a Charleston suburb, is shaping up to feature right-wing candidates looking to further entrench a Moms for Liberty-style agenda against a slate of candidates who have branded themselves as the “education over politics” group. Five of the board’s nine seats are up for grabs.
Moms for Liberty has already made its mark in the county. In 2022, six of the new board members were endorsed by the group. One of their first actions was to fire the superintendent and ban critical race theory.
At a school board meeting, she said the books she challenged were “unconstitutional and ungodly.”
“Why is it acceptable to make choices for my child, choices I’m not included in, choices I do not agree with?” she said. Board members told Davenport was free to opt her child out of any material she found objectionable.
Maryland
Further north in Maryland, there’s yet another school board race with at least one extreme candidate.
In Anne Arundel County, home to the state’s capital of Annapolis, all seven seats on the board are open. One candidate, Chuck Yocum, is running on parental rights and barring transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity. His campaign website features a long screed about how public schools used to be good but have been ruined by teachers unions and the creation of the Department of Education.
“Unions, once held in high regard as fighting for fairness are fighting to take parents rights and put biological males in female locker rooms and sports,” he wrote. “Something that until about five minutes ago would have gotten a young man arrested. Now, it’s encouraged.”
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The Manassas City School Board is set to vote at its next meeting on a surplus property resolution related to the new Jennie Dean Elementary school.
The resolution is part of the requisite boundary line adjustment for the new elementary school. It will enable the School Board to swap a certain portion of the property with portions currently held by the city of Manassas.
“There’s 0.9 acres that a pickleball court is on that is currently Manassas City Public School property and then there’s two pieces of the ‘new Dean’ project that go over the line on the Manassas city property line,” said Superintendent Kevin Newman.
Both happen to be 0.9 acres, allowing the two sides to essentially swap the property.
City Council has a separate process it must go through to make the adjustment, including two public hearings on the matter.
“This is just a part of the process that is moving the new Dean project along,” Newman said.
While the resolution was up for discussion at Tuesday night’s meeting – to be voted on at the following meeting – there was no discussion on the matter outside of Newman’s short recap of the resolution.
The two sides have had a number of meetings and discussions over an extended period of time about the Jennie Dean Elementary project and the property swap itself.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations about 0.9 acres of property,” Newman said.
History
Manassas City Council approved in May a special use permit that was required in order for construction on the new building to begin. The two sides disagreed on the conditions set forth in the permit, particularly surrounding what happens to the old Jennie Dean school building when the new one is built.
Ultimately, to the dismay of several School Board members, City Council approved the permit with a set of 12 conditions the School Board must abide by.
One condition in particular instructs the School Board to assist the city in any historical investigation to determine if any part of the school or site has historical significance. It also directs the School Board to prepare and submit a plan that addresses the use and disposition of the existing school building.
If the School Board has plans for the continued use of the existing building, it would be required to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, discuss any alternative locations available for the proposed use and analyze potential land-use public facility impacts.
The condition includes language that would allow the city to demolish the older building if the council chooses not to approve the plan of use offered by the School Board.
The School Board and City Council have had several individual and joint meetings over the course of many months to try to come to a decision on the best plan for the projects.
While councilmembers have said it was always intended the old building would be torn down when the new building is constructed, members of the School Board have repeatedly asked that the old building remain intact for potential future use.
After the City Council approved the permit with the set of conditions, several School Board members expressed their concern with the conditions, particularly related to the potential demolition of the old building.
School Board member Jill Spall said at a meeting following the approval of the permit that the disagreement over what to do with the current Dean building is about more than just this building and property itself.
“The issues are a part of a broader discussion about land use, historical preservation and community development,” Spall said. “I’m much more concerned with what the city plans to do with the land once old Dean is demolished than I am about keeping old Dean itself.”
The new Jennie Dean building, which will serve pre-kindergarten through 4th grade students, is expected to be completed in late 2026 or 2027.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez spoke out for the first time Wednesday after all members of the Chicago Board of Education resigned and Mayor Brandon Johnson made his new appointments.
Meanwhile, the Chicago City Council met Wednesday ahead of a now-canceled special meeting in the afternoon, where city leaders had planned to address the recent Board of Education shake up.
Martinez spoke to ABC7 Wednesday, responding to criticism that he has no CPS funding plan and is relying on proposed cuts. He was also asked if he thought the mayor’s picks for a new school board could end up firing him.
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I’m being sincere,” Martinez said. “I will say what’s great right now is that, you know, it’s very transparent what my contract says.”
Martinez told ABC7 there has been a plan in place for months that Mayor Johnson was well aware of. The plan included using the city’s TIF surplus dollars to help fund CPS. Martinez said there a formal ask on April 30 for $462 million dollars in TIF funding to pay for pensions and union contracts, including one for the teachers union that included 4% raises.
“At that time, we didn’t get an answer. We continued to ask. Eventually what we were told over the summer was that instead they wanted us to take out a loan,” Martinez said. “I was making a case to really solidify more TIF funding. I was surprised. So was our board. The response was instead borrow, and of course everything since then.”
The previous school board was not willing to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez or secure a short term, high interest loan to help pay for a new teachers’ contract, which led to their mass resignation last week.
“I did not expect for this to escalate to the way it did,” Martinez said.
Using TIF funds is the same idea the Chicago Teachers Union presented in plan Wednesday.
The Chicago Teachers Union, community leaders and CPS parents gathered near City Hall earlier Wednesday to propose what they are calling the “Revenue Recovery Package.”
CTU leaders said the plan provides more than $1 billion in immediate revenue for city schools by redirecting TIF funds from developers to CPS.
First District Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps said it’s the city’s collective responsibility to care for children across Chicago.
“What’s happening within Chicago Public Schools isn’t the responsibility of the Chicago Teachers Union, or CPS or parents. It’s all of our responsibility,” Stamps said. “How our children get educated in this city because whether you want to believe it or not, they are all our children.”
The mayor now says Martinez is taking a page from their playbook.
“Whatever is there that we can surplus, I’ve made a commitment. Those are my values. That’s not something that anybody had to call for me to do,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, multiple City Council members said Wednesday they have been working with the mayor’s office to have the outgoing and incoming board members appear at a hearing before the education committee to answer questions.
City Council was supposed to hold special committee hearing Wednesday to hear from the mayor’s six new board picks.
“We still have questions, process matter, how you do things matter and we need to make sure there is stability,” Ald. Maria Hadden said.
The special meeting was canceled. It will be held later in the month as an Education Committee Hearing.
