Parents wait until midnight to lambaste Fort Worth ISD board on critical race theory
The Fort Worth ISD school board meeting might have started at 5:30 pm Monday evening, but about 30 parents were not allowed to voice their concerns about general topics until after midnight — that’s if they were able to wait that long.
While there was one short period of time earlier in the meeting dedicated to public comments, under board rules, they must be specific to the board’s skeletal agenda. If not, parents are cut off. A few days before the Monday board meeting, the school board pushed the general public comment time for parents until the end of the night, which wasn’t until after midnight.
Most were willing to wait so long because they’re angry and they demand to be heard: Kids’ reading scores are sinking while the district concerns itself with critical race theory and some schools still require masks. And yet, many parents believe the school board makes it difficult for their concerns to be heard.
The late hour and exasperated tone may be a sign that the focus on school policies in the wake of the pandemic isn’t going away any time soon.
A robust section of the seven-hour ordeal included a public hearing with three parents and their attorney, Warren Norred, taking the district to task over the existence of its Racial Equity Committee.
Norred, who is also running for State Senate in District 10 in the Republican primary, scolded the district for their commitment to foisting race-based theories on kids under the guise of helping them, despite the fact that the district continues to see abysmal academic performance.
Norred pointed out the flaws in this philosophy during Monday night’s meeting. “It focuses on racial and ethnic disparities and it never talks about income. If you have a two parent income household that’s wealthy, that kid is going to do better … but that’s not reflected here. It seems to assume things stereotypically based on skin color, which is the opposite of what we are trying to do,” he said.
Norred told the board the equity committee’s new resolution is not legal when held up against SB3, Texas’ education law that modifies certain portions of the social studies curriculum to bolster civics education.
The resolution “says it’s going to fight systemic racism and perpetual white supremacy. There is no systemic racism in Fort Worth ISD that I can find. I’d love for you to show it to me,” Norred said. He urged the school to drop the most extreme aspects that break the law before a lawsuit became necessary.
“[This is] racism pure and simple,” Norred said. Parents erupted into applause when Norred finished, even though they weren’t going to be given their platform to speak (one to three minutes each) for another two hours. Although dozens of parents had to leave given the late hour, approximately 30 stayed.
When Amie Super approached the podium, dressed facetiously in a robe to point out to trustees just how late the hour was, she called out trustee Jacinto Ramos Jr. for reviewing a children’s book instead of focusing on parents’ speeches.
“You don’t own me,” Ramos responded angrily. “You’re not my constituents. You don’t get to talk to me like that.”
After midnight, Holly Plemmons, mother of three children in Fort Worth ISD was one of the last women to speak and she begged the board to work with parents. “Each of us here represents thousands,” she said. “We are the ones here at midnight able to speak to you yet you make things so difficult for parents. … If you keep up with this lack of transparency, things are going to get so much worse.”
Plemmons’ sentiments summarize what so many parents nationwide seem to be feeling about districts that are plowing ahead with narratives, blind to data, parental concerns or kids’ progress. Be it masks, explicit books, or race-based curriculum, parents now know what schools are up to, and many don’t like it.
She’s right: These skirmishes are just the beginning.
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 10:23 AM.
