Rand Paul campaigns against JCPS school board members at GOP 'education reform' rally

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul suggested at a local Republican rally Friday evening that Jefferson County voters should oust all four incumbents running for the Jefferson County Board of Education in the Nov. 8 election.

"How long have the Jefferson schools been failing us? Decades," he said. "They keep electing the same people. Maybe it's time for a new slate of people on the school board."

He and his wife Kelley, who joined him for a speech at the Louisville GOP's "rally for education reform," also criticized the idea of K-12 schools teaching students about the spectrum of gender identities.

2022 Kentucky general election:2022 Kentucky general election: Where the JCPS school board candidates stand on issues

Kelley Paul cracked jokes Friday about members of the LGBTQ community − specifically transgender people and drag queens − that she'd also used during her August speech at Fancy Farm, Kentucky's long-running political picnic. She said her recent comments haven't been "anti-LGBT," arguing "we need to have these discussions about what's appropriate in schools."

Over the past couple of years especially, right-wing and anti-LGBTQ politicians and groups have moved to restrict transgender adults and children's participation in sports and in public life, including their access to gender-affirming care, their ability to use certain public bathrooms and their ability to adjust birth certificates or other documentation to reflect their gender identity. Paul and many other Republican politicians up for election have specifically opposed transgender athletes' presence in girls' and women's sports.

Kentucky's Republican-run legislature passed a ban this year to prevent trans girls and women from playing on girls' and women's school sports teams in grades six through 12 and in college. That law's lead sponsor said then that he was unaware of any specific issues in the state that arose because a trans student played on a girls team.

More:Here's what to know about the Kentucky legislature's passage of the transgender sports ban

Amid increasing anti-trans rhetoric and policies across the nation, a prominent children's hospital and its staff recently experienced threats of violence for providing gender-affirming care. The Trevor Project's 2021 national survey found over half of trans and nonbinary youths seriously considered suicide in the past year, and data show killings of trans and gender nonconforming people − particularly of Black trans women − have risen over the past several years.

Over 100 people attended Friday's rally, which featured speeches not only from the Pauls but also from U.S. congressional candidate Stuart Ray and conservative-leaning candidates for Jefferson County Public Schools' board.

Four of JCPS' seven school board seats are on the ballot next month. Each of those races − for offices representing west Louisville, northeast Louisville, south central Louisville and Newburg − are competitive, with multiple candidates running against incumbents James Craig, Linda Duncan, Diane Porter and Corrie Shull.

Four challengers recommended by the Jefferson County Republican Party spoke at Friday's rally: Charlie Bell for District 1, Steve Ullum for District 3, Greg Puccetti for District 5 and Misty Glin for District 6.

Rand Paul said Friday: "I've met your school board candidates. Fight, fight on and let's get them elected."

JCPS school board elections 2022:JCPS school board elections 2022: Who is the money behind the candidates?

Other candidates in those races are Ahamara Brewster and Carol Clark in District 1, Gay Adelmann and Sam Cowan in District 3 and Matthew Singleton in District 5.

The power balance of the Jefferson County Public Schools board potentially could change depending on who voters choose, and this is a particularly expensive election cycle.

Across America lately, conservative groups have funneled funds into influencing school board races. In Jefferson County, though, the teachers union has been the biggest financial player in this year's election.

The recent conservative push to change school policymaking has centered on, among other things, how race is taught in classrooms as well as opposition to remote learning and in-school masking during the pandemic.

Rand Paul, a longtime critic of deploying such measures to mitigate COVID-19's spread, spoke against requiring masks in schools again at Friday's rally.

He also suggested teachers that teach some math and science subjects should be paid more than other educators and went on to say: "Why don't we have exceptional pay for exceptional teachers?"

This story discussed suicide and other mental health issues. If you're in crisis, help is available:

• Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

• Call Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860.

• Call The Trevor Project's TrevorLifeline at 866-488-7386.

Reporter Olivia Krauth contributed to this story. Reach reporter Morgan Watkins at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Rand Paul suggests ousting JCPS school board incumbents in election