Shawnee Mission school board member David Westbrook says now is “a time for vigilance” as the Kansas State Board of Education undergoes a shift to the right.
Hardline social conservatives captured two new seats on the state school board last week, gaining a 6-4 advantage over moderates and raising questions about how the board’s changing priorities could affect local school districts.
“Of course, I’m concerned if people want to make schools into something other than a place for learning and growing and becoming equipped to compete in a very, very challenging future,” Westbrook said. “But I think the power remains with local school boards and I think people in their community will be more vigilant now, more engaged now than they were before.”
The new state school board members say they hope Donald Trump makes good on his promise to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.
They express concern over the idea that Kansas students are being exposed to dangerous ideas and obscene materials in public schools, and they deride social-emotional learning standards as liberal indoctrination.