What it's like to be on the front lines of the school board culture war
Karen Watkins works in supply chain management and has two children in public school in Gwinnett County, Ga. She's one of those moms who has always been very involved in her kids' education. So much so that local officials urged her to run for school board last year.
"They said, 'This is probably going to be a good thing for you and you can probably make a difference.' ... But I didn't realize it came with a package, a big package," she says with a rueful laugh.
She wasn't prepared for the blowback that set in as soon as she put up her Facebook page to announce her campaign. She was inundated with messages like:
"You have sold your soul to satan .. you are greedy and deceitful ..you have no part with the truth!"
And: "Karen here some news for you the DEMOCRATIC COMMUNIST BABY KILLER PARTY doesn't have any values !!!"
"I knew we were in a heightened political era where there's a lot of divisive issues," Watkins says. "I just didn't realize that it would impact the local school board... Our main focus is towards student achievement and ensuring that we are producing children that are thriving."
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/21/1047334766/school-board-threats-race-masks-vaccines-protests-harassment