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At candidate forums and on social media, debates over highly politicized issues, such as masking and how race, history and LGBTQ issues are taught in schools, have dominated some local school board races.

When St. Louis County voters go to the polls on April 5, they will be voting in more contested school board races than in the previous decade, and in some districts, wedge issues have become the focus. Though a number of candidates have said that politics has no place in school board races, groups from both sides of the political divide are creating guides with lists of candidates that align with their viewpoints.

Political debates in education often come in waves, but this is a particularly heated time, said Vladimir Kogan, an associate professor of political science at the Ohio State University.

Whenever educational issues become salient at the national level, the dynamics play out in local elections, because that's what people pay attention to, Kogan said.

Missouri lawmakers have also filed bills that would change the way school board elections are held, by moving them to November or having candidates declare a party. The Missouri School Boards Association has denounced the bills, saying they could make things even more political.

We're very much opposed to that legislation, said Brent Ghan, deputy executive director for the association. We feel that it would create a more partisan atmosphere for school board elections should they be on a November ballot with a lot of other partisan races.

Partisan issues

At a forum in the Rockwood School District in early March, the candidates were divided on issues including health policies and how schools discuss race, history and LGBTQ issues. The room was also physically divided.

But in interviews after the event, most of the candidates said they think the politicization of education has gone too far.

Kayla Drake

/

St. Louis Public Radio

I think it's way too political, and we have to figure out how to put something in place to make sure that that's minimal, said Jessica Clark, a candidate for Rockwoods school board whose yard signs include the words Vote Conservative under her name.

Because school boards are elected, they are inherently political, but Ghan said its an issue when boards become mired in partisanship.

We're seeing politics involved in school board races more frequently than we used to, and that's of some concern to us, Ghan said. Sometimes we have groups outside the communities we're seeing that more frequently now that are getting involved in local school board races.

In Missouri, some statewide organizations have been creating lists of candidates that align with their views and sharing them on social media. The Missouri Equity Education Partnership, a grassroots organization that advocates for anti-bias, anti-racist education and has a school board candidate guide. Andy Wells, the Missouri chapter president of No Left Turn in Education, has also shared candidate guides on social media. The national grassroots group advocates against Critical Race Theory, a term that conservatives have applied to a broad range of curricula relating to race and diversity.

The focus on political wedge issues is part of a national effort to win voters in the suburbs, where education issues are particularly salient, said Kogan. Politicians at the national level have also stoked these debates, using rhetoric that inflames already-tense school board races.

President Trump was very divisive in particular, and he had strong opinions on all these issues, Kogan said. I think you have this top-down elite leadership on educational issues, and when you don't have that, you don't see polarization.

National Republican leaders have also spoken openly about this strategy. Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Trump, told Politico the focus on school boards and the fight against critical race theory is, the Tea Party to the 10th power.

But all of this has happened before, Kogan said. In the 1980s, politics was focused on prayer in school. By the early 2000s, the debate had shifted to intelligent design, or how evolution is taught in schools.

I think if you go back really the last 40 years or so, you can find a lot of examples of similar dynamics of whatever the hot issue of the day was, Kogan said.

Election change

In the Missouri legislature, Republicans lawmakers have sponsored bills to move school board elections to November and have candidates declare a party.

The Missouri School Boards Association has voiced its opposition to the proposals, arguing they could deepen the partisan divide over education and make school board elections more political and more expensive.

A November general election ballot is very lengthy; school board races would likely be way down on those ballots and would probably get a lot less attention, Brent Ghan said. They would probably have to raise a lot more money for those campaigns.

Kate Grumke

/

St. Louis Public Radio

But some political experts have a different view. Moving the elections to November could increase turnout in the typically low-turnout municipal elections, said Kogan. In St. Louis County last year, about 15% of registered voters weighed in on the election.

Kogan said the current low turnout means special interest groups like teachers unions have greater sway than they would in a higher-turnout election. I think a lot of the opposition to on-cycle elections is really based on that idea, because school interests enjoy a lot of power and don't want to give it up, he said.

Another issue with the way these elections are held is that the April electorate is an older group of voters that doesnt necessarily have kids, Kogan said.