At a future education meeting, City Council members want to question the mayor’s nominees appointed to be on the CPS board.
“Right now we want to know about their biographies, we want to know about their mindsets, we want to know what they are bringing to the board as individuals and as a collective,” 15th Ward Alderman Ray Lopez said. “We know very little about these individuals and as a collective.”
So, the agreement was to have the new appointed board members to come to a meeting and also we talk about the budget,” said 15th Ward Ald. Jeanette Taylor, Education Committee Chairman.
The agreement was made with the mayor’s office, but before adjourning the regular City Council meeting Wednesday, Johnson made no guarantee the new school board members will show up.
The mayor said the new school members are invited. He has no plans use his executive authority to make sure they attend. Alderpersons say they may subpoena the members, but the city’s law department insists the Education Committee has no subpoena power.
“My vision is about building a system that works for everyone,” Johnson said. “Imagine our schools down a pathway of new discovery, where you don’t have to senseless cuts and real disruption and chaos. You can actually have a school district that doesn’t embrace mass layoffs, massive school closings, austerity.”
The announcement was briefly interrupted by a small group of protesters for school choice.
Protesters interrupt Mayor Brandon Johnson as he announces appointments tot he Chicago Board of Education.
“I am confident that these individuals and their experience in education, community, faith, business and elsewhere will continue our work to transform Chicago Public Schools into a world class school district for students and families,” Johnson said. “As a CPS parent, I want the same thing for other CPS parents that I want for my own children, which is every class, every activity and every resource that will help build bright futures and bold leaders. I know these individuals will fight for our children to receive the investments they deserve, and will work with my administration and the district to put the needs of our students and families first.”
The candidates are Olga Bautista, Michilla Blaise, Mary Gardner, Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson, Deborah Pope and Frank Niles Thomas. Pope recently worked for the Chicago Teachers Union and served on the CTU contract negotiating team.
“I, like my fellow board nominees have a record of community change and sat and steadfast in our commitment to Mayor’s Johnson’s vision to fully fund neighborhood schools,” said nominee Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson.
“You know, there is a lot of attention on this transition of this board right now, but I have to ask, where is the outrage about what is at stake if we don’t fully fund our schools?” said nominee Olga Bautista.
Johnson described this as “a transition period to transform the school district.”
Johnson wants Martinez out partly because he refused to take out a short-term, high interest loan to help pay for a new contract for the CTU.
The mayor is appointing interim board members before a new board, partly-elected in November, takes office in January.
Mayor Johnson announced his CPS Board appointments during a heating news conference Monday.
The mayor over the weekend reiterated he was voted into office because he has a plan to build a better school district. Johnson said he’s honoring that campaign promise.
“I’m leading; I’m in charge,” Johnson said. “They elected a parent…. We have schools on the West and South sides that don’t have librarians. That’s unconscionable.”
The mayor would not allow the new nominees to answer any questions about on the loan, Martinez or their connections to the CTU.
Mayor Brandon Johnson brushed aside concerns that this appeared to be a coup done in consorts with his allies at the Chicago Teachers Union.
“No, you are not doing that. If you have a question for the mayor of Chicago, then ask me a question,” Johnson said.
One City Hall ally addressed the Martinez issue.
“And so I think that Pedro had long enough to fix this. What’s the Pedro plan? That’s all I’m asking. What is Plan B? Pedro doesn’t have that,” said 6th Ward Ald. William Hall.
In a lengthy and combative press conference, the mayor berated reporters and attacked those who have been critical of allowing the previous board to resign so close to an elected school board election.
“So you have a Black man who’s a parent, a teacher, and the mayor of Chicago with the authority that the state gave me, and now they have concerns of expressing those authority,” Johnson said. “The moment people begin to take those unnecessary for political shots at my administration, you have to questions the motives.”
Forty-one members of the Chicago City Council, including many of Johnson’s allies, signed a letter denouncing the board resignations and calling a short-term high-interest pay-say loan not a smart decision.
Johnson compared the argument to slavery and emancipation.
“They said it would be fiscally irresponsible for this country to liberate Black people. Now, you have detractors making the argument of the confederacy when it comes to public education in this system,” Johnson said.
Among the letter signees is Alderwoman Nicole Lee, who spoke outside City Hall on Monday afternoon.
“We deserve more responsible leadership. I want to say also that I’m absolutely opposed to the $300 million payday loan scheme that’s been suggested. I think it’s irresponsible on the part of CPS to take on that type of that type of loan in,” Lee said.
Other alderpersons also weighed in.
“When we have an election in less than 30 days to decide who’s going to be the new participants of this board just reeks of this banana republic mentality that you know you can manipulate the Democratic process however you wish, so long as you get the desired result,” said 15th Ward Ald. Ray Lopez.
“I think the bottom line for taxpayers, too, is they want to see the leadership, but they also want to see somebody be fiscally responsible ethically responsible and morally responsible, and we’re not saying that with Mayor Johnson,” said 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack.
One of the legislative champions of the elected school board law expressing concerns about everything that’s played out since Friday.
“What decisions were being made that led us to the place that we’re in now where we’re scrambling to put together a whole new board just two months before the first elected school board, that’s concerning,” said Illinois State Rep. Ann Williams.
Parents, flanked by multiple members of City Council, also denounced the way all of this has come about.
“The fact that all this politicking is happening and it’s effect on our kids, ultimately, and we are not having a seat at the table, or being a part of any discussion. It kind of makes me angry,” said Tierra Pearson, a single mother of three.
Johnson brushed aside concerns that this appeared to be a coup done in consorts with his allies at CTU.
“So every single mayor in the history of Chicago has had the authority to appoint board members to multiple boards. Guess who still has that authority? This mayor does,” Johnson said.
The mayor also repeated demands that state lawmakers come up with more money for CPS, something seen as unlikely given previous statements from the governor and others.
Some City Council members have called for a special meeting on Wednesday, right after the regular meeting to address the turmoil at CPS.
The CTU released a statement Monday, saying:
“In response to Mayor Brandon Johnson exercising his authority to appoint six new members of the Chicago Board of Education, President Stacy Davis Gates, issued the following statement:
“‘Chicago elected a mayor who promised to transform our school district, to break with the failed cuts, closings and furloughs of the past. The Chicago Teachers Union looks forward to collaborating with the new board members to enact the transformation of our public schools that our students and educators need and deserve.’
“Additionally, the CTU urges the public and our elected officials to ask and investigate these questions of the CPS CEO:
“1. What is Pedro Martinez’s solution for overcrowded classrooms with 37 or more students? “2. What is his plan to provide libraries and librarians to the 80 % of CPS schools that don’t have them? “3. How will he get CPS into compliance with federal law and address the critical shortages of special education teachers, clinicians, social workers and nurses in school buildings? “4. What is his revenue plan to complete the CPS budget for this school year and next?
