I feel like people are lobbing grenades back and forth, and to me, that's the most important thing that needs to be dealt with.". In the aftermath, school leaders hosted listening sessions with students and parents and appointed a committee of 63 community volunteers to come up with a plan to make Carroll more welcoming for students from diverse backgrounds. NBC News Correspondent and "Southlake" co-host Antonia Hylton talks to ESSENCE about the new 6-episode podcast and longstanding battles of race and education in America. Southlake residents who live in Denton County can find election information at VoteDenton.gov, 1400 Main StreetSuite 460Southlake, TX 76092Phone: 817-748-8400, Southlake Town Hall is a Tarrant County Vote Center location, and qualified voters may vote at any polling location within Tarrant County during Early Voting and on Election Day. Candidates were asked, in 75 words or fewer, to state their top goal (s) if elected. Pontillo, Sergio Harris and Dave Stine Place. "I don't want to think about all these kids that shared their stories, their testimonies," Hernandez said, growing emotional Saturday moments after having learned the election results. A special election to replace a board member of the Carroll Independent School District who resigned this summer definitively shifted the balance of power to opponents of the proposed Cultural Competence Action Plan. April 23, 2023 6:30 AM. Candidates who opposed a local school diversity plan took about 70 percent of the vote in the wealthy Dallas-Fort Worth suburb. When he is not writing, Cody enjoys attending sporting events, traveling and trying various BBQ establishments. 2005-2023 Community Impact Newspaper Co. All rights reserved. Yeager ran against diversity training and curriculum changes that were developed after students were seen on video using racist language. All but one of the 11 Tarrant County conservative school board candidates, who were backed this year by several high-profile donors and big-money PACs, defeated their opponents during. In the end, the contest was not close. The misdemeanor charge was linked to messages exchanged before an August 2020 board meeting to discuss the cultural competence plan, according to copies of the indictments. Texas House approves bills to add panic Texas Department of Transportation to overhaul Hwy. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Applications are not able to be filed on weekends. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: If COVID-19 Herd Immunity Is 'Not Attainable,' Does It Matter? In the end, the contest was not close. CISD Administration Building I want every child to be loved for, cared for and given every opportunity., Barnard also attended the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, in February in Orlando, Florida, where she posted a photo on her campaign Instagram page with mothers from Loudoun County, Virginia. I will not co-parent with the government, the caption read in part. So it's not going to be like this forever.". The K9 was also shot once. Staff writer Talia Richman contributed to this report. The group was formed in February and has spent more than $400,000 supporting conservative candidates in four North Texas school board elections this spring, according to a financial disclosure. | She was the founding editor of the websites PureWow Dallas and Racked Dallas. The complete results can be found online at mhsmarquee.com. Jason Miller. In one extreme example, a conservative school board candidate running in the affluent Eanes Independent School District in Austin has raised more than $160,000 for his campaign on par with what some candidates spend to win seats in the Texas Legislature. The idea is to prevent partisan conflicts from interfering with effective governance of local schools, but some Republicans nationwide are seeking to change that in the wake of fights over school shutdowns and other Covid policies. 5.3.2021 3:54 PM. Robbins declined to comment Tuesday afternoon, and Torres-Lepp did not respond to a request for comment. I will not stand for the voice of parents to be muffled by politics, special interest and personal agendas.. After former board trustee David Almand vacated from the Carroll ISD school board over the summer, Carroll ISD ordered a special section to fill his Place 7 seat this fall.With early voting running from Monday, Oct. 18 to Friday, Oct. 29 and election day on Tuesday, Nov. 2, hear from the candidates themselves about why you should head to the voting booth. It has to end somewhere.. Elections are conducted annually in May. Grapevine-Colleyville ISD and Carroll ISD will each have three spots on the board of trustees that expire this spring and will be up for election. Here is the sample ballot for Tarrant County for the May 6 election. Local elections often come down to hundreds of votes but often have a lot more All candidates answered a Marquee candidate survey. If you have any questions about our election process, please email Carroll ISD Elections at elections@southlakecarroll.edu. Southlake