I don't think there's a way to easily change rules to make it less about adults and more about kids because kids don't vote, Kogan said. What you're really talking about is a bunch of adults with adult political agendas, fighting with a bunch of other adults, and they're all claiming that they're doing it for the kids.

Other issues

Despite deepening political divides in some races, not every school district in the St. Louis area is focusing on partisan battles during this years elections. The Normandy Schools Collaborative and Riverview Gardens are directly electing school board candidates for the first time in eight years and 12 years, respectively.

At a recent candidate forum in Normandy, the main topic of discussion was how to improve the districts academics in order to return to fully accredited status. Candidates repeatedly said this years elections are historic after years of state control.

Its those types of issues that make these elections so important, Ghan said.

The decisions that school boards make have more of an impact on our communities and on people's lives and our children's lives than almost any other level of government, he said. People need to pay close attention to school board races and the folks who are running for local school boards.

Follow Kate on Twitter: @Kate Grumke

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St. Louis school board races are more political this year - St. Louis Public Radio

SARAH Palin gained international renown for her Republican fervor and her controversial views as well as her offspring.

Get to know who Palin is and what has she been up to since she went for the vice presidency.

2

Sarah Palin is a high-profile Republican Party politician, author and commentator.

The outspoken 58-year-old served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until 2009.

She gained international prominence as the vice-presidential nominee on the Republican Party ticket in 2008.

The conservative politician teamed up with Arizona Senator John McCain but eventually lost to Barack Obama.

She was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major political party and the first Republican woman selected as the vice presidential candidate.

The mother-of-five was also the youngest person ever to be elected Governor of Alaska.

Since quitting the role in 2009, Palin has continued to campaign for and endorse the Republican Party.

She is well-known in the Tea Party movement and has given her backing to a number of Republican candidatesincluding former President Donald Trump.

2

1982: Joined the Republican Party

1992: Elected onto Wasilla City Council

1996: Successfully ran as Mayor of Wasilla on the ticket of introducing abortion, gun rights, and term lengths as campaign issues

1997: Re-elected with a far greater majority

1999: Elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors

2002: Palin run for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, coming second in a five-way primary

2003: Appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

2006: Palin became Alaska's first female governor and the youngest at 42

2007: The first time Palin traveled outside of North America. She visited members of the Alaskan National Guard

2008: Joined Senator McCain as the Republican vice-presidential nominee

2009: Reacting to a huge drop in support, Palin said she would not run for re-election

2009: Released her memoir, Going Rogue

2010: Published her second book, America by Heart

2011: Following speculation, Palin said she would not be running as a presidential candidate

2016: Announced her endorsement of Donald Trump

2017: Filed a defamation lawsuit (later dismissed) against The New York Times for an editorial that accused Palin of "political incitement" in the run-up to the 2011 shooting of Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

April 2018:Palin says she would run for higher office again "in a heartbeat"

August 2021: Palin teases a return to politics in a potential Senate run in 2022

Sarah Palin has five children: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig.

Track is an army veteran and has two children from two different partners. Sarah Palin spoke about how he had suffered from PTSD.

Bristol Palin is a reality TV star and an American public speaker. She has three children and is married to Sergeant Dakota Meyer.

She gained media attention when her mother, Sarah Palin, mentioned her pregnancy as part of her vice-presidential campaign.

The following year, in May 2009, Palin appeared on both the Today show and Good Morning America in recognition of the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, calling for all teens to abstain from sex.

Her memoir, Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far reached #21 on the New York Times best-seller list.

Willow Meyer is a trained hairdresser and announced she is pregnant with a baby boy on November 7, 2021. The couple gave birth to a boy named, Pace Banner Bailey, in March 2022.

Willow and her husband Ricky Bailey welcomed twin girls Banks and Blaise in November 2019.

Piper is currently pursuing nursing school and Trig is in high school.

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Who is Sarah Palin and her children?... - The US Sun

Photo provided by Jim HoldingA monument erected to Dr. Joseph Warren at his grave site, the Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Mass.

One thing that newspapers in years gone by would at times do is publish speeches in their entirety.

In a modern context, that results in some pretty boring column inches. But in 1910, there werent really any other avenues to hear what was said unless you were there without reading it in print.