“Mayor Johnson’s first school board accomplished important firsts and centered equity throughout its tenure, beginning the transformation the mayor envisioned. The task of the new CPS Board members is to collaborate with Chicago’s educators, parents and students to make that vision a reality.”
A Pennsylvania middle school is installing windows in its gender-inclusive restrooms that will allow teachers and students to look into the wash areas from the hallways.
The far-right South Western School District board approved the construction project at Hanover’s Emory H Markle Middle School this summer.
The school board president, Matt Gelazela, cited student safety for the decision. In a statement released to the media, he wrote that “in making the area outside of stalls more viewable, we are better able to monitor for a multitude of prohibited activities such as any possible vaping, drug use, bullying or absenteeism.”
The board said that it would “create openings” to add “privacy in the toilet area” and “increase oversight of the wash area.” Gelazela added that these changes put the restrooms in line with facilities in the local elementary schools.
Gelazela, a libertarian and former police officer, became politically active with the South Western School District board in 2021, fighting COVID-19 mask mandates and railing against schools teaching students about “sexual identity.”
The new restroom windows at Markle Middle School are being built only into the gender-inclusive bathrooms and are set to cost the district roughly $8,700. The school currently has five bathroom options. The Hanover Evening Sun wrote that these include “male, female, male gender identifying, female gender identifying, and single-stall private bathrooms.”
Gelazela did not respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.
The construction of the bathroom windows has outraged parents and LGBTQ+ advocates alike, who see it as a privacy infringement for students and a specific targeting of LGBTQ+ youth.
Jennifer Holahan, a parent of a student in the school district, said her son, who is not part of the LGBTQ+ community, was told he had to use a gender-inclusive bathroom because it was closest to his classes.
She told WGAL-TV in Lancaster that the window construction “just raised a ton of concerns for me — privacy concerns, safety concerns. … I felt like it was a deterrent to keep them [students] from using them.”
She added: “I can understand needing to have supervision over middle school and high school kids, especially in the bathroom. … But I also think windows aren’t the solution. I think if it was a real issue, it wouldn’t just be the gender-inclusive restrooms.”
The board approved the construction in August after seeking guidance from the Independence Law Center, a Christian law firm contracted by the board.
The law firm has contracted with other school boards in the state to push forward various anti-LGBTQ+ policies, such as restricting transgender students’ participation on school sports teams that align with their gender and allowing school administrators to avoid using a trans student’s correct name and pronouns.
The construction of bathroom windows is one of the latest targeting moves by the South Western School District, which in the last two years has sought to roll back protections for LGBTQ+ students.
Gelazela was appointed school board president in December 2023 after serving as a regular member. Five Republican newcomers, who organized under the group We the Parents of South Western School District, were also elected to the board that year. The new members ran on a platform in support of “traditional education” and removing “political agendas” and critical race theory from school curricula.
As president, one of Gelazela’s first actions was to put forth a set of policies to erase gender identity from the district’s sexual harassment policy and establish a narrow definition of sex that excluded the existence of trans and intersex people.
At the time, another member of the board had advised Gelazela not to stray from state and federal guidelines — including the Biden administration’s recent Title IX guidance that explicitly bars discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation — out of fear of inviting litigation.
But in March 2024, Gelazela entered the board into a contract with Independence Law Center, which so far has helped the board carry out these policy goals.
Earlier this year, the school board adopted a dizzying set of policies around how transgender students could update their names and pronouns in the school records, often creating exceptions for school officials to not be compelled to comply based on their religious beliefs.
The board allowed school personnel to refuse to use a student’s name or set of pronouns that use “language inconsistent with their beliefs.”
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Students who want to correct their name and pronouns in the school records can do so only if they submit a written “accommodation request” from their parents. But still the board would not allow students to change their sex on their school records and would allow school personally to not address a student by the “unwanted first name.” Instead, school administrators can choose to refer to students as “you” or “they.”
Since 2020, several members of the far-right activist group Moms for Liberty, have been elected to school boards at more Pennsylvania school districts, helping to introduce policies banning discussions of LGBTQ+ issues or racial justice.
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Last September, the New Hanover County Board of Education in North Carolina voted 4-3 to remove “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You,” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, from its high school curriculum.
“Stamped” is an award-winning nonfiction book, specifically written to help teens understand the concept of systemic racism. But according to the parent in the district who led the crusade against the book, it promotes anti-American sentiment and disrespect for the Bible.
The decision to remove the book — temporarily, according to the school board, though it hasn’t said anything about when the ban may be lifted — from the district’s Advanced Placement Language and Composition curriculum was one of many controversial decisions the school board has made since four Republicans won open seats in the 2022 election.
It was also the decision that made at least one parent get more involved and follow the board’s actions more closely.
“That really caught my attention,” Valerie Noel, who has four children in the district, told HuffPost. “As a former English teacher, I am very against book banning and censorship.”
The newest board members have similar views to Moms for Liberty, a far-right organization that says it promotes parental rights. The group originated in Florida in response to coronavirus-related school closures and has bloomed into a nationwide organization that supports the conservative faux moral panic du jour.
“I truly believe they’re doing everything they can to destroy our schools,” Sandy Eyles, a parent in the school district, told HuffPost. Eyles founded New Hanover County Educational Justice, a group that educates the public about what’s going on in local schools. “Our school board has been an absolute disaster.”
“Their hatred for the LGBTQ+ community is obvious. It’s scary and it’s overwhelming.”
– Sandy Eyles, parent
School board races, once quiet affairs, have become a target of far-right activists who want to remake the nation’s public schools. Across the U.S., these races have become more high-profile, with culture warriors running on platforms that demonize public schooling, attack books with LGBTQ+ and racial justice themes, and smear educators as groomers and indoctrinators.
In New Hanover County, an increasingly purple pocket of North Carolina, the board of education race is a microcosm of state politics — a close fight between the Democratic Party and a GOP that has lurched further and further right under Donald Trump.
After two years of the board’s far-right agenda, voters have a chance to dilute conservatives’ power in November. The seven-seat board currently has five Republicans, one of whom occasionally votes with Democrats. Since only three seats are up for grabs this fall, Democrats would have to wait until 2026 to attempt to flip the board — but if they sweep the election this fall, they’ll still have three guaranteed votes.
On the flip side, Republican victories in those races would mean the conservatives would have total control of the board.
