A Changing Texas Town Contends a Conservative Revolt Over Schools

Texas School Board Don Zimmerman LGBT Greg Abbott Ron DeSantis Tiffanie Harrison Ryan Girdusky

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Oct 24, 04:44 am

Round Rock in Texas had traffic-choked intersections after massive, blunt, and different campaign slogans stood out from clusters of candidate signs that said: "Teach ABCs + 123s, Not CRTs & LGBTs," per Yahoo News. A blood-sport politics have come to the school board elections in Round Rock, a rapidly growing and diversifying suburb of Austin. Parents are now forming political action committees, canvassing door-to-door, and sparring on social media.

Many groups, such as national interest groups, unions, and political parties, are weighing in on what have historically been nonpartisan contests. The slogan belongs to Don Zimmerman, one of the five conservative school board candidates who billed the "One Family" slate. The parents railed against the so-called "political correctness" in schools, "leftist" educators' unions, "pornography" in school libraries, and lastly, the LGBTQ-friendly policies.

One of the group's main targets is the critical race theory (CRT), which argues that racism and prejudice are embedded within U.S. laws and institutions. Moreover, public schools and institutions across the nation have stated they are not teaching the college-level theory but added that it had become a catch-all term for critics of policies that promote equity and inclusion.

Battle in Round Rock has echoed the country

Zimmerman runs against the incumbent, Tiffanie Harrison, a progressive and the first-ever Black woman elected to the Round Rock school board. Harrison and her followers named the challengers the "hate slate," accusing them of inciting division. In response, Zimmerman labeled his critics as "bigots" and "trolls" on social media and added that his slate is attempting to elevate the district's academic standards.

The battle in Round Rock had echoed around the country and served as an outgrowth of a surge of activism, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when parents got furious over mask and vaccine mandates that disrupted the school board meetings from Florida to Alaska. Currently, the vexation is being harnessed by various conservatives nationally. Republicans such as Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida had put "parental rights" at the center of the November re-election bids.

Moreover, grassroots groups such as Moms for Liberty have also lobbied legislatures, and PACs (Political Action Committees) such as the 1776 Projects have raised funds nationwide to support hand-picked school board candidates.

"Round Rock school district is ripe for political tension"

Exerted efforts only determined how Republicans, who have obtained control of the majority of state legislatures and governor's offices in the country and now appear on the verge of seizing at least one chamber of the Congress in the U.S. midterm elections on November 8, are currently seeking to consolidate power on the community level.

Ryan Girdusky, who pioneered the 1776 Project, estimated that approximately 70 percent of his school board candidates have triumphed in elections held so far this year. He referred to conquests in Democratic-leaning enclaves like Miami as the outcome of how their own concerns cross party lines.

Additionally, the individuals and citizens reorganize and reorient their own lives around their children as they do not prefer their kids being messed with. The "Round Rock school district is ripe for political tension" as tech companies like Apple and Dell have conveyed an influx of skilled workers, many of whom were Asians and other diverse groups. Furthermore, new residents have now moved from nearby liberal Austin.

Harrison told the outlet that people need to make tough decisions as that's only the beginning and start seeing the community's division. On the other hand, Zimmerman spoke for the conservative slate and said that the current board's COVID policies have gradually led to extensive learning loss.