Charles Warren Stone was the keynote speaker. He had served as lieutenant governor and Congressman but by 1910 was in his late 60s and retired, living in Warren.

The Warren Evening Mirror published the text of his address on July 6, 1910, two days after it was delivered.

Today the Tidioute Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will unveil in the Borough of Warren a statue of Major General Joseph Warren, after whom the town and county were named, Stone began. This is intended not only to perpetuate the memory and virtues of the first prominent martyr in the great struggle which gave this government existence, but as a permanent memorial to the soldiers buried in Warren County who took part in that great conflict.

In addition to the statue of Warren, there is a plaque on the side that identifies all of the Revolutionary veterans buried in Warren County.

The statue was brought to reality by the Tidioute Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The ladies, Stone said, to whose patriotism, energy and enterprise this community is indebted for the beautiful monument by them erected, have deemed it appropriate to this occasion to recall to your attention to salient points in the career and the prominent features in the character of the man whose statue is to be unveiled and to rehearse again the lesson of that noble life and tragic death, and have assigned to me that duty.

Conscious of my inability under any circumstances, and especially in the short time allowed me for preparation, to do justice to this subject and this occasion, I have however accepted this assignment that I may manifest as best I may my admiration for the character of the man we this day especially honor my life for the town which I have spent all the years of my mature life, and my appreciation of the patriotic, public service rendered to this town and county by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Stone then went into a general biography of Warrens life, starting with his birth in 1741.

General Warrens immediate ancestry were distinctively of the common people. His father was a farmer, his grandfather a carpenter and his great-grandfather a mariner, he said. They were, however, men of intelligence, uprightness, high character and exemplary and useful citizens. His mother was a woman of exceptional force of character.

Warren went to Harvard at the age of 14 and was recognized as a young man of rectitude of purpose and conduct; of exemplary habits, of manly bearing, of personal courage and of generous independent disposition.

It is recorded of him that he was especially attentive to the poor, a stranger to avarice and indifferent and neglectful as to compensation for his services. Thoroughly versed in the learning of his profession, graceful and attractive in figure and beaming of elegant address and thorough culture, open, genial, cordial in manner, he had all the qualities which would have ensured him unrivaled success and eminence in his profession.

Stone devoted significant time to Warrens pre-Revolutionary agitation efforts.

While attending faithfully on the sick by day, Warren studied with assiduity the principles of government by night, and specially the right of Parliament to tax the colonies, he said, calling the response to taxed tea the first step toward united action essential to success. It roused the people from their sluggishness.

He said it is uncertain whether Warren was part of the Boston Tea Party. It was charged by the Tories but never either proved or denied. As an eminent historian has said: It is praise enough to say of Warren that he is seen constantly by the side of Samuel Adams through the whole of these interesting occurrences.'

He discussed the Suffolk Resolves and his Boston Massacre orations and then his role in dispatching Revere in advance of Lexington & Concord.

His character and conduct and presence greatly animated and encouraged his countrymen. His heroic soul elicited a kindred. His lofty spirit gave them confidence, Stone said.

He then told the story of Warrens death at Bunker Hill.

My friends, I have thus hurriedly, lest I trespass too much on your patience and inadequately I know referred to some of the more important events of Warrens life. If judging from these, I were to say he was one of the purest and greatest men America has produced, ranking well toward the head of her grand galaxy of patriots, possibly you might think I overestimated his merits, Stone said, quoting then several other historians and witnesses who spoke positively of Warren.

Fellow citizens of Warren Borough and County: You may well be proud of the name which has come to you by adoption, Stone said. It is an honorable name, none more so in the annals of American history and on it is no stain nor cloud. It is typical of courage, of candor, of self-respecting independence, of patriotism, of purity. It should inspire to high thinking and right living. It should bring to our minds the cost, and hence the value of the liberty we enjoy. Warrens life and death should be an inspiration to fidelity to the principles he championed, and of patriotic devotion to that government he gave his life to found.

He used Warren as a justification for the need to protect liberty and he said that can only be done with an intelligent, pure, independent, self-owning, uncorrupted electorate.

