Last month a very important step towards equality was taken by the Washington State School Directors Association or WSSDA. A by-law which had been in place since 1986, called the “weighted vote”, was eliminated. The results will be an equal voice for all school districts at WSSDA. WSSDA is the association that creates model policies for all Washington school districts. It sets legislative priorities and lobbies legislators for changes to laws. It also provides training and insurance for all school board directors in the state. The membership consists of one representative from each school district, and these members vote on the WSSDA board and committee members. Every September WSSDA … [Read more...]
Teacher Strikes in Washington State – What should be done?
The law—RCW 41.56.120 — reads: “Right to strike not granted. Nothing contained in this chapter [on union collective bargaining] shall permit or grant any public employee the right to strike or refuse to perform his or her official duties.” References from: https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/news/public-employee-strikes-illegal-in-washington/ A formal opinion by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General in 2006 affirmed that strikes by public employees are illegal and courts consistently agree. “The state does not automatically act when a teachers union strikes, so it’s up to the school district to file an injunction with the the court to get teachers to return to work,” … [Read more...]
San Francisco Voters Recall Three School Board Members
Stop the presses! San Francisco recalls 3 school board members? If residents of California and San Francisco take the recall step what's possible in other areas? If you haven't see this story give it a read. Published in The American Conservative and written by John Hirschauer. In deeper-than-deep-blue San Francisco, three uber-progressive members of the School Board are on the way out. More than 70 percent of voters supported the recall of San Francisco School Board President Gabriela Lopez and members Faauuga Moliga and Allison Collins on Wednesday. As San Francisco’s public-school students endured months of remote learning and other Covid-related restrictions, Board … [Read more...]
Southwest Washington School Board Races – November 2021
On November 2nd you will elect school board members across Southwest Washington State. These are four (4) year positions so the choices you make will have impact for years. There are a number of issues up for consideration during this election cycle. Where do the candidates stand on CRT? Common Core? CSE? Masks? Vaccination of children? Funding? These races are all non-partisan so political parties are not intended to be part of the discussion. However, there are some philosophical differences. Namely, are the candidates positions more liberal or conservative? Do they believe in the Feds/State telling parents what to do and how to do it or are they for local control and parental … [Read more...]
Battle Ground School District proposed Sex Ed Curriculum review
The Battle Ground School District, like all districts across Washington State, is starting the process of choosing curriculum to meet the State mandated Comprehensive Sex Ed signed into law by Gov. Inslee as passed by the State Legislature. (It's worth noting that this was a partyline vote. Democrats all voted yes). As such BGSD created a team of 20 people from about 100 applicants to review selected curriculum. The Directors of Curriculum gave an online presentation. You may want to view it before proceeding with the rest of this article so you understand what they shared: https://youtu.be/sjev3ZACGlA It's worth a couple of minutes to delve into the composition of the public group that … [Read more...]
What makes a great school board director?
In this 2021 election cycle there are more people running for school board director positions than almost anytime in the past 30 years. Why? Remote learning; mask mandates; critical race theory; common core; comprehensive sex ed...the list is long and growing. Parents and grandparents have trusted that school boards and district administration in conjunction with state legislatures have been doing what's best for the children, However, reality is distinctly different. So many progressive agendas have been implemented that school has become more and more indoctrination and less and less education. Today we bring you the first in a series of articles and reports about school boards. Locally … [Read more...]
Clark County School Board positions up for election in 2021
This article was published at Clarkcountytoday.com and is presented here in its entirety. You can read the original by clicking the link. Battle Ground resident Dick Rylander encourages interested and engaged community members to consider filing to run for school board positions Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are those of the author alone and do not reflect the editorial position of ClarkCountyToday.com One of the critical issues citizens have had to deal with throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, has been their children’s education. Schools were shut down a year ago, and many are only now, beginning to reopen, a year later. At the heart of the … [Read more...]
Running for and winning school board races – critical to saving K-12 education in America
Let's be honest. Liberals/Progressives dominate school board director positions in K-12 education across America. They impact curriculum choice, textbook choice, programs including Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.); PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention Service) and others. Comprehensive Sec Ed (CSE) pushing gender issues on children starting in kindergarten. These programs get approved by the school board directors. They are the brains behind the massive decline in education. Critical Race Theory. White Privilege. White Fragility Theory. When did schools move from teaching math, communications, science, history and other core topics and start to feed, cloth, provide medical care … [Read more...]
School board, districts and teachers unions testify against SB5334 “Increasing transparency in levy authorization information provided by school districts”
Ever notice that when school districts run levys or bonds that they produce a nice glossy brochure and mail them to all residences and then create a flashy web page that extols the virtues, benefits, value and absolute need to support the money they are requesting? The brochures cost taxpayers thousands of dollars (frequently $3-$5,000) and the postage can run $3-$5,000. Video's custom made can run $2-$5,000. The web page can cost more in time (which means someone at the communications dept is being paid). The ballot measure mailing and counting can cost $50-$75,000 easily. Never in any of those materials is there a single negative word. Not one word or sentence that shows why a taxpayer … [Read more...]
Take back control of school boards
The failure to stop CSE (Comprehenstive Sex Ed) in Washington State is a travesty. The overreach of schools in pushing Social Emotion Learning (S.E.L.); PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Support); Common Core (under whatever name has been twisted so they can claim it isn't CC) to introduction to Systemic Racism promotion or White Privilege...the delivery of healthcare (including birth control) without telling parents... Test scores continue to drop. Covid restrictions are damaging education by keeping students out of school and will set back learning and lives for years to come. School Board Directors could take a stand and open schools...but they won't. The only way to stop … [Read more...]