Perhaps the most controversial candidate for the New Hanover board is Natosha Tew, the legislative chair of the county’s Moms for Liberty chapter. (The vice chair of the chapter was just arrested for her role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.) Tew’s campaign website says that “the foundation of my candidacy is on fixing our schools by removing the politicized ‘Woke’ curriculum.” She openly embraces anti-government conspiracy theories and has railed against the Biden administration’s changes to Title IX, the law that protects people from gender and sex-based discrimination.
“We, as Parents and concerned citizens, must remain steadfast in our mission to elect officials that recognize that there are only 2 biological sexes, and that gender ideology is cult that threatens the very fabric of our society… the family unit,” she wrote on her campaign website in July.
Tew homeschooled her daughter and does not have any experience in public education.
She gained notoriety for railing against COVID protections at school board meetings and was once removed from the meeting for going over her allocated speaking time.
Tew did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
“It’s just really scary to see people like Natosha Tew speak this hateful rhetoric,” Eyles said.
The two other Republican candidates, David Perry and Nikki Bascome, haven’t generated as much controversy, but they are still campaigning on “parental rights” — a popular catch-all term for conservatives who want influence over classrooms — and claims that students are using materials that are not age-appropriate.
New Hanover County residents don’t believe they would be moderating voices on the school board.
“I believe in public education. I want my children to have a great education and to love school,” Noel said. “If any of [the Republicans] get elected, I don’t even want to imagine what the board would be like.”
“Our board has been behaving in a very racist way.”
– Valerie Noel, parent and former English teacher
A lot of eyes are on New Hanover, and not just because of the school board. The purple county, in a crucial swing state, is considered the bellwether for North Carolina politics. Experts say it will be the county to watch when it comes to the presidential election.
The county — which now is home to 225,000 people, about half of whom live in the beachside city of Wilmington — went for Republican presidential candidates every year from 1980 to 2016. But in 2020, President Joe Biden edged out Trump by 2 points, though he lost the state overall. In the 2022 midterms, the county selected Democrat Cherri Beasley for Senate but Republican David Rouzer for the House.
And despite the Republican sweep of the county school board, the wins were by extremely thin margins.
Pat Bradford, Melissa Mason, Josie Barnhart and Peter Wildeboer all campaigned on the promise to remove “critical race theory” from the schools. (CRT is a college-level academic framework used to understand structural racism, but conservatives have co-opted the term to mean any materials dealing with racial justice.) They also vowed to ban LGBTQ+ books that they claim are sexualizing children and to restore “parental rights.”
They made good on those campaign promises as soon as they were elected.
At a February 2023 meeting, the board voted to reverse a policy that allowed middle school athletes to play on sports teams that matched their gender identity. The meeting was paused for a short period of time to allow local police to escort a member of the far-right extremist Proud Boys, who showed up at the meeting to support a reversal, out of the building.
Attacking transgender youth has become a core part of the GOP’s ideology. Over the last few years, the party has sponsored endless bills designed to keep trans students from playing on sports teams and using bathrooms that match their gender identity. They have passed legislation that bans gender-affirming health care for youth and spread lies about schools performing gender reassignment surgeries on students.
DEI programs have come under scrutiny by Republicans, with some even using the concept as a thinly veiled racist attack against Black politicians. State legislatures have passed laws to dismantle DEI programs in local government and higher education.
In July, the board voted 5-0 (two members were not present) to fire Charles Foust, the county’s first Black superintendent. The move came after 80% of district teachers said in a survey that their leaders were not aware of what goes on in classrooms and that administrators and the school board are not in touch with the realities of teaching.
“It’s been very frustrating, because the school board has just spent so much time and energy on culture war issues,” Noel said.
“Our board has been behaving in a very racist way,” she added.
Parents say that banning “Stamped,” cutting the DEI program and firing Foust all remind them of New Hanover County’s racist history. In 1898, white supremacists violently overthrew the duly-elected biracial government in Wilmington, killing anywhere between 60 to 300 Black people and ushering in the Jim Crow era.
Residents are also worried about what it could mean for their school board if Michele Morrow, the ultra-conservative GOP candidate for state superintendent, wins her race.
After taking her children to the rally that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, Morrow posted now-deleted videos saying Trump should use the military to stay in power. She also called for the execution of prominent Democrats like former President Barack Obama and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Despite having no experience in education and homeschooling her daughter, Morrow is promising to make waves in the public school system.
“Our current education system continues to detach from the values that built this country – prioritizing gender studies and leftist political indoctrination over foundational knowledge,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter) last month. “The establishment has to go.”
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New Hanover education advocates believe that a Morrow win would be a boon to the New Hanover school board’s extremist agenda.
“I know [the Republican board candidates] all love Michele Morrow and they all love Trump,” said Kristina Mercier, a retired New Hanover teacher.
“If all three Republicans win, they’re going to spend the next two years doing whatever they want,” Mercier added. “They’re going to ban books and make life difficult for LGBTQ+ students and teachers.”
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Some older Bay Area teenagers will have a chance to make their voices heard this election — albeit in limited fashion.
While still barred from voting on higher-profile races such as those for president or Congress, 16- and 17-year-olds living in Oakland and Berkeley will be able to cast ballots in upcoming school board elections, which determine the leadership and policies of local districts.
The vote was extended thanks to the passage of Berkeley’s Measure Y1 and Oakland’s Measure QQ, according to a joint news release.
The state already has a system that pre-registers 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, and their registration becomes active once they turn 18, officials said. The same system will be used to allow them to vote in their local school board elections, but not other races scheduled at the same time, according to the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.
“This has never been done before in California and we had to make sure that it was done properly,” Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis said in a statement. “I would like to thank the Board of Supervisors for their support in helping make it possible for 16- and 17-year-olds in Oakland and Berkeley to vote for school board in November 2024.”
Four of seven board seats in the Oakland Unified School District are up for election in November, as are two in the Berkeley Unified School District.
“Voting is not just a right but a civic duty, and extending this right to 16- and 17-year-olds will foster a culture of civic participation from an early age,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao said in a statement.
Though the goal of this new policy is to increase youth voter turnout, its effects won’t be known until the polls close. And many minors still may opt not to vote.
“Me, personally, I’m not that political, especially with today’s standards,” Naseem Bennett, a 17-year-old Oakland Tech senior, told the Mercury News. “But would I vote? I would think about it.”
Let’s start with some common sense: Covering the Earth with plastic carpet is a terrible idea. And yet we continue to cover an ever-growing swath of our public and private open spaces with artificial turf in a way that will surely leave future generations scratching their heads in confusion.