But, my Fellow Citizens, he continued, I must not, I will not digress but I would this people, if no other, they who collectively bear Warrens honored name and are thus linked to his memory and fame and who in years to come will be confronted by his almost speaking image in their midst, I would have this people true to the high ideals his character represents, true to the rules of conduct his example prescribes. Writing to General Gage, the royal governor, the day after the Battle of Lexington, he said: I have ever scorned disguise. I think I have done my duty.

What better epitaph to be placed on his monument! No pretense in life, no hypocrisy, no disguise, but an open, straightforward devotion to duty, and a martyrs crown at the end, Stone said, proud indeed should this people be to bear in their town and county the name of such a man.

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Stone's speech at the dedication of Warren statue in 1910 - timesobserver.com

Its not like just anyone can pick up the phone and call Donald Trump.

If you want Trump to blast out a news release touting his support for your candidacy in this years election, you need to know the right people. And in Michigan, the right people constitute an entire family tree.

Republicans from this political battleground say theres only one way to get the former presidents attention, and thats to know and support Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, her state representative husband Matt Maddock and their adult children, who are involved in varying degrees with the couples political endeavors.

Depending on which wing of the GOP you ask, the Maddocks are either savvy political operators or dangerous extremists who amplify election conspiracies and helped instigate the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The couple solidified their power trying to overturn the election in Michigan, then brokered nearly two dozen endorsements for their allies, according to Republicans who spoke to HuffPost, making their state the ultimate test for Trump as a GOP kingmaker in the midterms.

Its not unusual for a state party leader to consult major national players about endorsements or other matters, but theres no playbook for the states GOP leadership enlisting the former presidents direct involvement in lower-level races for their own political gain.

Its unprecedented, Bill Ballenger, a longtime political commentator in Michigan, told HuffPost. I mean, are you kidding? Richard Nixon or George H.W. Bush endorsing candidates for, you know, the 101st state House district nine months before the election? Its never happened.

Meshawn Maddock also broke protocol when she personally endorsed Trumps two picks for statewide office. Party leaders generally stay neutral until after primaries so they dont appear biased. Her announcement sent the GOP into damage control mode to make it clear that she wasnt speaking for the party.

Its dangerous, its unprecedented and its possibly transactional, said Jeff Timmer, a former Michigan GOP executive director who now works as a senior adviser to the Lincoln Project, the conservative group that formed in opposition to Trump.

Meshawn Maddock is like Marjorie Taylor Greene without the charm, he said, referring to the extremist House member from Georgia.

In few, if any, states has the former president weighed in this frequently down ballot: Trump has already endorsed in 10 state legislative contests as well as in two statewide and five congressional primaries. And hell be in Michigan this weekend promoting his entire slate at a MAGA rally designed to preempt a statewide Republican nominating convention later this month.

Its one way for Trump to put his thumb on the internal scale of the GOP in a state he lost in 2020 and still appears obsessed with more than a year after the election. Trump has said he wants a new legislature in Michigan that backs his false ideas about election fraud.

As Trump began spreading lies about a stolen election to justify his loss, the Maddocks were waiting in the wings for the right time to grab power. It finally happened in February 2021, when Meshawn Maddock, a 54-year-old grassroots activist who organized Women for Trump events before turning to election conspiracies, was elected state GOP co-chair alongside a member of the partys old guard and a major donor, Ron Weiser.

The Maddocks have been active since the Tea Party movement, Jason Watts, a GOP consultant, told HuffPost. They always tried to instigate precinct delegate coups in Oakland County, and they hadnt really been successful because they werent on the inside. They were always on the outside looking in. It wasnt until 2016, when Matt Maddock was one of the early Trump endorsers, that their fortunes turned. All of a sudden, people started taking Matts calls.

They latched on pretty quickly to the Trump train. And theyve rode that train for everything its worth.

- GOP consultant in Michigan

Not long into his second term, the 56-year-old private investigator and bondsman announced that he was running for Michigan House speaker, further signaling the couples desire to climb the political ladder.

They latched on pretty quickly to the Trump train, another Republican strategist in the state told HuffPost. And theyve rode that train for everything its worth.

This GOP strategist and several others cited facts around Trumps Michigan endorsements at the state legislative level they say allude to shady backroom deals that may not break the law but are still seen as underhanded.

