This article was originally posted 4/28/2022 on SUBV Facebook page
While anti-public education legislators in Topeka are working to undercut our Blue Valley schools, headlines here focus on the antics of recently-elected BV BOE member Jim McMullen. Discriminatory tweets from McMullen’s now-inactive Twitter account - that included his School Board position in the bio - resulted in McMullen being stripped of his School Board vice presidency today by a 5 to 2 vote. McMullen and Kaety Bowers voted against the motion.
Board President Patrick Hurley opened the meeting by explaining that, in recent weeks, McMullen has made statements (via Twitter) that are not consistent with the District Mission Statement and the Board’s antidiscrimination policies. The main expressed concern was a Board officer’s comments being inconsistent with the District’s stated mission.
In a statement, McMullen did not back down from his stances and, in fact, doubled down to say that his anti-LGBTQ statements were “pro every kid.” He argued that other Board actions (completely unrelated and misrepresented by McMullen in his statement) should be censured, not his.
Long-time Board member and former Board President Tom Mitchell spoke during the meeting, expressing sadness about another distraction for our administrators, teachers, and students, as he drew an important distinction between honest differences of opinion on the Board versus “a sworn Oath of Office to recognize and respect my position as a representative of all stakeholders...model behavior consistent with expectations for all staff members, treat students and teachers with dignity and respect, and always put kids first.” Mitchell recalled the Board’s’ recent unanimous commitment to “eliminate distractions” so our district could get back to our strategic plan.
The Board then voted 5 to 2 to remove McMullen from his position as Board Vice President.
When the guy who runs the 1776 Project PAC* infamously tweeted last year: “F--- you, we’re taking over school boards whether you like it or not.” - THIS is what he meant. Create chaos, generate negative headlines, distract from legislative efforts that undermine public schools, and chip away at the respected reputation of high-performing public school districts - including Blue Valley. McMullen, Bowers, and other School Board candidates from Johnson County and around the nation received support, including direct mail and texting campaigns paid for by the 1776 Project PAC. Jim McMullen won his election by 51 votes, with only 32% of eligible Blue Valley voters casting a ballot.
We join Tom Mitchell in expressing sadness that our community has to deal with this situation - and we appreciate the Board members who took a firm stand today.
