As in an antidemocratic fever dream of Ralph Reed, a slew of conservative Christians, white nationalists and QAnon followers are running for school boards across the nation.
Many are doing so as quietly as possible, not admitting to voters who they really are, but hiding behind anodyne campaign slogans for “parental rights” and “school accountability.” Former Christian Coalition leader Reed, who spoke of duping voters in this way as far back as 1992, must be proud.
In some states, conservatives are asking that school board campaigns, against tradition and even current law, become more partisan, with candidates declaring their political affiliations. Tennessee has already passed such a law.
As Salon’s Kathryn Joyce exclusively reports in a three-part series, Hillsdale College, a private Christian college in Michigan, is the center of the right-wing effort to undermine — they would likely say “rescue” or “transform” — America’s public education system by creating charter schools all over the country which will be “classically based,” with emphasis on teaching traditional Christian values and a bowdlerized American history to make every student proud. Speaking of Tennessee, Joyce notes that the Volunteer State has put in an order for 50 of the charter schools.
Meanwhile, current school board members across the country continue to face harassment and even death threats from political and religious zealots, according to a recent special report from Reuters, which makes for some very disturbing reading (and listening).