{"id":364625,"date":"2021-11-09T02:59:39","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T23:59:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/parents-school-board-fight-with-teacher-unions-is-just-getting-started\/"},"modified":"2021-11-09T02:59:39","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T23:59:39","slug":"parents-school-board-fight-with-teacher-unions-is-just-getting-started","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/parents-school-board-fight-with-teacher-unions-is-just-getting-started\/","title":{"rendered":"#Parents&#8217; school board fight with teacher unions is just getting started"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Parents&#8217; school board fight with teacher unions is just getting started<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/author-betsy-mccaughey.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Betsy McCaughey\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/author-betsy-mccaughey.png?w=152 152w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/author-betsy-mccaughey.png?w=114 114w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/author-betsy-mccaughey.png?w=76 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/author-betsy-mccaughey.png?w=38 38w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/author-betsy-mccaughey.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/>        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Parents who never imagined running for\u00a0office battled to\u00a0win seats on local school boards last week \u2014 they won some but lost many. Their fiercest opponents were the teachers unions. Where outside national groups, such as the 1776 Project PAC, stepped in with funding to help offset union power, the odds shifted and challengers did well.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> portrayed these\u00a0races as culture wars, but that\u2019s only part of the story. They were also struggles by parents to wrest control of the boards from self-serving unions. For decades, the unions have maintained a tight grip on who gets elected. No wonder school-district decisions \u2014 about budgets, masking, COVID closures, curriculum and teacher contracts \u2014 protect teachers first. Never mind what\u2019s best for kids.<\/p>\n<p>That needs to change. Albuquerque, N.M., winning candidate Courtney Jackson told a local <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>paper, \u201cThe board of education should be the kids\u2019 union,\u201d not a puppet of the teachers\u2019 union. Jackson decided to run after watching the board discuss when to end lockdowns. The discussion focused entirely on what teachers wanted, never addressing the kids\u2019 needs. \u201cTheir interests were not brought up once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Guilford, Conn., the Guilford Education Association, representing teachers, ran the show. In a\u00a0questionnaire for school-board candidates, the union\u2019s No. 1 question asked candidates to pledge support for \u201ccollective-bargaining rights.\u201d Question 2 asked candidates to guarantee unions will be included in all discussions of the schools\u2019 policies and funding and Question 3 asked candidates to promise to \u201coppose all proposals that would censor teachers from teaching about inclusion, diversity and equity.\u201d What about the kids?<\/p>\n<p>All five Guilford candidates who gave the \u201ccorrect\u201d answers won the union\u2019s backing and prevailed on election night. Their slogan was \u201cProtect Guilford Schools,\u201d but their true goal was \u201cProtect the Teachers Union.\u201d One of the winners boasted of coming from \u201ca long line of educators,\u201d while another promised, \u201cI will listen to our teachers, administrators and superintendent and respect that they act always in the best interest of our students and schools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nearly everywhere, teachers unions use money and manpower to turn out voters. Challengers need to do the same. The three Albuquerque school-board candidates who defeated the union slate went to the local chamber of commerce, other small business groups and Republican Party allies for\u00a0alternate sources of money.<\/p>\n<p>When the results were in, the president of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation predicted \u201ca new dynamic on the board,\u201d with some members actually disagreeing with the school district\u2019s employees. Imagine that.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/school-board.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Many teachers unions have opposed the surge in parents running for school board seats.\" class=\"wp-image-20077025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/school-board.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/school-board.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/school-board.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Many teachers unions have opposed the surge in parents running for school board seats.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP Photo\/Jessica Hill, File)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In Colorado\u2019s cities, including\u00a0Denver\u00a0and\u00a0Steamboat Springs, union slates won handily. But in\u00a0Douglas County,\u00a0Aurora County and\u00a0Greeley Evans School District 6, challengers outspent the union and broke its monopoly. That\u2019s one place where national groups, including the 1776 Project PAC, as well as statewide conservative groups, spent money.<\/p>\n<p>Why the explosion in parental engagement this year? Parents sitting at the kitchen table listening to Zoom school saw what their children were being taught \u2014 and not taught. That\u2019s what h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened in Montclair, NJ.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>There the mayor, Sean Spiller, serves as\u00a0president of the state\u2019s largest teachers union\u00a0but also\u00a0appointed the school board\u00a0\u2014 a blatant\u00a0conflict of interest. The board negotiates the teachers\u2019 contract. Last Tuesday, the town voted\u00a0by 70 percent to replace mayoral control with an elected board.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s an improvement, but electing the board won\u2019t guarantee students become the priority. Not while teachers unions outgun local parents groups. Organizations like Moms for Liberty, now with chapters in 32 states, could even the odds.<\/p>\n<p>Many school districts will elect board members sometime in the spring, instead of on Election Day. That\u2019s by design to keep the public in the dark that an election is even happening and discourage turnout.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Parents and other concerned citizens have roughly half a year to gird for these upcoming contests. Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, told a news outlet that \u201cparents are going to right this ship, and this election was only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Twitter: @Betsy_McCaughey<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/08\/parents-school-board-fight-with-teacher-unions-is-just-getting-started\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Parents&#8217; school board fight with teacher unions is just getting started&#8221; Parents who never imagined running for\u00a0office battled to\u00a0win seats on local school boards last week \u2014 they won some but lost many. Their fiercest opponents were the teachers unions. Where outside national groups, such as the 1776 Project PAC, stepped in with funding to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":364626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/school-board-conn.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[7309,118618,70288,47212,72939],"class_list":["post-364625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-unions","tag-11-8-21","tag-elections","tag-teachers","tag-teachers-union"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}