It’s time to embrace healthier, cheaper and more environmentally responsible alternatives, and Los Angeles can help lead the way.
The artificial turf industry has had a great deal of success convincing millions of people that its short-lived, nonrecyclable, fossil-fuel-derived product is somehow good for the environment. Were there a greenwashing hall of fame, this would be in it.
In fact, it’s clear that artificial turf is bad for our ecosystems as well as our health.
Artificial turf exacerbates the effects of climate change. On a 90-degree Los Angeles day, the temperature of artificial turf can reach 150 degrees or higher — hot enough to burn skin. And artificial turf is disproportionately installed to replace private lawns and public landscaping in economically disadvantaged communities that already face the greatest consequences of the urban heat-island effect, in which hard surfaces raise local temperatures.
Artificial turf consists of single-use plastics made from crude oil or methane. The extraction, refining and processing of these petrochemicals, along with the transporting and eventual removal of artificial turf, come with a significant carbon footprint.
Artificial turf is full of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” because they accumulate in the environment and living tissue. The Synthetic Turf Council has noted manufacturers’ efforts to ensure that their products “contain no intentionally-added PFAS constituents.” So what? Tobacco companies don’t intentionally add carcinogens to cigarettes; they’re built into the product. PFAS have been linked to serious health effects, and while artificial turf is by no means the only source of them, it is one we can avoid.
Because artificial turf is a complex product made of multiple types of plastic, it will never be recycled. After its relatively short lifespan of about eight to 15 years, artificial turf ends up in indefinite storage, landfills and incinerators, creating a whole host of additional pollution problems.
Industry reps have seduced school boards and municipalities with promises that artificial turf fields can be used 24/7 and become a source of income as third parties line up to rent them. In reality, well-maintained, natural grass fields are more than sufficient for the limited number of hours in a day when people are available to participate in sports.
Studies show the maintenance costs of artificial turf oftenexceed those of natural grass. Naturally occurring organisms in soil break down much of what ends up on a grass field, including all kinds of human and animal bodily fluids. When the field is a plastic carpet, those systems can’t work, necessitating regular cleaning with a cleansing agent and a substantial amount of water. The infill component that cushions the turf must be combed, cleaned and replaced regularly as well. As the field ages, this work only increases.
The turf industry counters that grass fields result in the use of costly fertilizers and pesticides, which also become runoff pollution. That is a reasonable concern, but it can be addressed with environmentally responsible pest management and soil amendments. The continuing implementation of statewide food and green waste collection requirements will produce much more compost to cost-effectively maintain natural playing surfaces.
Remarkably, artificial turf doesn’t even save water compared with grass. Industry marketing materials claim that an artificial field can save millions of gallons of water a year and that homeowners who use the product to replace a conventional lawn can reduce their water use by more than half. But artificial turf must be regularly cleaned with water, and in warm climates such as Los Angeles’, artificial fields get so hot that schools must water them down before children play on them.
Industry water reduction promises generally compare artificial turf with the thirstiest sod grasses. But far more drought-tolerant varieties of natural turf grass are available. Residential lawns are indeed a tremendously wasteful use of water, but native plants are a far better solution than artificial turf — and you get butterflies as a bonus.
Even if artificial turf is never watered for cleaning or cooling, it contributes to losses of fresh water that natural surfaces would capture. Los Angeles in particular needs plants and natural surfaces that absorb as much of our precious rain as possible to recharge our groundwater and mitigate flooding. Impervious sheets of plastic cannot provide this service.
The Los Angeles City Council is considering requiring municipal departments to report on the consequences of artificial turf use, which is a good first step. From 2015 until last year, California law considered artificial turf a form of drought-tolerant landscaping that cities and counties could not prohibit. Thanks to a change in the law that excluded artificial turf from that category, Los Angeles has an opportunity to set a precedent by banning new installations of this destructive material.
Any truthful assessment of the financial, environmental and health consequences of artificial turf should lead governments to phase it out. We need to get over the antiquated notion that we can manufacture a better version of nature.
Charles Miller is the chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the Climate Reality Project and its Biodiversity Committee.
A former Stockton Unified School District board president was denied the opportunity to appear remotely at the board of trustees’s regular meeting on Tuesday, despite still being a board member, according to her attorney.The board of trustees met for the first time since the arrest of the former board president and trustee AngelAnn Flores.Watch previous coverage in the player above.AngelAnn Flores was arrested on Friday, accused of embezzlement, theft of public funds and insurance fraud. Flores’ Attorney, Tori Verber Salazar, said in a statement that the trustee’s pre-trial probation terms prevent her from going within 100 yards of her place of work.On Monday, Flores made a written request to the district to appear at the board meeting remotely, according to her attorney. Her request was denied. Flores’ attorney said the denial violates state law, AB 2449. “This is a blatant attempt to chill Ms. Flores’ First Amendment rights and impede her ability to diligently serve the community who elected her,” Flores’ attorney wrote in a news release.A spokesperson for the school district told KCRA 3 that Flores was denied virtual attendance at the meeting because there was not enough notice.The Brown Act requires a 72-hour notice, according to the school district.”Given that Ms. Flores’ request was made less than 24 hours from the noticed meeting, any last-minute changes would not qualify for the 72-hour notice requirement under the Brown Act,” the district said in a statement to KCRA 3. “Given the lack of notice, access to the public, and the strict language of the Brown Act, the District could not accommodate the request.”SUSD said it can accommodate future meetings for Flores to attend virtually.Flores has been a board member for the district since 2018. Her term expires in 2026.Flores has her first court appearance on May 6.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
STOCKTON, Calif. —
A former Stockton Unified School District board president was denied the opportunity to appear remotely at the board of trustees’s regular meeting on Tuesday, despite still being a board member, according to her attorney.
The board of trustees met for the first time since the arrest of the former board president and trustee AngelAnn Flores.
Flores’ Attorney, Tori Verber Salazar, said in a statement that the trustee’s pre-trial probation terms prevent her from going within 100 yards of her place of work.
On Monday, Flores made a written request to the district to appear at the board meeting remotely, according to her attorney. Her request was denied.
Flores’ attorney said the denial violates state law, AB 2449.
“This is a blatant attempt to chill Ms. Flores’ First Amendment rights and impede her ability to diligently serve the community who elected her,” Flores’ attorney wrote in a news release.
A spokesperson for the school district told KCRA 3 that Flores was denied virtual attendance at the meeting because there was not enough notice.
The Brown Act requires a 72-hour notice, according to the school district.
