The Ohio and Missouri School Boards Associations left the National School Boards Association (NSBA) after the latter referred to concerned parents as “domestic terrorists” and demanded federal help take care of these awful parents trying to interfere with them indoctrinating their children.
Louisiana and Pennsylvania already left the NSBA in their rearview mirrors.
OSBA President Robert Heard and CEO Richard Lewis told the NSBA:
OSBA’s decision to terminate membership and affiliation with the NSBA Association is a direct result of the letter sent by you to President Joe Biden late last month. The letter purported to be sent on behalf of state associations and school board members across the nation. This assertion could not be further from the truth. OSBA was not notified of the letter, nor were we asked for our thoughts on the matter. If we had been consulted, we would have strongly disagreed with NSBA’s decision to request federal intervention as well as your claims of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.
OSBA, like any sane person, admitted that no one should threaten or harass the school board members or anyone else involved in schools. But if it does happen the it “should be dealt with at the local level, not by federal officials.”
However, OSBA also admitted, like any sane person, that there is value in “parental and community discussion at school board meetings.”
The association members “reject the labeling of parents as domestic terrorists.”
“The NSBA letter demonstrated just how out of touch the national association is with the concerns of local school boards and the principle local control,” Heard and Lewis concluded.
NSBA Letter 102521 by Jeremy Schneider
Missouri School Boards Association Executive Director Melissa Randol echoed the OSBA thoughts:
The National School Boards Association, through its recent actions, such as its letter to the White House, has demonstrated it does not currently align with MSBA’s guiding principles of local governance.School boards have always been asked to make tough decisions, and to do what is right for students under their responsibility. These decisions often bring about thoughtful and rigorous discussion, which we believe is crucial to the discernment process.We also believe that no school board member or educator should ever have to endure threats of violence or acts of intimidation against themselves or their families for making these difficult decisions,” MSBA Executive Director Melissa Randol said in a statement. “However, attempting to address that issue with federal intervention should not be the first step in most cases, and is antithetical to our longstanding tradition of local control. Further, the use of inflammatory terms in the NSBA letter is not a model for promoting greater civility and respect for the democratic process.
Can we PLEASE eliminate the Department of Education and anything national concerning education?
Education should be as local as possible. I don’t even think at the state level. Local as possible. The community knows what is best. But, overall, parents know best.
Get rid of the Department of Education and all the rest of the nonsense will go with it.
The NSBA apologized for the letter and calling parents domestic terrorists. The DOJ promised it would not treat parents as domestic terrorists despite announcing the FBI would monitor these school board meetings.
At least 21 states condemned the NSBA’s nasty letter. That is not enough. The apology is not enough. AG Garland’s promise is not enough.
Cut them all off.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY