COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – In a school district near the Ohio state capital, school board members up for reelection this year have been subjected to a steady stream of lawsuits and attacks, both in-person and online. In another, an incumbent up for reelection who supports student mask requirements received a letter from someone angered by her stance who warned: “We are coming after you.”
A 15-year veteran board member in yet another Ohio district decided against running for reelection because of the escalating public attacks.
It’s not just in Ohio. Across the U.S., local school board races have emerged as an intense political battleground in the Nov. 2 elections, with much at stake for students.
Parental protests over COVID-19-related mask mandates, gender-neutral bathrooms, and teachings about racial history, sexuality and social-emotional learning are being leveraged into full-fledged board takeover campaigns that will get their first widespread test in just a few weeks.
“What’s happening in 2021 is a prelude to some of the messaging, some of the issues we’ll see going into the midterm elections,” said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.