A Muffled Call to Arms?
The 4th public speaker at Monday's school board meeting might have signaled a book banning attack
For some reason our schools have been free of book banning. But you might have detected a rustling in the bushes at Monday night’s Transylvania County School Board meeting. It was livestreamed, but if you were not in the room you missed the full experience.
At times I thought the evening was an exercise in enduring silence. During the 2½-hour meeting, two breaks took up 40 of those minutes. On your livestream at home, they looked like this:
There were also long moments of silence while three members of the board stared at the fourth (on the left, below) while he searched his computer for information or decided what to say next.
While we waited, it seemed to me that the board members must have had no chance to preview the details of what they were voting on.
But first came the public speaking. Five people signed up. They talked about replacing a board member who recently resigned, and about the new superintendent. In the photo above, the public microphone is out of camera range just off to the right. Each speaker had three minutes.
The first public speaker said, in part,
… We must make sure that all of our young people are safe and free, to raise questions, discuss opinions, to learn accurate history, civics and science. Every student, teacher and administrator deserves to feel respected and safe. I hope that will be the atmosphere on this board going forward.
When a school board member resigns in our county, candidates who apply must have been of the same political party for at least 90 days before the resignation. In this case, that’s a Democrat.
So the second speaker was the Chair of the local Democratic Party, Sam Edney.
Democratic Party Chair: I’ve attempted to get my comments down to three minutes. I ask you for your forbearance if I go a few seconds over. …
Today public education in North Carolina is under attack as … before in our history, driven by fear of change, prejudice, and religious preference. … When the U. S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, it did not create a theocracy. In fact, it ended 150 years of theocratic colonialism. We became a democratic republic. …
It is fitting that you [choose to fill the vacated board seat with] another qualified person equally committed to North Carolina’s Constitutional mandate for a basic sound education for every child regardless of race, religion or economic status. … I submit the following resolution … [with 5 candidates’ names and their qualifications, not fully quoted in this post — a Doctor of Education, a retired CCO and CEO, former School Board members, a school psychologist, and a Professor Emeritus]: Marty Griffin, … Alex …
School Board Chair: [Interrupting] Would you please finish up.
Democratic Party Chair: … Morton, … Bryan O’Neill, … Brandon Smith, …
School Board Chair: You need to finish.
Democratic Party Chair: … Alice Wellborn … This was approved by unanimous vote, May 31, 2023 [by the Executive Board of the Transylvania County Democratic Party].
School Board Chair: Thank you.
Democratic Party Chair: And I have a copy for you.
The third speaker said, in part,
Most people would define common decency as honesty, fairness, courtesy and respect for other people. We saw a display of common indecency at the [previous] School Board meeting. … [The board member you’re replacing] never had to show off. He simply lived his values in service to others.
Quoting a letter to the editor, she then mentioned two School Board members, Wiener and Dalton, who apparently have not yet publicly recognized the member who resigned. She read,
I bet the Transylvania Times editors can find space to print words of appreciation from any board member who wishes to model character to the students of Transylvania County.
The fourth speaker brought a baby with her to the microphone, taking time to get comfortable. After speaking, Jami Reese identified herself as the
Moms for Liberty local Chair: Unlike the board member who stepped down with disdain for our majority, I’m hopeful … for guidance from our newly appointed superintendent. While I don’t share the same sentiment of the other two that spoke for [the former board member], I wasn’t going to name him, but they did, so I’m going to. Had he been up for election, he probably would have lost his seat then.
Here are the changes this speaker said she hopes to see:
School environments where conservative teachers are supported and valued instead of being silenced and bullied in a county where their values are in line with a majority of families
No more discrimination of students for their political beliefs or unfair treatment because of their parents
Decisions will be made based upon facts, not opinions
Dollars will be used to advance the education of students instead of vilifying them
Teachers and administration will focus on academics and work to build stronger relationships with parents
Parental rights will be honored
Books accessible to our children will not contain pornography
The board and new superintendent will prayerfully consider every decision and fully realize the impact they have
The fifth speaker said she hopes the board will choose one of the five Democratic Party nominees to fill the vacant position,
… and not pick somebody … that is nominally Democratic but does not share the values, because we need the board to have a diversity of values and viewpoints [and] to represent everybody.
Later in the evening, the board discussed filling this vacancy. The member at the far left, above, said:
The citizens have not been given an opportunity to participate in this process … I’m a bit of a populist … I spent way too many years in the military to not allow the citizens to express their interest in this case, so I would like to ensure that we have an equality of opportunity for not just party members that are active, but party members more broadly. … We’ve got a lot of stuff coming up and I am interested in filling this position, but I am also interested in filling it with not just, with the best possible candidate that meets the requirements. The [Democratic] party has submitted their candidates and all I’m saying is there are other eligible citizens in the district that may also have expressed an interest and I think we should allow them that opportunity.
That evening the Chair tried to silence not only the Democratic Party Chair, but also the audience twice when they reacted to one board member’s erroneous statements.
The board member seated on the far left in the video at one point corrected the Attorney for saying “Democratic Party”.
Board Member: It’s “Democrat”.
Attorney: What did I say?
Board Member: “Democratic”. [Audience reaction.]
Board Chair: No, we’re not doing audience participation.
Attorney: [Pause] So the point is that, again, the vacancy has to be filled immediately …
Later the Board Member said,
For the record, I stand corrected. It is the ‘Democratic Party’. So …
Attorney: I accept that, Mr. Wiener.
However, it had been said. On the record.
Remembering this extraordinary public meeting, I believe there are so many silences around the coming board appointment and around the new superintendent, that the future for our students, teachers and families really is uncertain.
In the end, I don’t think most voters in our county support the Moms for Liberty agenda, as the fourth speaker claimed.
But it is certain that if those of us who care about our public schools don’t speak out for them now, our free, democratic voices will find themselves silenced for once and for all.
Posted on the TCDP page.
Thank you!
Sheila, thank you for pointing this out. It’s reasonable to assume the Moms agenda will apply locally. Their convention is coming up soon in Philadelphia, where I see they will offer training for school board candidates.