Voters can ensure Central Bucks school board focuses on education, not culture wars | Editorial

Suburban school board elections used to be sleepy, nonpartisan affairs. But during the pandemic, school boards across the nation became political hotbeds as fights over mask mandates expanded to include disputes over QAnon conspiracy theories, the treatment of transgender students, and teaching the history of racism in America.

It would be difficult to imagine that the infighting has been meaner, more embarrassing, or more costly in any community than it has been on the Central Bucks school board, where a Republican-led majority embarked on a series of misguided steps that cast the district in a harsh light and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

During the April board meeting, Jim Pepper called fellow board member Karen Smith a “psychopath and a liar.” Police officers intervened at last month’s meeting after a resident berated board member Tabitha Dell’Angelo and threw papers at another person, prompting Dell’Angelo’s husband to lift a folding chair in anger.

» READ MORE: The Central Bucks School District’s indefensible treatment of LGBTQ students | Editorial

The tensions have been brewing for some time, thanks to the spread of misinformation fueled by Republican culture wars. Speaking as a parent months before getting elected to the board in November 2021, Debra Cannon claimed that classes in human growth and development were “grooming” children for sexual abuse and exploitation. She added, “Demonic adults are recruiting, brainwashing, and participating in unconscionable behaviors with our children, and every one of you know it.”

The politicization of school boards is part of an orchestrated campaign by right-wing organizations and dark money groups. Paul Martino, a Bucks County venture capitalist and GOP donor, spent $500,000 on dozens of Pennsylvania school board races in 2021. His wife, Aarati Martino, is running for a seat on the Central Bucks school board in November.

Fortunately, Central Bucks voters have a chance to curtail the culture wars and wasteful spending. Five school board seats are up for election on Nov. 7. The best candidates to ensure the district restores civility and a focus on quality education are Dana Foley, Susan Gibson, Rick Haring, Heather Reynolds, and Karen Smith.

The current 6-3 majority that controls the school board has tarnished the district’s excellent reputation through a series of ham-handed and divisive steps.

In July 2022, the board voted 6-3 to approve a controversial library policy aimed at banning books with sexualized content — a move that the Pennsylvania Library Association called one of the most restrictive measures in the state. The district then implemented a convoluted policy to determine which books to remove.

In October 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, alleging the Central Bucks School District perpetuated a “hostile environment for LGBTQ+ students.” The complaint, filed on behalf of seven students, detailed incidents of bullying and discrimination that were ignored by staff and administrators.

Undeterred, the board voted 6-3 in January to prohibit teachers from displaying Pride flags and other partisan, political, or social policy materials in classrooms. The wrongheaded policy led to a high school librarian being ordered to remove a poster that quoted Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s 1986 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Thankfully, a social media backlash helped reverse the move.

The board’s actions attracted national media coverage. To combat the self-inflicted negative attention, the six majority members — who rarely consult the other three — planned to spend more than $1 million on legal fees and public relations to spin their way out of trouble.

» READ MORE: Superintendent claims the spoils of the Bucks County culture wars | Editorial

A legal team from the Center City-based firm of Duane Morris, headed by Bill McSwain, a former U.S. attorney appointed by former President Donald Trump, issued a report in April in response to the ACLU complaint that found — no surprise — that the district didn’t discriminate against LGBTQ students. The report didn’t interview any of the people alleging bullying and amounted to a high-priced whitewash.

In July, the Republican majority voted to increase Superintendent Abe Lucabaugh’s salary by nearly 40% to $315,000 a year, making him the state’s second-highest-paid schools chief. The three Democrats on the board said they were not aware of the pay hike until it appeared on the agenda.

Lucabaugh’s hefty pay bump came as the district faces a class-action lawsuit by more than 300 current and former female teachers who allege they were paid less than their male counterparts. Beyond an abject failure to read the room, the suit could cost district taxpayers more than $100 million.

Enough is enough. It’s past time for the Central Bucks school board to be led by those who understand that the education of all students is not a political tool.