Carroll ISD teachers told Holocaust lessons need 'opposing viewpoints'. I have accepted no money, no gifts in lieu of anything from any group or political party.. Southlake election results a rebuke of the 'rage mob' that supports critical race theory, PAC says All of Saturday's winners had around 70% of the vote amid the controversy regarding culture. "They may not agree with me but that theres dialogue.". In contrast, Gary's school district was taken over by the state in 2017 after its former school board spent $21.5 million more than the district took in, racked up $103 million in debt, frequently . Physician Randy Robbins won the Place 2 council seat with 70% of the vote over entrepreneur Sabreena Hakemy, while businesswoman Amy Torres-Lepp won Place 5 with 70% over Elisha Rurka, a mother of Carroll ISD students and founder of the Southlake Cake Club. I have always believed that an educated citizenry is critical to the success of a democracy, said Craig Allen, an incumbent running for re-election to the school board in Keller. Secretary 2020 - 2024 jmiller@solake.org. An administrator was also caught on a recording suggesting teachers have books with opposing views on the Holocaust. Three candidates backed by Southlake Families won school board seats last year, including Andrew Yeager, who won in a race for a vacant seat in 2021 and won his bid in Place 7 with 70.92% of the . If these demands were implemented, this would no longer be an excellent school district, Yeager said at a candidate forum last month. Reacting to the election outcome, Hernandez and other candidates, who were in favor of the diversity plan, said they were not "surprised" with the outcome in the city but were disappointed by the margin of their defeat. Supporters of Southlake school board and City Council candidates who advocated for a school diversity plan made a last push for votes Saturday. Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigativereporter for NBC News, based in Houston. The Carroll ISD Administration Building is open Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. An Atlanta based band that was in North Texas for a show said their equipment was stolen from their hotel Friday night. Privacy Policy | 2:28 PM Apr 24, 2023 CDT I feel like were definitely playing catch-up, Hansen said. Deep down, Maryland told The Dallas Morning News in October, I said to myself, This is something I need to do. In the election, candidates supported by the conservative Southlake Families PAC, won every race by about 70 percent to 30 percent, including those for two school board positions, two City Council seats and mayor. In Dallas County, about 41,000 voters have cast their ballots during early voting ahead of the May 6 general election, according to the county's elections office. More and more, you see these national partisan issues showing up in races down ballot, and thats especially true of school boards.. In the aftermath, school leaders hosted listening sessions with students and parents and appointed a committee of 63 community volunteers to come up with a plan to make Carroll more welcoming for students from diverse backgrounds. It will be the third bond election in Northwest ISD in three years. Yet Barnard has also been outspoken about the hot-button cultural issues that have been motivating Republicans. To be elected to a school board, an individual must be a qualified voter: 18 years of age or older, a U.S. citizen, a Texas resident, a registered voter, not determined to be totally or partially mentally incapacitated by an appropriate court, and not finally convicted of a felony. Election 2020: North County's School Board Candidates October 23, 2020; Election 2020: North County's City Council and County Board October 16, 2020; Election 2022: School Board Races October . Under the proposal, students who commit such offenses should have them documented in their "discipline offense history. God knows your sinister agenda in trying to get a seat on a school board when you have no children, Anderson wrote to Markowitz in a recent Facebook comment. Listen to NBC News Southlake podcast: All episodes available now. And Im concerned about not only not addressing the needs of those kids, but perhaps even going backward.". | The City Secretary contracts with Tarrant and Denton County Elections Administration to conduct all local, state, and federal elections. The fight in Southlake dates back three years, long before opposing critical race theory became a talking point among Republican politicians. A year later, the political strategy dubbed the Southlake playbook by activists and political observers has spread to school board races across the state. According to Tarrant County Elections, Southlakes Town Hall saw the most early voters across the entire county by far with 7,000 ballots cast. Code 11.002. Protesters gathered outside the administration building, holding signs with George Floyds last words, I cant breathe, before the board voted to make masks optional starting June 1. October 20, 2021. With an overwhelming win, Yeager now sits on the Carroll ISD school board after Tuesday nights special election. Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. By James SamsonNovember 5, 2021. So to me, the whole equal, that is just a cue word for, youre going to try to put in critical race theory, one of the group members said in the video, referring to the academic study of systemic racism that conservatives have redefined to describe lessons on racism and gender that they find objectionable. This is happening everywhere, Carlson said during a segment last week. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. This would be a school district that would be placing equity over excellence.. I believe ALL our Dragons have the potential. Having served on the district diversity committee, Jones said she believes all students would benefit from new educational programs to help students understand why it's wrong to pick on classmates based on their race, religion or sexual orientation. NOTICE The Drawing for Place on the Ballot was conducted Friday, February 24, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. in the Carroll ISD Board room. Mike Hixenbaugh is a senior investigativereporter for NBC News, based in Houston. "It's a great town," a woman shouted over her shoulder after declining to speak to reporters. Carroll ISD addresses Holocaust controversy at latest school board meeting. After the 2018 viral video, school leaders held listening sessions with students and parents and appointed a committee of 63 community volunteers to help make Carroll more welcoming for students from diverse backgrounds. However, voters stood behind a slate of school board and City Council candidates who were against the plan. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Educ. Neither Carroll ISDs public information officer nor representatives for Southlake Families returned requests for comment. Early voting began April 24 and runs through May 2 for the May 6 general election in Tarrant County. Bonnie Anderson, a Katy school board candidate who made national headlines last year for her attempts to ban the graphic novels New Kid and Class Act by Jerry Craft, has repeatedly accused another candidate, Eliz Markowitz, of being a predator. Markowitz, the only openly gay candidate seeking a board seat in Katy, has spoken against attempts to ban books featuring LGBTQ characters and storylines. a segment Tuesday about Carroll's diversity plan and the resulting blowback. After Yeager is sworn in, trustees aligned with Southlake Families PAC will hold a 4-3 majority on the Carroll school board, giving the group power to shape the . The election Tuesday made Southlake one of the first places in the country where candidates running on an anti-critical race theory platform have flipped control of a school board. SOUTHLAKE, Texas Nine months after officials in the affluent Carroll Independent School District introduced a proposal to combat racial and cultural intolerance in schools, voters delivered a. Southlake Families PAC, meanwhile, sent out mailers accusing the pro-diversity plan candidates of pushing for "radical socialism" in Southlake. Southlakes incoming mayor, City Council member John Huffman, could not be reached by phone and did not return multiple requests for comment via email, which is his preferred method of contact, Southlake public information officer Pilar Schank said. May 4, 2024 - Place 4 and Place5 will be elected. The MUNICIPAL PRIMARY ELECTION is on TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2023. Elements of the conservative strategy for winning school board seats across Texas can be traced to a year ago, on May 1, 2021, when two candidates running in opposition to a school diversity plan in Southlake in North Texas won seats on the Carroll Independent School District board of trustees. Tarrant County Plaza Building, 201 Burnett Street, Fort Worth. On one side, progressives argued that curriculum and disciplinary changes were needed to make all children feel safe and welcome in Carroll, a mostly white but quickly diversifying school district. State Board of Education - The lesser of 2,000 signatures or 3% of active registered voters of a qualified political party within the state board of education district . Physical Address for filing an application in person or by mailfor a place on the ballot: In the months since, conservative parents and activists have worked to replicate Southlake Families PACs success in nonpartisan school board races across the country from Douglas County, Colorado, to Guilford, Connecticut. In the end, the contest was not close. Texas town elects candidates opposed to school diversity plan, a proposal to combat racial and cultural intolerance in schools, a video of white Carroll high school students chanting the N-word, Texas town in spotlight after parents push back against diversity plan. Anderson didnt respond to a phone message requesting comment. Birdville ISD - Kris Drees. A Southlake teacher was reprimanded for having an anti-racist book in her classroom.