In late December, a Detroit News reporter tweeted the observation that Trumps endorsed legislative candidates had all received campaign money from Matt Maddock or his leadership PAC, or had a member of the Maddock family serving as their treasurer evidence to some that a reciprocal relationship exists in some form.

Its clearly demonstrated that if you give the Maddocks money, if you hire their kids or ask them to keep the books for your PAC, you get a Trump endorsement, said the same GOP strategist, who was given anonymity to speak freely. Theres too many coincidences for that not to be true.

Neither Matt nor Meshawn Maddock responded to HuffPosts requests for interviews.

Michigan GOP spokesperson Gus Portela confirmed Meshawn Maddocks tight relationship with Trump.

She is arguably the closest GOP official in Michigan to the president, so of course there are rumors swirling about her, he said. But she will continue to have a close relationship with the president. What they talk about ... obviously, those conversations remain between them.

On Twitter, Meshawn Maddock has responded directly to critics whove accused her of running a pay-to-play operation. Jovan Pulitzer, a Texas inventor whom the Daily Beast described as a pillar of the MAGA election-fraud movement, speculated about whether endorsements were being sold in Michigan and the money somehow funneled to Trump. Meshawn Maddock snapped back by threatening to throw him under the bus.

So let me get this right, she tweeted on Nov. 23, youre accusing our great President of being paid off for endorsements? I just want to be sure before I give him a call ...

Even aside from the churning rumor mill, the Michigan endorsement process hasnt exactly been smooth.

Trump has hastily backed challengers in House districts where incumbent Republicans voted to impeach him for inciting the Capitol attack. Two of the 10 Republicans who voted with Democrats Reps. Peter Meijer and Fred Upton are from Michigan, and Trump has endorsed challengers in both of their primaries.

But in Uptons district, Trump acted before new congressional boundaries were settled, leading to a confusing situation this month when he effectively rescinded his endorsement for state Rep. Steve Carra in favor of an incumbent, U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, who was lumped into a new seat with Upton. It turns out Carra doesnt even live in Uptons new district.

Carra dropped out of that race after losing the endorsement although there was a short period when Trump was, at least publicly, awkwardly backing two people for the same job. He plans to run for reelection to the state House instead.

Its not clear whether Carra still has a Trump endorsement, or whether it even matters if hes running unopposed in a primary for reelection. Both men indicated there are no hard feelings, with Trump writing to Carra that he has a great future ahead.

Carra, 33, told HuffPost that he plans to see Trump at his rally Saturday. We have a good relationship and its an honor to have his endorsement, he said.

He also credited Meshawn Maddock with getting him Trumps support in the first place.

I had a few people who advocated to President Trump that he should look into and get to know me, he said. But yeah, the final one where he ended up endorsing us was after he had a conversation with Meshawn Maddock.

Mandi Wright/USA TODAY NETWORK

However, during a fundraiser this month for Matt DePerno, Trumps pick to take on Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel, Trump didnt seem too familiar with Carra or his other candidates, according to a video of the event reviewed by HuffPost.

You have somebody running against Fred Upton. Thats another beauty, Fred Upton, Trump said from behind a lectern at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida golf club.

Steve Carra! someone in the audience shouted.

Wheres Steve? Trump asked as Carra approached the front of the crowd.

Trump didnt seem to notice Carra.

Well, good luck with that, Trump said, before turning his attention to other candidates in the audience.

At one point, Trump invited up three candidates for governor, a bizarre moment considering none of them had been endorsed.

Trump fundraisers arent cheap. Individual tickets to DePernos event cost between $2,500 and $25,000, and DePernos campaign paid more than $17,000 for catering and space rental at Mar-a-Lago, Bridge Michigan reported.

But for some candidates, especially ones struggling to break out, its a small price to pay for a brush with Trump that might change the trajectory of their campaigns.

Not everyone is so lucky, even those who worship Trump and parrot his election lies.

Mellissa Carone, the Michigan election worker who delivered a widely mocked and discredited testimony during an election fraud hearing, is running for state representative. She told HuffPost she hasnt gotten Trumps endorsement but would obviously welcome his support.

I believe President Trump will endorse me when the time is right. I have not spoken to him directly, hes not exactly the easiest person to get ahold of lol, she wrote in an email. I would be honored to have his blessing.

