As Carroll school board shifts right after election, here’s what to expect in 2022
Andrew Yeager’s decisive victory over Stephanie Williams in the Carroll ISD school board election was good news for those who don’t want to see children “indoctrinated” or schools interfering with their Christian values.
But for others who have followed this election closely, the change in the composition of the school board has them worried about what it means for students and teachers.
More than 9,000 voters cast their ballots in this election with 6,150 votes (65.40%) for Yeager while Stephanie Williams, who supported a proposed diversity plan, received 3,254 (34.60%) of the votes.
For well over a year, school board meetings became the battleground over a proposed Cultural Competence Action Plan or CCAP that was the beginning of a process to address bullying and racial tension in the district where the majority of students are white, but with a growing number of students of color.
Parents told trustees that they did not want the diversity plan because it went against the Christian values their children were learning at home, but others wanted to see the plan implemented because students were experiencing bullying and racism.
Southlake Families, a well-organized political action committee, opposed the diversity plan. In May, candidates Hannah Smith and Cam Bryan, who opposed the plan, were elected. On Nov. 2, Yeager was elected, shifting the majority of the seven-member board to trustees who want to see better enforcement of the district’s code of conduct as they said it already addresses bullying and complaints about racism.
Trustees Michelle Moore, Sheri Mills and Todd Carlton support the plan while Eric Lannen, Bryan, Smith and Yeager do not.
Yeager and Williams campaigned for the Place 7 seat after David Almand resigned last summer. Both said they will run again in May.
Jonathan Covey, policy director for Texas Values, a conservative organization that monitors school districts and local governments, said he is “excited” that Yeager won.
Covey said the election showed that parents want school districts to focus on teaching math, science and how to prepare for a career.
“Teach our children how to think and not what to think. We hope this is a wake up call for the Carroll ISD,” he said.
Covey said Yeager defined himself as representing parents and not representing politics.
“We hope this will mean that there will be more transparency on the school board, educating children and not indoctrinating children,” he said. Covey said he also hopes the Cultural Competence Action Plan will be “shelved.”
Carroll already has a code of conduct and “zero tolerance of racism,” he said. But he said the code needs to be enforced.
Currently, the district is under a temporary restraining order concerning the plan after a parent filed a lawsuit alleging that several trustees, including board president Michelle Moore, discussed the plan in text messages, in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Covey said the plan threatened the liberty of students who held Christian and biblical values.
Yeager said during his campaign that he believes the code of conduct should be strengthened and enforced.
Moore did not return a voice mail and text message seeking comment about Tuesday’s election and the future of Carroll’s diversity plan.
But Williams, who vowed to keep fighting to protect marginalized students, said that the diversity plan is needed to address the many complaints that students of color and those in the LGBTQ community were bullied and harassed and little was done.
Ken Heymann, a parent in the school district and one of the founders of the group Dignity for All Texas Students, said while he is disappointed in the election outcome, he’s not giving up on fighting for a diversity plan to help students.
“When we started, our mindset was to support CCAP and then we’re going home. We are going to keep working to make our community more inclusive and to help our community understand that our goal is to help students get the best education and in the safest environment possible,” he said.
Southlake’s Mayor John Huffman, who endorsed Yeager, said he is committed to doing whatever it takes to bring the community together.
“Now that the election is over and the results are in, it’s time to find the best ways to support Carroll ISD with conservative, intelligent and thoughtful leadership from the people who live and are invested in this great community. To me, elections are about people making their voices heard and this election was no different,” Huffman said.
What’s next for voters
Kimi King, a political science professor at the University of North Texas, said in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that governmental entities often have elections during years when there are not presidential or mid-term elections to emphasize local issues which tends to mobilize voters.
“You are seeing a preview of what 2022 promises to look like. Coupled with new district lines that have been drawn after the 2020 census you are going to continue to have a volatile mobilization of voters because of the key wedge issues. Masks and what they symbolize, along with the long-standing issue of local control in the schools are combining to deliver the results that you are seeing,” she said.
King added that elections such as the one in Carroll send a message to democrats to stay focused on local issues.
Pushing for a diverse environment
Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said she is concerned about the changing composition of the school board in Carroll and what that will mean for teachers and students.
“We are always concerned when someone that is elected that isn’t necessarily listening to the educators. We know what our students need, we see them every day,” she said. “We are concerned when we see someone elected who is not in tune with what the staff and students need.”
She said groups put a lot of money into school board campaigns which is also disconcerting.
“Creating a diverse environment helps everyone learn better,” Molina said.
Southlake may not be as diverse as other areas, but kids are going to live in a diverse world, Molina said.
“Our state is becoming more diverse. Just because some areas aren’t as diverse as others doesn’t mean they can’t learn. Its not just that we want our students of color to be represented but also our white students to understand the world they live in.”
Teachers are also concerned because of SB3, a newly-passed law that requires teachers to present different perspectives when teaching about widely debated and controversial issues.
Carroll is facing controversy involving an administrator telling teachers that if they have books about the Holocaust in their classrooms, they need to also provide books with opposing views of the Holocaust.
Superintendent Lane Ledbetter later apologized and said the Holocaust was a terrible event in history, and the district recognizes that there aren’t two sides to the Holocaust.
Molina said districts are trying to interpret the law and what it means for teachers in the classroom.
“This (the new law) is fueling the fire. This is an attack on public schools, and we want to stop it,” Molina said.
This story was originally published November 8, 2021 at 5:30 AM.