“I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach…” That was the infamous line from Terry McCaullife (D-VA) at a debate last year in the race for Virginia governor that sent shockwaves throughout the country. A former Virginia governor, McCaullife would end up losing to Republican businessman and political newcomer Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), who retorted “I believe parents should be in charge of their kids’ education.” When taken together, the statements from these two candidates illustrate plainly the mindset of the left’s big-government, anti-parent progressive agenda versus the free, transparent and pro-parent approach to education from the conservative alternative.
On his first day on the job as governor, Youngkin’s first two executive orders called for sweeping changes and reviews of the states education department and standards, and empowered parents when sexually explicit or otherwise inappropriate materials were being delivered to children in school.
At an event following his election, Governor Youngkin explained why “strong schools that teach our children how to excel, not watering down the curriculum, a school where parents have a say in what their children are being taught,” is a winning message and that “Republicans across the country can own” the issue.
Youngkin’s victory and playbook for success is a fascinating case study in political campaigns, as he took an issue that was polling 7th or 8th most important to the electorate nationally and turned it into the number one issue of the statewide campaign. It helped propel a movement where, today, conservative candidates are campaigning hard for hundreds of local school board races all across America.
In Wisconsin, a slate of four Republican activists are taking on the incumbent liberal establishment class in a Milwaukee suburb. A similar phenomena is taking place this year in Tennessee, where four conservatives are challenging incumbents and trying to fill open seats in the Nashville suburbs.
“A few years ago, 62% of school board positions went uncontested or unfilled, and that’s actually how I got on,” Josh Aikens told NJ Spotlight News. “I saw nobody was running for the school board and I had people write me in. I was appalled that nobody was going for the school board,” said Aiken, who also serves as Chairman of Arise NJ, a new non-profit group established to train and recruit candidates for school or education board and other local races.
A similar group, ‘Concerned Parents and Educators’ was formed in Fairfax, Virginia, the epicenter of the education earthquake that spread the nation and ultimately led to the ascendance of Youngkin to the governorship. Government imposed mask mandates, controversial revisions to middle-school sexual education content, introduction of gender theory and other materials, all without parental consent, was taking place in the Washington, DC suburbs. Even the suspension of a student for not properly identifying a classmate’s self-proclaimed gender has made the area a laboratory for parents who pushing back against the left’s woke, anti-parent, school sexualization agenda.
Things are also heating up in the Sunshine State, where Governor Ron DeSantis is backing a local school teacher against a 24-year incumbent who hasn’t faced a challenger since 1998, the Miami Herald reported. “The race has attracted more money, over $372,000, than the other three School Board races, highlighting the role DeSantis is playing in local elections and how political they’ve become, even for this nonpartisan contest,” the Herald notes.
Local political parties and grassroots operatives now have an emerging type of candidate to seek out and push into the ring: concerned parents. Many who were apolitical before, now feel forced into running for office to protect their children from the left’s barrage of biased education.
Public school administrators are starting to learn the hard way that “parents matter” (Youngkin’s campaign slogan). This November, and in the years ahead, the fat-cat bureaucrats running our local school systems are going to get a big wake up call from concerned mommies and daddies who aren’t afraid to do what is right to protect the rights of defenseless children.
Bob Carlstrom is President of AMAC Action
The Democrats didn’t go through 9 months of puking to give birth to a child the Democrats think they own. They have NO RIGHT turning innocent children against each other, NO RIGHT to teach ANYTHING SEX related to our children without parental WRITTEN approval. Kids and I’m saying teens aren’t mature enough to “select” a different sex, and it NEVER changes the DNA from a man to a woman. Wait till they mature for them to say they “wish” they were a different sex. NONE of that BS in our public schools. They are not helping children with this BS.
It’s amazing what we can do within our own states when we step up and do our part. When we unite together as one unit we can transform the communities that we live in. Great job!!! Let’s keep fighting because we got much more work to do!
Kudos to all parents everywhere who are stepping up on behalf of their children. I’m 72 and a Navy vet whose children are parents themselves. Although I’m not concerned about my children, I still have great concern for my grandchildren. This is an insane issue that we cannot lose to the liberal left. Failure means a dismal existence not only for us but also for our children and grandchildren. This once great country, that is being assaulted from every direction, is at a razor’s edge ready to fall into an abyss without steadfast and strong leadership. Failure is not an option.
Excellent article by Bob Carlstrom!
A short but very well written article on a subject that belongs FRONT & CENTER in every town’s school system across America…I for one am totally disgusted with what is being taught to our children across the state of Vermont, including the ( 2 ) quite small towns in my area of N. Central VT…Neither of my kids ever attended this middle school called Waits River Valley School, grades K-8. Nearly 80% of my property taxes go towards the education of students in this school… I have NOT heard so much as a peep from a single parent in either of the towns that this school serves…
I do believe it is time for me to attend the next school board meeting & address my concerns to the local school board…
Does this sound familiar to what has already occurred in Loudon County, Virginia? it should…
Depending on how I broach the subject of CRT that they cleverly disguise under various different names, I could potentially find myself being shown the exit or even worse…
The children are the true victims here, which makes this all the more sad to see what is happening.
Number one, I hold the RINO governor Phil Scott fully responsible for allowing this INDOCTRINATION in the state of Vermont, I hold the NTSB, the local school boards & just as important, the NEA teachers unions…I also hold every single school teacher accountable for lowering themselves to this level in order to keep their respective jobs as well as the administrator’s within these schools…
Bill…
Stand up moms and dads protect your little ones. If you don’t the so called government is going to feed them to Hell. God Bless each child out there.
I am so grateful that we have a handful of brave patriots running for school board positions in my part of California that have been unopposed for many years. We had walk outs and rallies against the mask & shot mandates in our schools and I have seen a large increase in homeschooling, private schools and learning centers since 2020. I am getting the sense that We the People will no longer let the schools get away with what they have been.
The problem with public schools is they are government financed and run by teachers unions which are full of what should be termed as communists. They are using children as Guinea pig’s in a continuing social experiment. They are teaching hatred toward the United States and they see parents as competition for the minds of children.
Indoctrinating our future, and branding concerned parents domestic terrorists, has proven leftists have control of school system and is deeply imbedded.