Todays’ Guest Post is from House District 20 Kansas Rep. Mari-Lynn Poskin. Rep. Poskin has supported our Blue Valley Schools in the Kansas Legislature since her election in 2020. She’s helping spread the word about outsiders who are pouring money into our local School Board races. Rep. Poskin describes how self-described “conservative Republicans” are *regretting* the election of 1776 Project PAC-endorsed candidates in Colorado, where their actions have caused a mass exodus of teachers and administrators.
Rep. Poskin writes:
I join every Blue Valley School District superintendent from the last 30 years and 15 current/former BVSD School Board members in supporting the
A+ Team for Blue Valley Schools: Dietz, Hurley, Kessinger and Norkey
My mom always told me to "consider the source" when I was weighing what people were saying. I sure trust the sources above, don't you? Let's take a look at who is supporting the other slate. You may have received the following mailer from the 1776 PAC Project. It is a New York based outfit whose Director's 2021 tweet, "F*** you, we're taking over school boards whether you like it or not!" was covered by the Sunflower State Journal. (SUBV Note: Rep. Poskin cleaned up the 1776 Project PAC Director’s profanity. In his original tweet, he used the expletive.)
On October 5th, 2023, the 1776 PAC Project's treasurer, Nancy Marks, "pleaded guilty pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. She also admitted to falsifying and inflating financial numbers and making numerous false statements in conjunction with Mr. Santos, a Republican from New York." I do not trust these people to pick our BVSD school board members, do you?
Then there is their support from Moms for Liberty, who is spreading the false narrative of our "failing schools," and leading the charge in book challenges nationwide, including trying to ban the Level 2 Scholastic Reader "Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story" from Tennessee public school curriculum. Just, no...
If you or your neighbor are considering a vote for their misguided slate, please consider what is happening in this conservative Colorado town after it's school board was taken over by a super conservative majority. Conservative Republicans are regretting it! It is worth reading the entire article:
“I think they look at us as this petri dish where they can really push all their agenda and theories,” said Joe Dohrn, a Woodland Park father who described himself as a staunch Republican and “very capitalistic.” “They clearly are willing to sacrifice the public school and to put students presently in the public school through years of disarray to drive home their ideological beliefs. It’s a travesty.”
Can we afford this, when there is already a teacher shortage?
"As the school year winds down, many of the Woodland Park School District’s employees are heading for the exit, despite recently receiving an 8% raise. At least four of the district’s top administrators have quit because of the board’s policy changes, according to interviews and emails obtained through records requests. Nearly 40% of the high school’s professional staff have said they will not return next school year, according to an administrator in the district."