“Given that Ms. Flores’ request was made less than 24 hours from the noticed meeting, any last-minute changes would not qualify for the 72-hour notice requirement under the Brown Act,” the district said in a statement to KCRA 3. “Given the lack of notice, access to the public, and the strict language of the Brown Act, the District could not accommodate the request.”
SUSD said it can accommodate future meetings for Flores to attend virtually.
Flores has been a board member for the district since 2018. Her term expires in 2026.
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While a Southern California school board met Tuesday to discuss declaring June as Pride Month, a brawl broke out among the hundreds of protesters assembled outside.
The fight outside Glendale Unified School District headquarters led to three arrests and a declaration of an unlawful assembly, the Glendale Police Department confirmed Tuesday night.
“While most of the protest was peaceful, a small group of individuals engaged in behavior deemed unsafe and a risk to public safety,” police said in a statement.
Anti-LGBT protestors attack Pro-LGBT demonstrators outside of a Glendale, CA schoolboard meeting.
An estimated 500 people assembled outside the school district headquarters in the Los Angeles suburb, with those opposed to the Pride Month declaration waving U.S. flags, wearing shirts that read “Leave our kids alone” and holding up signs reading “Stop grooming the kids.” The Los Angeles Times photographed one man wearing a shirt that read “Teacher: Don’t bring your bedroom into my kid’s classroom.”
Counterprotesters who support the school district declaring June as Pride Month, as it has done the three previous years, showed up with rainbow Pride flags. Ultimately, the five-member school board unanimously voted in favor of declaring Pride Month.
A protester opposed to the school district’s Pride Month declaration holds up a sign.
Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images
Previous Pride Month declarations by the Glendale school board simply stated that it encourages district staff to “support lessons and activities that engage students in meaningful learning about the accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community and the experiences of our LGBTQ+ students, employees, and families,” as well as “urges everyone to recognize the contributions made by members of the LGBTQ+ community and to actively promote the principles of equality, liberty, and justice.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called out the violence as part of a growing right-wing culture war.
“What should have been a routine vote ― simply recognizing Pride Month for the fourth year in a row ― turned to violence,” he said Wednesday in a statement. “The words of the resolution did not change from years past, but what has changed is a wave of division and demonization sweeping our nation.”
Tuesday’s violence comes amid a wave of conservative lawmakers going after how race, gender and sexual orientation are discussed in schools and claiming that school districts are sexualizing children by incorporating inclusive education materials into the curriculum.
And, according to a study released in April by the American Civil Liberties Union and Freedom for All Americans, lawmakers have introduced more than 200 anti-LGBTQ+ bills this year.
“In California, we celebrate the beauty of pluralism — how our diverse communities, heritages, and identities belong and, together, make us whole,” Newsom said. “Glendale represents the best of this commitment, but the hate we saw on full display last night does not.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) weighed in Saturday after three Southern California school board members managed to block an updated social studies curriculum from being formally approved because it included material about gay rights icon Harvey Milk.
Temecula Valley School Board member Danny Gonzalez first prompted objections from community members gathered to watch the meeting by saying that Milk’s “lifestyle choices” were “wildly inappropriate” and calling him a “pedophile.”
The school board president, Joseph Komrosky, agreed with the characterization, claiming that including Milk in the curriculum amounted to “activism.”
“My question is, why even mention a pedophile?” Komrosky asked at one point.
An offensive statement from an ignorant person.
This isn’t Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn.
“An offensive statement from an ignorant person,” Newsom later responded in a tweet alongside a story about the incident.
“This isn’t Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn. Congrats Mr. Komrosky you have our attention,” the governor tweeted, adding, “Stay tuned.”
The school board meeting took place on May 16 but only began receiving attention from local news media this week. During one emotionally charged moment, Komrosky threatened to throw disrupters out of the room; three women in the front row stood and left at the same time.
The 3-2 vote against the new classroom material, which had been approved by the state, leaves the Temecula Valley Unified School District in potential violation of California laws on textbook compliancy. The district said in a statement to KABC, a local outlet, that it was extending the window for parental feedback on textbook materials and communicating with officials at the county and state levels on the issue.
Milk, who was assassinated in 1978, became one of the first openly gay men to be elected to public office as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He is only mentioned in supplemental materials, not the main textbook.
Gonzalez said the materials were intended for fourth graders.
They are part of a conservative movement to influence what children are taught about race and gender in school, which critics say amounts to whitewashing history and erasing marginalized groups.
School board member Allison Barclay argued that Milk was part of history because he “got the ball rolling” on advocating for federally protected classes of people.
“It’s history. If you look at many historical figures, many that we all love and hold near and dear to our hearts, they were not perfect,” Barclay said.
Following protocol, the district already implemented a pilot program with the materials, handing them out to around 1,300 kids to bring home. Parents were also given the chance to comment on the new materials through a survey, but very few actually responded.
The pedophilia accusation against Milk, the subject of a critically acclaimed 2008 biopic, appears to stem from a 1982 biography that says Milk lived with a teen boy in New York City’s Greenwich Village in the 1960s when he was in his 30s.
When the coronavirus began spreading in the United States, the 23 schools in the Central Bucks School District were forced to shutter to keep students and staff safe. When students eventually returned to classrooms, they were still following safety measures like masking and social distancing.
Many parents in the wealthy, majority-white Bucks County refused to accept the new reality — and they made their opposition known at school board meetings.
“We had this fairly active group that was coming in to make public comments, speaking at every meeting,” Karen Smith, who represents some of the towns that make up the district for the board, told HuffPost. “And they were adamantly opposed to wearing masks.”
The battles over masks and COVID safety measures — which Smith saw as commonsense steps to keep kids and staff safe — became so heated that they inspired her to become a Democrat after six years on the school board as a Republican.
As time went on, Smith noticed school board meetings that were supposed to be about pandemic policies veering in very different directions: primarily, toward anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and panic over “critical race theory.”
Residents would come to public meetings and read excerpts from books they wanted to ban, cherry-picking explicit passages so they could accuse the libraries of having pornographic material.
“They take ‘Genderqueer’ and they open it up to the page where there is a dildo blow job, but they don’t talk about the rest of the book or what the book is even about,” Smith said, referring to Maia Kobabe’s bestselling book that describes their journey to figuring out they’re nonbinary.
The entrance to the Central Bucks School District’s administrative building in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
Rachel Wisniewski for HuffPost
When the school board election rolled around in November 2021, and five seats were up for grabs, the divide was clear. Democratic candidates generally ran on COVID safety, while Republicans candidates bolstered their campaigns by claiming the mantle of “parental rights,” which included anti-masking, vitriol about gender identity and outrage about CRT, a college-level academic theory that conservatives claim is being taught in public schools and used to teach white children to hate themselves.
