A member of one Texas school board wrote an excellent op-ed about the current chaos at meetings, created by culture wars across the nation. This individual feared for the lives of her children should she publish this with her name on it. So Anette was happy to bring it into the light of day, bringing multiple voices from across the state together, to speak with one voice. Have a listen. Then please share.
A member of one Texas school board wrote an excellent op-ed about the current chaos at meetings, created by culture wars across the nation. This individual feared for the lives of her children should she publish this with her name on it. So Anette was happy to bring it into the light of day, bringing multiple voices from across the state together, to speak with one voice. Have a listen. Then please share.
Last week at work, my colleagues and I sat through a meeting in which we were repeatedly yelled at and threatened. This isn’t an unusual occurrence. We’ve been called ignorant and useless, as well as narcissistic, power-hungry, and corrupt. We’ve been accused of endangering children and have even been called child abusers. Maybe you’re thinking I should quit my job, but get this: I actually volunteer for this position. I am a Texas school board member.
Years ago, I worked in a large city with kids who were poor and in trouble. I saw how a lack of education and opportunity created hurdles that were too large for many young people to manage. The experience made me a fierce proponent of public education. Once I had children of my own, I made sure to get involved. In my suburban school district, I joined the PTA, volunteered in classrooms, helped out in the computer lab, and sat on district-wide planning committees. I believed (and still do) that our public schools are treasures that shine brightest with community support and involvement.
My eventual decision to run for school board didn’t come lightly. It’s a big commitment – but my passion for public education was calling me to do more. I knew my time and energy would be tested; I knew we would have difficult decisions to make about finances, curriculum, etc. Here’s what I never considered during my campaign: school board members would become a target in a culture war, and the last line of defense for kids during a pandemic in which every level of government has failed us.
Across the nation and in the Texas district where I serve, our school boards, administrators, teachers, and our public education system are under attack. Angry mobs of people are coming to meetings and to our kids’ schools to intimidate, insult, scream, heckle, and disrupt in any way possible. Parents have assaulted teachers, threatened administrators, doxed school board members, and acted out in ways that we would never tolerate in children. And they are doing these things in front of their children. Our schools are engaging students in social-emotional learning curricula while parents stage tantrums in the hallways and board rooms. The mind boggles.
Let me also be clear: it’s not just one side that’s out of control. We are told that we are abusing children if we require masks and we are murdering them if we do not. Middle ground is nonexistent and compromise is for the weak. And at this American moment when everything has become you’re-with-us-or-you’re-against-us, somehow school boards are in the firing line.
I wonder daily if I have somehow leapt into the pages of a dystopian novel. I am a professional with advanced degrees. I am smart, tenacious, and committed, but I am not an epidemiologist or virologist. The CDC, however, is chock full of such folks, and presidents, senators, governors, and even county leaders – not school boards - have unfettered access to their public health expertise. We are in a global pandemic, people are dying, and ICU beds are full. And parents are screaming at school boards to do the right thing…but only if it’s their version of the right thing.
School board trustees across the country are standing in the middle of a circular firing squad and nobody is coming to the rescue. Angry mobs last threatened schools after Brown v. Board of Education and President Eisenhower called up federal troops to ensure non-violent desegregation. At this point in history, we are on our own. I am a local elected official working every day to keep schools open and protect our kids. I am buying mace and putting up security cameras. Others are buying guns. Our husbands, wives, and children are scared for our safety.
Here’s what I know for sure: my colleagues and I will stay the course and keep doing the next right thing no matter what it means for us. Because when the culture wars are playing out in our schools, we are all losers and almost every school board member in the country knows it. We are here because we love our students, teachers, administrators, and public education. We know that the future of the nation is in our public schools. You may not agree with all our decisions, you may deride, abuse, and threaten us, but we will be here, standing in the breach for all our kids.