Last night, I received a late-night text from someone on my campaign team. It was a screenshot of tweets the latest quagmire that JCTA’s overseers have inflicted upon the teachers’ union. I believe that a handful of individuals in district leadership are going to these elaborate lengths in order to try to appease the conservative anti-maskers.
Losing strategy of JCTA’s PAC: They don’t play to “win,” but to “not lose.” But I’ll have to touch on that later. We have to talk about the survey scheme right now because it could impact the first day of classes for students this coming Wednesday, August 10.
We heard from one JCPS School Board member that there are discussions taking place surrounding an emergency board meeting to reverse the masking policy decision that was made last spring, and make masks optional instead of required while the district is in the red. The district is only required to give 24 hours notice, and it could be called any day. Perhaps the pressure that’s being applied to their disingenuous plot has stalled or stopped this from happening, and if so, that’s good.
The Board already met last spring and voted to cede the authority to Superintendent Pollio to follow CDC guidelines regarding masking. He made an announcement prior to the reopening of school that since Jefferson County is in the red, masks would be required. Now that anti-maskers have once again ramped up their bullying board members, employees and community members, there appears to be a plan in the works to undermine that authority or take the pressure off those who waffle or cave to these pressures, or push their own political agenda.
Instead of encouraging fair and honorable discourse and democratic process, it would appear that some individuals have been working behind the scenes to influence the outcome of the mask mandate by tricking teacher members into participating in a rigged survey. Why would they do that? To save the seat for my opponent, the incumbent for District 3 School Board Race.
When I say rigged, I mean fraudulent. Yeah. Which is so ironic considering another tweet my board member made yesterday.
While I don’t support the Tea Party’s behind-the-scenes tampering, I don’t appreciate these leaders playing innocent. I personally witnessed district leaders tampering with the democratic process on multiple occasions, including the tax increase proposal. Several grassroots groups I’m involved with, as well as impacted community members and leaders, took repeated steps to elevate these concerns, including at least twice bringing district leaders’ tampering efforts to Superintendent Marty Pollio’s attention. (I will post more documentation as time allows.)
I realize this is a dangerous claim to make without proof. But as a regular citizen and taxpayer, I don’t have the tools to obtain such proof. That’s why I am reporting these incidents to LMPD and the FBI this morning. Let’s wait and see what they have to say.