Timmer, the Lincoln Project consultant, thinks the Trump slate will have no problem winning their primaries, but ultimately will prove to be too radical or unknown to win in the general election.

Theyre endorsed candidates. Theyre going to win at this nominating convention, Timmer said, referring to the April 23 meeting where GOP delegates will endorse nominees. And theyre going to have complete and utter kooks nominated for secretary of state and attorney general, and theyre going to lose in November.

HuffPost attempted to contact each of Trumps endorsed legislative candidates, and got only one return phone call.

It was the Maddocks daughter Winsome Bricker, whose father-in-law, Mick Bricker, is running for state representative.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the position held by Jeff Timmer in the Michigan GOP.

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Want Donald Trump's Endorsement In Michigan? You'll Have To Go Through This Family First. - HuffPost

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About a month ago, three conservative candidates for school board seats in the west Wisconsin city of Eau Claire stoked controversy about a teacher training program that they claimed could exclude parents from conversations about their childrens gender identity or sexual orientation.

Right-leaning groups across the country seized on the issue, portraying it as another example of schools usurping the role of parents. A few weeks later, the school board president received a death threat.

I am going to kill you and shoot up your next school-board meeting for promoting the horrific, radical transgender agenda, an anonymous email read.

Farther south in Holmen, in the scenic Driftless Area of Wisconsin, local police are investigating a social media post showing a postcard left on cars at a shopping center that read: Keep Holmen Schools White and Christian.

The postcard urged support for two board candidates. Neither candidate has been connected to the incident, and both decried the postcard on social media, calling it a disgusting and vile fake political ad.

I really dont want to make more statements on it. Its been really exhausting, Josh Neumann, the father of six said of the attention paid to the card. His running mate Chad Updike could not be reached for comment.

Voters in Wisconsin and three other states head to the polls Tuesday in what are some of the nations earliest school board elections this year. In a harbinger of what voters across the country will see in coming months, many of the traditionally nonpartisan school board races have become increasingly polarized.

Outsiders who have traditionally stayed out of local races are now trying to influence school board contests across the country, using tactics more typical of elections with higher stakes.

Republicans, and particularly the wing of the party that still supports former President Donald Trump, have come to see local races as a way to energize their base and propel voters to the polls part of what some leaders have called a precinct strategy. Sen. Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican, last year encouraged residents to take back our school boards, our county boards, our city councils.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, speaking on his War Room podcast last May, said: The path to save the nation is very simple. Its going to go through the school boards.

Its the precinct committees. Its you. Its upon your shoulders, he added, warning that cultural Marxism is being introduced in schools and promising a Tea Party-like revolt by parents of schoolchildren.

In Wisconsin, as elsewhere, some school board members and other school officials have quit without finishing their terms, saying that the anger directed their way has made serving untenable. Others have declined to run for reelection.

In Eau Claire, school board President Tim Nordin, who received the death threat, is standing firm and running for reelection. This is Eau Claires election, he said in a statement. Others want to control this election by inciting fear in you and driving votes with outside money and news coverage. They, quite literally, are trying to threaten us into submission. I remain unbowed.

The three conservative candidates did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Michael Ford, an associate professor of public administration at the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh who studies school board races, said its not surprising that the state, the birthplace of school vouchers and home to one of the most robust open-enrollment public school choice programs in the country, would be a focus for school board elections.

We always, traditionally, are on the front lines of the changes in education policy, especially those that are highly premised on parental engagement, he said. I think its logical other states that have looked at Wisconsin as a pioneer on these things would look again.

Parents, who during the pandemic saw their children struggle with remote learning and other issues, are demanding more control over school management and curriculum decisions. The backlash against mask-wearing by students has played neatly into conservative themes of parental freedom.

Some political observers and academics worry that the politicization of local offices will make it harder to deliver essential school services.

It makes progress impossible, Ford said.

Wisconsin school board races at times have had partisan undertones, but the issues at play have largely centered on controlling taxes and paring the benefits educators received.

Things began to change about a decade ago. Thats when Wisconsin school board candidates who had signed petitions to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker over his push to limit collective bargaining for public employees became targets of conservative talk radio. On the other side, the states largest teachers union typically vetted and endorsed candidates it believed would support its aims at the bargaining table.

