School Board Elections More Important Than Ever

There’s so much disagreement in the world today. Liberals, conservatives, socialists, Trumpers, non-Trumpers . . . it just goes on and on. But perhaps most of us can agree that parents are the biggest influence when it comes to their children. And maybe we can also nod our heads together on the idea that the second-biggest influencer might be schools.

If so, then this election might be one of the most important in recent memory.

It’s time to vote for school boards.

Long gone are the days when folks ran because they either wanted to hire, or fire, a basketball coach. But things haven’t cooled off much. Instead of coaches, the hot topics are critical race theory, what books should or shouldn’t be in school libraries, how many genders there are, do kids have the right to be “furries” at school . . . and even the core question of do parents have the right to know and / or influence the curriculum.

Look, you may have strong feelings on these topics. That’s good, I do, too. We might agree, we might not. But the point is that the folks who will decide those topics and more are on your ballot.

Look, it’s just one man’s opinion but getting school boards who believe the following four things are more important than ever:

• Parents are responsible for raising children, not schools
• There are indeed some books that are not age appropriate
• Teachers need to be able to educate – not just make sure kids can pass tests
• School principals and administrators should be more concerned with school safety than hot topic social issues

Boil it down and we need people in charge who put education, teachers and kids first.

We do not need people who think schools’ jobs are to raise children. Ask a teacher and they will tell you the classroom is hard enough today. Most will tell you they desperately want mom and dad to raise Little Johnny and Susie before they hit the classroom door.

We don’t need to elect people who thing racism is part and parcel of being white. Isn’t that actually the definition of racism?

We do not need people, like our First Lady, who said that any and all books should be in the school library. Look, I have eight grandchildren, and all but two are in pre-school or elementary schools. You can damn well bet there are books they should not be exposed to yet. Isn’t the Internet bad enough? The 10-year-old knows more about the birds and bees and such than I did when I was in high school.

We very much do not need people who believe boys aren’t boys and girls aren’t girls . . . or cute little furry animals.

And most of all, we do not need people sitting on those boards who are (what’s the term?) woke.

In today’s upside-down world, we desperately need school; boards who support teachers and support students. We need school boards who hire administrators who are in line with community standards, and show the door to those who are not.

Make no mistake, this is a critical time.

And make no mistake, this is about education.

Isn’t it intellectually dishonest to let little boys and girls think they can be something other than a little boy or little girl? Isn’t it intellectually dishonest to try to ignore the parts of history we don’t like, agree with or make us uncomfortable? Shouldn’t education be about being honest, not anything else?

We need people serving on those boards who are exactly that – intellectually honest. We don’t need those who are more concerned about being politically correct than about ensuring administrators, teachers and kids are all rowing in the same direction toward learning. We need to elect people who believe accountability isn’t a bad thing and who believe successes should be celebrated. Let me say it again, ask a teacher. The job is hard enough today. It’s not anything like when you and I were in school.

When you go to the ballot box, please cast your vote for those individuals who are ready, willing and able to help get things going in the right direction again.

Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically on Thursdays in The Times. Timmons is the chief executive officer of Sagamore News Media, the company that owns The Noblesville Times. He is also a proud Noblesville High School graduate and can be contacted at ttimmons@thetimes24-7.com.