Connecticut Parents Oust School Board Members over CRT

July 29, 2021

Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona withdrew a citation of a radical CRT program in documents earlier this month after embarrassing revelations about the radical nature of the materials promoted by the program. In his home state of Connecticut, parents are doing some house cleaning of their own on a local school board in Guilford.

Parents enraged by CRT content in school assignments ousted three incumbent Republican school board members from the GOP ticket in their bid to fight Critical Race Theory in Guilford Public Schools. The final straw may have been those Republicans agreeing to this Statement in April which pledges:

"We, members of the Board of Education, are fully supportive of the work addressing equity and social justice within Guilford Public Schools. We support the ongoing curricular audit and the addition of a part-time Equity Liaison and the student teacher Residency Program in the next school year. The Equity Liaison will provide a resource to students and parents for addressing issues of equity and discrimination for any student feeling marginalized for any reason, allowing our district to appropriately track for patterns requiring a broader system-wide response."

What kind of "resource" might an "Equity Liaison" provide? Experience in another district might provide a clue. Parents in Loudoun County, Virginia have opposed a situation involving an online reporting portal for students to use to anonymously accuse each other of racial or sexual bias and other hate crimes. Parents have filed a lawsuit to stop that effort.

The sitting school board members and superintendent in Connecticut can try to pretend there is no Critical Race Theory in their school system. Savvy parents aren't going to be fooled. According to National Review the new anti-CRT candidates explain why they are running to save their local schools: "There is no public debate, no discussion. The board is shutting down all conversation by making that disingenuous statement. We may not be PhDs, or experts in education, or reporters, or detectives, but we're not stupid. Parents are the experts on their children," Scarpellino affirmed.

Nick Cusano, another one of the five Republican contenders for the school board, said concern for his children motivated him and the others to enter the race. "We are all parents with students in the school system. That's the uniting piece that brought us all together," he told NRO. "I have no political ambitions. I did this because I've seen the assignments tinted with CRT. We have nothing to gain from this except the education our children deserve. I can't just sit by and do nothing. This was my call to action," Cusano shared.

Bill Maisano, a third nominee on the Republican ticket, said he got involved when he witnessed progressive curriculum pushing on his kids, with no room for disagreement or debate. He believes the Republicans can persuade even liberal voters by simply spreading awareness of what's happening in Guilford schools. "People tell me quietly and privately that they support me but are afraid to be vocal. We can find common ground with liberals by informing them," Maisano said.

Kudos to these brave parents who are standing up for all children in their community. We applaud their example and encourage others to stand in the gap to save our schools. If you are considering running for school board, watch our School Board Boot Camp for information about how to run, how to serve, and how to engage in your community. Send us your reports of bias in your schools to tipline@frc.org.