The recent victory of Andrew Yeager as the new Carroll Independent School District (CISD) Trustee has galvanized grassroots conservatives across North Texas.
According to Robert Montoya of Texas Scorecard, the “pro-grassroots coalition” now occupies three out of the seven seats on the board of the CISD.
In a resounding defeat for the status quo, citizens living in CISD voted 64-35 percent in favor of Yeager, who faced off against Stephanie Williams and will now be replacing Trustee David Almand.
Alamand stepped down from his seat in July. Yeager will be up for election again once Almand’s term expires in March 2022.
“Tonight, voters in Southlake once again voted overwhelmingly to reject Critical Race Theory and Socialist ideas, while strongly supporting American exceptionalism,” declared Tim O’Hare, a Republican candidate for Tarrant County Judge. “Proud to be part of the effort.”
Over the past summer, CISD has been mired in controversy, with growing numbers of concerned parents protesting the district’s course materials.
In 2020, parents discovered that CISD school board trustees had plans to implement a controversial Cultural Competence Action Plan.
The CCAP would establish an LGBTQ+ student focus group and a system where students would have the ability to report each other for committing “microaggressions.” The entire program cost taxpayers roughly $1.5 million.
The program was stopped in its tracks after CISD citizen Kristen Garcia obtained a temporary restraining order from Judge Josh Burgess last November. CISD Trustees Michelle Moore and Todd Carlton were indicted in April of this year for violating the Texas Open Meetings Act while holding discussions about CCAP.
Subsequently, there were allegations that CISD elementary teacher Rickie Farah and two other teachers scolded a student for showing a book titled “This Book Is Anti-Racist” to her parents. This book was displayed in the classroom library. It provoked a strong response from parents who were offended by the material.
In addition, Farah allegedly told the student she couldn’t bring classroom library books back home without the teacher’s permission.
After CISD administrators did not act on this controversy, citizens could successfully place pressure on a majority of CISD trustees to have Farah reprimanded on October 4.
Yeager’s campaign was centered on “Students First, Sound Fiscal Policies” and giving support to teachers. One of Yeager’s other campaign slogans was to “Make School Board Meetings Boring Again.”
Yeager now joins Trustees Hannah Smith and Cam Bryan, two other Trustees elected on pro-reform platforms earlier in 2021.
Conservatives nationwide are beginning to launch more energetic campaigns to retake school boards. Organizations like the 1776 Project PAC are leading the way to flip school board seats and push back against education practices that are perceived to be culturally radical.
Taking on school boards appears to be one of the biggest fights on the Right over the next decade.