The parental rights crowd won out, and the Central Bucks school board became a 6-3 conservative majority.
With that came a tangled web of proposals designed to silence anyone who isn’t white, straight, cisgender and conservative, including rules to dictate what teachers can wear and how students can express their gender identity and sexuality.
Conservatives may be preaching about specific issues — like so-called sexually inappropriate library books being made available to students — but the whole movement is about destabilizing public institutions like schools.
This dynamic is playing out in school districts across the country, especially in reliably red states. But in perennially purple Pennsylvania, the moral panic over social justice and books with LGBTQ themes is happening against the backdrop of critical midterm races that could determine the state’s political leanings for years to come. Republican Mehmet Oz, a TV doctor who is vowing to fight cancel culture, is facing Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) in a tight Senate race. And for governor, far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Christian nationalist who has advocated for banning books, is up against Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
The school board proposes a controversial new library policy
About eight months after the conservative majority took over the school board, dozens of Bucks County residents gathered before a vote on Policy 109.2, which lays out the criteria for removing books from school libraries and, critically, allows anyone in the district to challenge any book and potentially get it pulled from circulation.
More than two dozen people made public comments during the meeting, mostly to voice their opposition to the proposed policy.
“An apology to the three of you who are trying your damnedest to live up to your oath and protect the lives of children,” English teacher Stephen Albert said to the Democrats on the board. “But to the majority: At long last, have you no sense of shame?”
The room erupted in applause.
But the conservatives weren’t swayed, and the policy passed. There was scattered applause in the room, as well as a few boos. Meeting attendees yelled “Shame!” and “Shame on you!” as they filed out.
“Look at the adults we have in the room,” a Republican board member said sarcastically, reprimanding the people opposed to the policy.
Policy 109.2 was enacted in July, but educators, staff and residents are still waiting for the board to clarify who will be in charge of determining the fate of challenged books.
Smith voted against a proposal to allow anyone in the school district to challenge any library book and potentially get it pulled from circulation.
Rachel Wisniewski for HuffPost
Smith was one of the votes against the library proposal. “No, absolutely not,” she said when she stepped up to vote.
The evidence of Smith’s new liberal leanings are clear both inside and outside of her home: She has a big rainbow flag flying outside, pro-reading bumper stickers on her cars and a tote bag declaring “READ BANNED BOOKS” next to her desk.
“These are human rights issues and the rights of our students,” Smith said. “I’m not going to be quiet about that.”
During the public comment section of one school board meeting last November, two residents made transphobic and antisemitic statements. Smith tried to cut off a man making antisemitic comments, but other board members pushed back and said she was infringing on residents’ First Amendment rights.
Many of those same conservative school board members were throwing their support behind the book-banning and censorship policy just a few months later.
Bucks County parents fight back
Kate Nazemi, who has two children in Central Bucks schools, is in staunch opposition to the new book policy. In September, she organized a parade against book banning.
Like Smith, she noticed a shift on the school board when the pandemic began. When experts said masking and social distancing would keep staff and students safe, conservatives pushed back and said they were wrong. When school librarians chose books with care for their students, the conservative majority said those books were inappropriate or pornographic.
“I called it the COVID formula: Belittle the experts in the field, and then say we don’t need to listen to them, we can figure it out our own way,” Nazemi said while sipping coffee in a busy cafe in Doylestown, the county seat.
“There’s this narrow worldview that is being applied to all 17,500 kids. It’s limiting kids’ access to books, materials and discussions in the classrooms,” she added. “How are these kids supposed to think critically about issues and develop as humans, if they are so limited in what they’re able to read and discuss and learn?”
Kate Nazemi, a mother of two children in the Central Bucks School District, is seen at her home in Doylestown on Nov. 1. Earlier this year, she organized a local parade in protest of book bans.
Rachel Wisniewski for HuffPost
Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed a complaint against the school board on behalf of seven students, alleging widespread discrimination and hostility toward LGBTQ students.
In the complaint, the lawyers say that the school board does things that actively harm LGBTQ students, including removing Pride flags and directing teachers not to use preferred names. They specifically call out the library book policy, saying it’s “a thinly disguised effort to censor LGBTQ+-themed materials.” The school board president responded by asking the ACLU to reveal the names of the students filing the complaint.
The U.S. Department of Education has opened up an investigation.
“The board members are not interested in a democracy,” Nazemi said. “What they want are either one of two things: public schools with Christian values, or public schools that fail so badly that we can then use our tax dollars to pay for private school.”
Some parents are worried that schools will be more likely to go down this path if Mastriano is in the governor’s mansion.
At an October hearing at the statehouse, parents from all over Pennsylvania testified in support of a parental rights bill that Mastriano had put forth. The bill says it aims to give parents more say in how public schools are run, but critics say it’s an attempt to silence and bully LGBTQ students and families.
His supporters showed up with campaign buttons on their clothing. Mastriano, who was present at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot but maintains he did not enter the U.S. Capitol building, is running a far-right campaign that aims to stoke fear of immigrants, liberals and transgender people among his fan base.
“What’s happened to us where bureaucrats get to decide how your kids identify? Pronoun games have no place in schools,” Mastriano said at the statehouse, apparently forgetting that grammar is a core part of schooling. “This has to end. Madness has come in. Parents have the last say, period.”
Various parents expressed similar thoughts. “School administrators all over the country, including Pennsylvania, have decided parents should be excluded from vital conversations with regard to their child’s education and well-being,” said Megan Brock, a parent from Bucks County.
Democratic state Sen. Maria Collett represents the 12th District, which includes CBSD. She didn’t participate in the parental rights bill hearing, even though she is a member of the state government committee.
“The people of the 12th District elected me to use my time, energy and resources to better their lives,” she said. “Not to legitimize horseshit.”
She is unabashed in her criticism of the conservatives leading the charge in the outrage over books.
“They distract, they deflect, and they make up a story about a boogeyman that is trying to lure your kid into an alley with a pornographic book,” Collett said from her office desk, which features a photo of herself and President Joe Biden.
“They don’t have answers to the problems that are plaguing Pennsylvania,” she added. “That’s why they’re so fixated on identity politics.”
Collett said her constituents aren’t calling her to complain about library books or rainbow flags in schools — they’re more worried about issues like Social Security benefits and unemployment plans.
