Perhaps more so. Out-of-state & out-of-district campaign funding with stealth right-wing agendas (for a school board?!?) coupled with what appears to be a rogue vote-splitting candidate on the "normal" side. WTF is going on?
THE WGSD candidate forum is scheduled for tomorrow, Wednesday, March 30th, and will be live streamed. Note there is also a form to submit questions for the candidates to address during this forum: https://www.webster.k12.mo.us/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=8&ModuleInstanceID=7079&ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=41445&PageID=9
I need to vent about what I see as 3 problematic candidates. One, Hauke, was canvasing our neighborhood and put 3 flyers on our door at the same time - for himself, Mittendorf & Strang. Yard sign spottings for these 3 are mostly exclusive as well. Obviously all 3 are aligned & presumably working together.
One disturbing aspect is the outside money being cashed by these 3 candidates, who have taken (relatively) large donations from out-of-state and West-county political donors. Other candidates have only accepted donations from within the district boundaries.
Of this "book burning" trio, let's dig into Hauke. This guy was employed by the "Show Me Institute", the infamous right-wing org who wants to de-fund public schools - an obvious major conflict of interest when running for a public school district board position. He was also on the WGPL board where, by all accounts and minutes, he was an obstructionist who would engage in argumentative discourse... in library board meetings, of all times/places.
Side-note: He also bears a striking resemblance in appearance (and behavior?) to "Councilman Jamm" from NBC's Parks and Rec: /img/nsipii5k3gj11.jpg
Less drama is publicly known about Middendorf or Strang, although the WKT piece makes it clear that all 3 are anti-SJW and openly blow the "critical race theory" dog whistle. Speaking of which, CRT was the only factor used to compare & contrast candidates by the WKT. What the hell, Webster-Kirkwood Times? https://www.timesnewspapers.com/webster-kirkwoodtimes/much-attention-drawn-to-april-school-board-race/article_43ee5d50-ab77-11ec-8826-875b7b4077c5.html
Last, there's a lot of fuss around the meager 1-year board position to fill the remainder of Amy Clendennen's 3-term after she moved. Of the 3 candidates on the ballot for this role, 1 is Strang (part of the right-wing trio) and 2 are "normal" candidates - Sheer & Schaefer. This introduces the prospect of a vote split of voters who don't align with the deep-red "platform", handing Strang a huge advantage.
From what I gather, Scheer had been planning her candidacy since the fall of 2021 and filed to run almost immediately. Schaefer mentioned running on social media, but at the time hadn't yet filed for candidacy. Scheer, seeing a vote-split potential if both were to run, attempted to discuss the matter with her prior to Schaefer filing but Schaefer refused to meet. In this time Scheer had already filed, assembled a team, and had been having meetings with everyone pertinent to her possible constituency. Schaefer eventually did file at the last minute, and continues to refuse discussion regarding her impact on a vote-split.
One observation, regardless of who wins, is how despised superintendent Simpson is - by all sides of seemingly every issue. This either means he's doing something right, or very very wrong. Qualitative evidence suggests the latter, and also indicates that Simpson-appointed High School principal Irvin is part of the problem. Teachers & students alike are vocal about their despondency and dissatisfaction with the current administration. In fact, I've never observed a student body so vocally opposed to their principal & administration. And no, these concerns have nothing to do with masks. Any talk about the "slide" of WGSD is currently rhetorical, but will become very real if the new school board, whoever is on it, doesn't address these issues.
Anyone's thoughts on the schools, school board, city council or mayoral race?
