With a WCASD School Board election upon us next Tuesday, the “Back to Basics” campaign’s green and yellow pencil-themed signs have popped up across our community like invasive weeds. The Back to Basics slate aligns with the “Parental Rights”-based platform made notorious nationally by Moms for Liberty, the same group that turned school board meetings into reality-TV, supported calls for book bans, and pushed the idea that public school teachers are working to indoctrinate children.
The Back to Basics campaign has gone even more extreme than the Moms for Liberty, and in doing so has exposed the pervasive self-entitlement at the root of the “Parental Rights” movement.
In a blog post entitled “WCASD Volunteer Policy is Not Family Friendly,” the Back to Basics campaign presents a perplexing complaint that our schools don’t have enough classroom parties. It’s a bizarre claim for a school board campaign to make (and untrue, based on the Homecoming festival and Halloween-themed parties my own children just experienced in WCASD schools), but where the campaign takes their position next is beyond bizarre – it’s alarming.
The campaign makes a dangerous argument that it is “excessive” to require parents to obtain background clearances to volunteer in schools. In reality, school districts are bound by law to require volunteer clearances. I won’t list the many obvious reasons why it is critical to screen individuals attempting to gain entry to our schools. But the Back to Basics campaign is so self-important that they put the safety of our students and teachers aside, whining that it “feels unwelcoming” to be asked even to provide identification and a reason to visit schools.
They also insult the dedicated school safety resource officers and local police officers who work hard to ensure a safe learning environment in our community. Again, seeming to place their own fragile feelings above the safety of our students and teachers, the campaign groans, “If you’re lucky enough to show up at high school unannounced, or even if you have an appointment, you might find yourself face to face with a police officer, who will escort you to your meeting location. Does this feel friendly and welcoming? No, it does not.”
As a parent, I am glad if my school doesn’t feel “welcoming” to random adults who want to drop by for unannounced visits with the expectation of no-questions-asked entry. Back to Basics seems more worried about a minor inconvenience than the most basic of safety measures. We don’t need that kind of ego running our schools.
Back to Basics doesn’t stop there. They also falsely accuse school parent teacher organizations (PTOs) of forcing parents who wish to volunteer to join the PTO. In this case, they single out the Hillsdale Elementary PTO. As a 12-year (and counting) Hillsdale parent, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this claim is false. In reality, there is no such thing as “joining” Hillsdale’s PTO, because all parents are automatically considered part of the PTO. Furthermore, the PTO does not manage school volunteers; the school administration does.
The Back to Basics campaign seems to have as little regard for the truth as they do for the safety of our students and teachers. Please, make sure you vote for their opponents, who have a proven record of ensuring excellent and safe schools that enrich our community and put our students’ needs first. This Tuesday 11/7, vote FOR: Alex Christy and Katy Frey (if you live in Region 1), Daryl Durnell and Karen Herrmann (Region 2), and Gary Bevilacqua (Region 3).
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