Today, school board elections are more heated and personal framed in terms of saving schools, saving children and saving America. Also mentioned: COVID-19 protocols, critical race theory, equity, divisive curriculum, library book bans and parental rights.

Rebecca Kleefisch, the former lieutenant governor under Walker who is running for the GOP nomination for governor, recently endorsed 115 local candidates she calls conservatives, including 48 school board candidates a product of two years of work recruiting and training people for local races. Her campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Political experts say it is highly unusual for gubernatorial candidates to endorse school board candidates, except perhaps in their hometown. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has not done so. The governor generally has not gotten involved in nonpartisan races in Wisconsin, his communications office said in an email.

Another sign this spring that the school board races are taking on a more partisan tone: Rather than campaigning as individuals, candidates in many of the states population centers are running on slates with common platforms and talking points.

Attention Conservative Voters Dont Stay Home: Vote For all Four Candidates, a flyer for the village of Sussex states. Paid for by the Republican Party of Waukesha County, it features the names and photos of two candidates for village trustee and two for the school board.

A particular focus for Wisconsin Republicans has been the traditionally conservative communities ringing Milwaukee known as the WOW counties: Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha.

The counties have shown some liberal leanings of late. In much of the area, Trumps support slipped from 2016 to 2020. Biden even won the city of Cedarburg, in Ozaukee County, though by just 19 votes.

Campaign finance records filed to date show the Republican Party of Waukesha County has funneled at least $10,000 into elections in nine school districts in that county alone.

The Patriots of Ozaukee a newly formed organization dedicated to promoting conservative values and asserting our Constitutional rights is endorsing candidates in school board and municipal races.

The Patriots of Ozaukee did not respond to requests for comment.

National conservative advocacy groups, with members in Wisconsin and elsewhere, also are having an influence on local school district races in the state. They include Moms for Liberty, which has a chapter in Kenosha and on its Facebook page has recommended three of the six candidates running for school board.

Our mission is preserving America through unifying, educating and empowering parents to preserve their rights at every level of government, said Amanda Nedweski, the organizations co-chair in Kenosha and an outspoken critic of the Kenosha Unified School Districts board.

We attend meetings. We do research. We do a lot of public record requests, she said. The tax-exempt organization only recently started asking for dues of $25 per year.

Another group urging greater activism is the Phoenix-based Turning Point USA, which has conservative political clubs on high school and college campuses nationwide. It does not endorse or fund candidates, but has a school board watchlist that names districts across the country it says push Leftist, racist and anti-American propaganda. Its website lists nine Wisconsin districts.

The group uses its watchlist to highlight mask mandates, diversity and other matters, Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said. Those types of issues are obviously massively important to parents and other stakeholders in the community, and its not always easy to find out who supports what, he said.

In Ozaukee Countys Mequon-Thiensville School District in the suburbs north of Milwaukee, one of the organizers of an unsuccessful recall election last fall that targeted four school board members is again seeking a board seat. Scarlett Johnson, the former vice president of the Wisconsin chapter of No Left Turn in Education, has said that she wants to bring a fresh perspective to the board.

I think education has changed, she said. I think the way that parents look at education has changed. I think teachers are very frustrated as well. And so thats why I say the status quo is just not going to work anymore. And I dont get the feeling that our current board and our administrators really understand that.

The recall effort was notable because it drew contributions from two out-of-state billionaires: $6,000 from Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein, a Trump supporter and founder and CEO of Uline, a Wisconsin shipping supplies company, and $1,650 from the Chicago hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. Johnson said members of the recall effort simply wrote letters to the two men asking for donations.

New York State Failed to Provide Legally Required Mental Health Care to Kids, Lawsuit Claims

Representatives for Uihlein and Griffin did not respond to requests for comment.

Altogether, the recall effort brought in more than $58,000 in contributions.

A coalition of parents opposing the recall raised more than $36,000, according to campaign finance reports.

Both sides spent money largely on Facebook ads, direct mail, radio ads and yard signs.

Nicole Angresano, a leader in the coalition that turned back the recall, resents the coordinated attacks on the top-rated district. I dont think infuriating is hyperbole, she said. Its infuriating to me.

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