Placer County is plagued by Evangelical extremists. Let’s take our community back | Opinion

Do you know what your local school board is up to?

This year alone, a state school superintendent was physically removed from a school board meeting. School boards have voted to ban textbooks and reject curriculum that features members of the LGBTQ+ community. Havoc and intimidation by groups of Proud Boys shuts down school board meetings.

You might think this happened in Florida or Texas, two states where rational thinking and humanitarianism are in short supply. You would be wrong. All of these events happened this year in California, specifically in Chino, Temecula, Glendale, Rocklin and Roseville.

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While we would hope our public education system is free of political and religious influences, our schools and educational policies are a microcosm of our greater society. Differences of opinion about curriculum and policy have always existed, but shifts in our political discourse, characterized by an entire political party giving tacit approval to intolerance and extremism, fueled the anger of those who feel powerless and demand retribution. Combine that with the effects of the pandemic, which super-charged this outrage, and we have a perfect storm of fear, loathing and fanaticism.

Opposition to school lock-downs and remote learning migrated to vaccines and mask requirements. With students back in classrooms, we are now seeing school boards and protest groups target policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion; recognition of and services for LGBTQ+ students and families; the whitewashing of curriculum, particularly social studies and science curriculum; and the banning of books.

Here in Placer County, in the most recent 2022 election, ultra-conservative and evangelically aligned school board candidates partnered with groups like Moms for Liberty and The American Council.

Moms for Liberty, recently designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an extremist group, provides a well-funded platform to consolidate various factions into calls for restricting or eliminating certain texts from our schools, efforts to strip curriculum of perceived “objectionable” components, the marginalization of LGBTQ+ students and the incorporation of Christian beliefs and a Biblical worldview into public education. Locally, this agenda is advanced by the American Council, a local political action committee affiliated with Rocklin’s Destiny Church.

Pretending to be guardians of freedom, these groups promote the terms “parental rights” and “parental choice” which are simply code words for an extremist agenda in which only the freedom and rights of a few matter. Seeing an opportunity, fringe candidates with questionable allegiances and fewer qualifications presented themselves in 2022 as alternatives to the status quo they blamed for lock-downs and mask use. Too many of these marginal candidates were successful, ousting both incumbents and better qualified candidates. Their successes triggered even more repressive actions demanded by their provincial, predominantly white evangelical supporters.

Predictably, bedlam has ensued.

A recent book banning attempt in Lincoln is a prime example of the mayhem created by a small group determined to restrict the freedom of all. Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give” is a book written by a Black author about a Black teenager. According to PEN America, of the 1,477 instances of individual book bans during the 2022-23 school year, the books targeted for banning are predominantly stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. After a series of meetings in which some parents called for the banning of Thomas’ book, the Western Placer School Board fortunately upheld the recommendation of their own advisory committee and maintained the book in its ninth grade curriculum. This conflict is over — for now — but it’s unlikely to be the last assault on academic freedom in our region.

When the Proud Boys show up at a school board meeting, as has happened in Roseville, Rocklin and Glendale, the outcome is predetermined. Violence and threats are meant to intimidate and prevent opponents of these extremist actions from attending meetings and speaking out. But the threat of violence isn’t the only deterrent used to limit dissent: Extremists, including from the Proud Boys, travel to school board meetings and monopolize the public comment period even when they do not have children in the district.

Meanwhile, following a formal public presentation and a month-long review process, the Rocklin Unified School District failed to adopt a recommended science curriculum. The initial pretext given cited insufficient opportunity for parents to review the materials, but complaints about LGBTQ+ individuals featured in the curriculum’s materials is a more likely culprit. This dispute echoes the 2019 battle over the social science curriculum, but four years ago the RUSD board didn’t have a majority of trustees supported and bankrolled by the American Council as they do now. The current vice-president of the RUSD board, Tiffany Saathoff, is a Destiny Church pastor, further illustrating the improper alliance of church and state.

Rocklin’s once well-deserved reputation for its quality school district is threatened by its fundamentalist regressive board.

How can we stem the tide of arbitrary and dogmatic actions taken by our local school boards? As we saw in Lincoln, we have the power to protect our public education system and advocate for the public good. Be vigilant and involved. Share your concerns in writing or by speaking at the meetings. Question your school board members about their positions on issues. Review proposed budgets to verify our tax dollars are being spent wisely and fairly. Above all, carefully vet all candidates for these positions. Follow the money supporting the candidates, and vote in every election.

Being a school board member is a public trust. We want to be able to confidently assume that anyone who runs for these positions puts the needs of our children at the forefront. As we have recently seen, however, not all elected officials act in the best interests of those they supposedly serve. It’s up to us to ensure that they do — or replace them with those who will.

Barbara Smith is a retired teacher, native Californian and Placer County resident, and a founding member of the Placer Advocates for Students and Families, created to resist the targeted assaults occurring in our students and keep Placer welcoming and safe for all children.