Voters, don’t put extremists on school boards
Although nonpartisan, school boards have become increasingly political, and voters should be mindful of this troubling trend. We urge voters to support candidates who are focused on improving education, not divisive culture wars.
Culture wars only distract from the hard work schools are doing to close learning gaps
The trustee elections in the North East and Alamo Heights ISDS, and other school districts, are critical for student academic growth and broader economic development.
School boards are called to be nonpartisan, in part because, as the Texas Association of School Boards shares online, trustees are “guardians of public trust” who “put the interests of their community’s youth first.”
School districts and teachers don’t have social agendas; there is no indoctrination of students. Yet heated, and often baseless, rhetoric around pandemic mask policies, sex education and discussions about race, has fueled a state and national trend of partisan culture wars erupting in schools.
In a recent opinion piece in TIME, American Federation of Teachers
President Randi Weingarten and
Jonah Edelman,
CEO of Stand for Children, shared evidence of coordinated attacks on public schools.
“The assaults on public schools in state after state are part of a nationally orchestrated and funded campaign. The goal is to destabilize public education,” they wrote.
School boards are a vital part of any community. Elected trustees set the vision and goals for the district, create and change policies, and evaluate the progress of districts. They hire the superintendent, approve the annual budget and communicate with the community. A good trustee is focused on addressing learning gaps, college and workforce preparation, and fostering an inclusive environment where all students can thrive.
Extremist trustees would only distract from and complicate the hard work of schools grappling with widening learning gaps.
Our Editorial Board has recommended voters stick with North East ISD incumbents in Districts 2, 3 and 7. The races are on the ballot Saturday.
While the district has faced its fair share of controversies, board trustees have mostly worked well together, and they clearly care about student growth and achievement.
We remain impressed with District 2 trustee Terri Williams, District 3
trustee Omar Leos and District 7 trustee Sandy Winkley.
We also have concerns about the so-called Reimagineisd slate of three candidates: Jacqueline Klein for District 2, Diane Sciba Villarreal for District 3 and Marsha Landry for District 7.
Funded by San Antonio-based PAC, Parents United for Freedom, Reimagineisd campaigns for protecting parental rights, saying it will “reclaim our schools from the harmful agendas being promoted.”
This strikes us as code for the culture wars infiltrating schools.
Now, we also see controversy at Alamo Heights ISD, where places 1 and 2 for the school board are on the ballot Saturday, but only one position is a contested race.
Dr. Jane Lindell Hughes and Dr. Elise Kibler are running for Place 2 against incumbent Brian Hamilton, the board’s vice president.
We have major concerns about Hughes, who said she decided to run after she heard about teachers undergoing “equity training.”
She said she opposes the district’s Equity Council — claiming ties to critical race theory, but a district administrator denied those claims, the Express-news reported.
“Critical race theory has never been something that Alamo Heights ISD or the school board has ever looked into putting into our schools or to train teachers about,” Frank Alfaro, assistant superintendent for administrative services, wrote in an email.
One of Hughes’ four pillars is “academics, not political agendas,” yet her platform and views are overtly political.
In its description of the job of a school board member, the Texas Association of School Boards’ website reads: “This crucial responsibility and the closeness of trustees to the voters make the local school board the purest example of democracy our society presents.”
Perhaps, then, these so-called “parental rights” challengers and the politicization of school boards, in general, reflect the poor civic health of our democracy and society.