Orange County school board elections are becoming contentious and the consequences of who is elected are becoming more critical

The recent chaos and culture wars happening in local schools is not by accident. Well-funded national organizations wanting to shut down public schools have set their sights on Orange County. They support candidates who claim to be about "parents' rights," when in fact their goal is to take full control of public schools with no regard for the impact it will have on students and communities.

We only need to look at Orange Unified, Placentia Yorba Linda Unified and the Orange County Board of Education to understand their agendas when they gain a majority. They defund their districts by suing the state, they ban books, throw out curriculum standards, and refuse to protect children who are bullied or need additional resources and support.

The roadmap for these national groups, like Moms for Liberty and the Heritage Foundation, is to quietly take over school boards without disclosing their agendas during the election. 

Many have no idea candidates backed by these groups will be on our ballots this November.

WIL is hosting a panel of prominent local school board members and candidates to discuss the challenges they face with this growing movement of anti-public education candidates.

Walk away understanding why we must elect trustees who retain science-based curriculum and inclusive teachers in our classrooms, and what happens to local schools when politics and culture wars take over our school boards.