Wanted: School Board Candidate

for 9,000 adorable children

Greetings, Frog Troublers! We were excited to see big wins for democracy on Tuesday—not just for abortion rights in Ohio and Virginia, but also for school boards across the country, including in North Carolina. According to the National Federation of Teachers, school board candidates endorsed by conservative groups like Moms for Liberty lost 70% of their races in this week’s election. American voters are saying we don’t want the hateful hallmarks of Moms for Liberty: book bans, anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ legislation, and intimidation of teachers and school staff. What we do want: honest, accurate, equitable, safe, and fully funded public schools.

But you can’t win seats if you don’t have candidates—and in Chatham County, which narrowly kept a Moms for Liberty-endorsed candidate off the school board in 2022, we need someone to run in 2024 for the district one seat.

My friends and I are eager to help a progressive candidate who steps up to run for school board, but the filing deadline is soon (December 4-14)! So I asked Richard to write us a little song that might help recruit someone. Here’s what he came up with, in the style of this Mary Poppins classic:

You'll want kids focused on learning

Fight against book bans or burning

Pro lunch, pro bus

Be sane like most of us

There are cranks and creeping crazies

Who pretend to be nice ladies

Just moms, concerned

But from other states we've learned

They are miles right of center

They will rant and scream and censor

Consumed with hate

Poised to field a candidate

Do you like public school?

And think bigotry's not cool?

You don't need outsized ambition 

To excel at this position

If you live in District One

You don't need a lot to run

Some flyers, some signs

We'll help with the designs.

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Bea was going to sing it for us, with Harriet on backup, but she lost her voice after a great performance of Puffs yesterday. So warm up your voice and try it on a like-minded friend or neighbor! (Record a version and send it to us!) You can also nominate and/or offer support to someone considering running here.

Much respect and thanks to our terrific school board members, who devote time to wisely managing our budget (at a recent meeting, they voted to give bonuses to veteran teachers), responding to damaging legislation with student-supportive resolutions, considering and approving staff changes at schools (like adding new counselors), and recognizing the great work of our students and teachers. A fun and amazing fact I like to share: President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jimmy Carter started his career as a school member in his home county in Georgia (where he served for more than seven years).

So you’d be in good company. And you’d have our help!

In Chatham? Or looking for your own school board candidate? Please share this post!