Evidence of the “anti-lockdown” to “critical race theory panic” to “book-banning” pipeline can be found all across the country. What began as the idea that wearing a mask was an affront to freedom morphed into a panic about teaching kids about racial privilege in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, then seamlessly became an effort to censor books with racial justice or LGBTQ themes.
Conservatives on the Bucks County school board want “one of two things,” Nazemi says. “Public schools with Christian values, or public schools that fail so badly that we can then use our tax dollars to pay for private school.”
Rachel Wisniewski for HuffPost
The book bans came first as a trickle, then as a storm. According to PEN America, the past year saw a record number of book challenges in schools and libraries across the country. State lawmakers proposed bills and made lists of books they wanted to ban; parents claimed that schools and libraries were filled with sexually explicit books, and that anyone who didn’t stand with them was aiding and abetting child abuse.
Why are books in school libraries the latest target for conservative ire? Books are democratizing. They help students expand their worldview. And if your end goal is control over society by any means, having a well-read and well-educated public is not in your best interest.
Although the Bucks County border is just 10 miles from Philadelphia, more than 80% of the 646,000 residents are white. The wealthy suburb typically leans Democratic, but the school board has lurched to the right in just one election cycle ― and some residents worry that the shift will only continue, especially considering Mastriano’s influence on the state.
Even if he loses the race, Mastriano and the CBSD are setting the stage for Pennsylvania to become a blueprint for conservatives in other states, not unlike how conservative education policies in Florida and Texas have provided a playbook for Pennsylvania’s GOP.
“We will still have like Mastriano-style politics here on the school board until the next election,” Nazemi said.
“We have one of the candidates saying, ‘I want to model us after a state we’ve seen pass really damaging legislation that is hurting children, teachers and parents,’” Collett said. “If we don’t stand up and say, ‘No, not on my watch,’ then we all become complicit.”
WAKE COUNTY, N.C., September 10, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– Among the school reopening choices outlined by Governor Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Plan B allows North Carolina students to return to classrooms in a blend of in-person and virtual instruction. Accordingly, Wake County Families to Safely Reopen Schools respectfully requests that the Wake County Board of Education (the “School Board”) finalize a clear plan to reopen schools under Plan B no later than Oct. 1 and that schools reopen no later than Oct. 22.
Wake County Families to Safely Reopen Schools believes in the Wake County Public School System, our school administrators, and our teachers. We believe that our community is strong and that we can create a public-private partnership to return students and teachers to schools safely, consistent with The Strong Schools NC Public Health Toolkit (K-12). Most important, we believe that there is no replacement for in-person student-teacher interaction within the school building. We believe that our students deserve and are legally entitled to this education.
The School Board’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been inconsistent and muddled.The School Board has changed the date for reopening at least three times and currently takes the position that schools will be reopened in Plan B as soon as it is “practical,” without providing clear guidance what that means. We have written to our School Board members seeking clarity and have received no concrete response.
On July 10, Superintendent Cathy Moore stated that decisions will be made in accordance with “state health guidelines and legal requirements that are handed to school systems.” The state has given the School Board a toolkit for reopening. The governor has allowed schools to reopen in Plan B. Parents and the community are offering to help. The School Board continues to stall.
To date, the School Board has no plan to safely reopen the schools for in-person instruction. In fact, in a September 9 response to a member of the groupregarding a reopening date, school board member Christine Kushner stated, “I just don’t have any answers for you that reflect a consensus way forward.” However, that same day Vice-Chairwoman Roxie Cash stated that she supports a return to the classroom saying “I do not believe that we can wait any longer to put … children back in the classroom.”
The School Board must take positive action to determine what it will take to open the schools. The time is now. A return to in-person instruction will require monumental efforts from administrators and teachers. The plan must come from the top. Our children’s education is too important to politicize.
Wake County Families to Safely Reopen Schools is made up largely of tax-paying families in Wake County. Since its creation on Aug. 26, the group has accumulated more than 1,500 members and is steadily growing. You can find the group on Facebook.
Source: Wake County Families to Safely Reopen Schools
Third in a series on the ‘Road Map’ to success for underperforming school districts
Press Release –
updated: Oct 2, 2018
PERRIS, Calif., October 2, 2018 (Newswire.com)
– With slightly less than 6,000 students spread among eight facilities, the Perris Elementary School district is relatively small as compared to many others throughout the state of California. Despite the fact that 90 percent of the student body meets the criteria of being “socio-economically disadvantaged,” per-pupil allocations are slightly above the statewide average. Yet PESD consistently ranks in the bottom one-third of achievement levels and other categories in service to the community and its children.
Funding and tools for public school districts can come from many sources. In addition to a fixed tax base, many supplemental programs are available to provide revenues from local, state and federal agencies. As well, both public and private sector grants can increase annual budgets, while corporate sponsors routinely donate of goods and services. In order to take full advantage of these well-deserved opportunities and assets, governing school boards must be aggressively proactive in both identifying and pursuing them. In the most recent 80-paged Local Control Accountability Plan and Annual Update, among numerous deficiencies, “needs,” “goals” and “performance gaps,” nowhere is addressed the simplest and most obvious of solutions or strategies.
I’ve devoted my training, my career and my life to serving those in need. I am not a politician, but this election provides me another opportunity to apply my successes as a practical businessman, spiritual leader and activist on behalf of our kids.
Dr. Norman Quintero, Mental Health Practitioner
Any small investment in the time, thought and effort required to research and access the means to improve or create after school, special education and tutorial programs pales in comparison to the potential benefits. Too many of those who reference “vision” and “commitment” overlook the remedies at hand. Too many of those who generate mountains of paperwork and navigate miles of red tape fail to fill out a few more forms in order provide a higher quality of education.
On any given day, one out of five PESD students does not attend classes. Obviously, that is one day that each falls behind. What many taxpayers and parent don’t realize is that the school district is penalized financially based on “average daily attendance.” Somewhere along the line, someone or some committee determined that bus transportation should only be available to families who lived outside a 2.5-mile radius from their children’s school. Otherwise, a 6- or 12-year-old should be expected to walk – potentially alone – for up to an hour each way, both to and from school each day … regardless of weather, traffic, physical ability or potential danger.
Dr. Norman Quintero, a candidate for the PESD School Board is a product of the American public school system and a longstanding member of the local community with eight children of his own. He has overcome a lower-income childhood and serious medical challenges to achieve two doctorates and become an internationally recognized advocate for education, mental health and children.
“I’ve devoted my training, my career and my life to serving those in need. I am not a politician, but this election provides me another opportunity to apply my successes as a practical businessman, spiritual leader and activist on behalf of our kids.”
