DV Journal

One day after winning the gubernatorial race in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin stated “We’re going to embrace our parents, not ignore them.”  Youngkin understood that angry and frustrated parents were essential to his successful bid to become governor.

All over the country, parents are dissatisfied with their local schools and school boards and concerned about their children’s future.  Extended school closures, hybrid classrooms, and overly conservative quarantine policies have harmed students academically, emotionally, and behaviorally.  Transitioning back and forth between remote, hybrid, and in-person creates continued stress for both parents and students, particularly the neediest children.

In Pennsylvania, Back to School PA PAC helped to mobilize and organize these distraught parents to recruit, train, and support potential school board candidates who put the students first. Supporting school board races in 17 diverse counties and well over 200 bi-partisan candidates, Back to School PA achieved a 60 percent success rate in its first endeavor. However, Back to School PA believes that 2021 was just the beginning for parent involvement in school board races and politics in general.

With no school board races in 2022 in Pennsylvania, these same advocates who formed Political Action Committees (PAC) to support school board candidates are trying to determine how they can influence and/or support other key races across the state. Parents have been activated, and most are now committed to remaining engaged in local and state government.

More parents may come out to vote in Pennsylvania in 2022 than any other election in recent history. Regardless of political affiliation, parents are exhausted and concerned about the future for their children and for the commonwealth.  If schools do not stay open reliably, it is difficult for parents to work.  Mothers bore the brunt of the school closures, as 33 percent of women left the workforce to support their children during virtual school. Single mothers and low-income families suffered the most during school closures. Domestic violence and child abuse increased. Pediatric hospitals are being overrun with mental health concerns, and suicide attempts have increased exponentially. More children are being hospitalized for eating disorders and depression.  Parents have watched their children falling apart literally before their eyes.

Parents have spent almost two years witnessing how local government works and how it failed our children. Many parents participated in their local school board meetings for the first time.  These parents would spend hours preparing their statement, and then they were dismissed as being selfish for wanting their children in school. In some districts, parent comments were actually censored or not included during virtual meetings. For the most part, parents have not been welcome at school board meetings and many have felt disrespected, while some have been escorted out of meetings by police.  Parents want transparency about what is happening in the classroom, and they want to be engaged and respected, not dismissed or labeled domestic terrorists.

The National School Boards Association labeled upset parents as “domestic terrorists” who should be considered dangerous and treated as such.  Instead of encouraging and modeling civil discourse, local, state and national government leaders have repeatedly shown that differing opinions and simply asking questions are not welcome.

These issues are likely to bring out more parents to vote in 2022. Parents want candidates who are not beholden to special interest groups, like the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). They want candidates who will place the importance of children and their future first. Most parents want a balanced approach to government, diversity of thought, and transparency around decision-making.  Every parent wants to be respected as the person who knows what is best for their child.

Respect of parental rights may be the single biggest issue for the 2022 elections.  Parents have never felt as demoralized and hopeless as they have over the last 22 months.  Watching their children struggle academically, emotionally, and behaviorally and feeling helpless to support them has changed the game for many parents.  And those parents who were also forced out of the workforce or had to choose between work and supporting their children during virtual learning, will not soon forget the impact of these draconian measures on their children.

2022 may be the year when parents reclaim their rights at the polls.

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Turnout was light for Tuesday’s general election in the DelVal area, with school board races on the front burner in many areas, as parents who became newly aware of their children’s curriculum thanks to in-home learning during the pandemic came out to vote.

The Back to School PA funded some 300 candidates statewide with more than $500,000 largely from Bucks County hedge fund partner Paul Martino. Its driving force is the idea that kids need in-class learning and the fear the school boards would once again cave to the teacher’s unions and close the schools. While Back to School PAC funded a substantial number of school board candidates, the state teacher’s union gave more to support school board candidates and has for years, said Clarice Schillinger, executive director of Back to School PA.

“Regardless of our wins, our children have gained thousands of community members standing up for their education, and to us, that is a huge win. Back to School PA set out to bipartisanly bring advocates and candidates together who believe in-person education is essential and we can proudly say we accomplished just that,” said Schillinger.

In Chester County, the in-person voting appeared to show the Republican candidates winning the various county row offices late Tuesday evening. However, Chester County GOP Chairman Dr. Gordon Eck pointed out some 28,000 mail-in ballots had not been counted, and another 5,000 might come in on Wednesday so that could change the results of those races.

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings,” Eck said.

One race that was hotly fought was the Bucks County district attorney position. With 34 percent of the vote in at midnight, incumbent Republican Matthew Weintraub was ahead 58 percent to challenger Antonette Stancu’s 41 percent.

Weintraub posted this message to his campaign Facebook page: “Since the day I first stepped foot in the DA’s office as an intern during my Temple law school days, I knew I had found my true calling. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your DA during the last 5 years. I look forward to continuing as your District Attorney and on this Election Day, I ask for your vote.”

Later Tuesday evening he said, “Everyone has been so supportive. I’m excited to continue to serve the people of Bucks County as district attorney.”

At midnight, with 57 percent of the vote tallied in Delaware County, the races for sheriff and county council were too close to call.

Incumbent Sheriff Jerry Sanders, a Democrat, had 48,95 percent of the vote and challenger Republican Larry Weigand had 50.05 percent. The county council races showed Republican Joseph Lombardi ahead with 25.41 percent, closely followed by the two Democrats, Richard Womack and Kevin Madden and Republican Frank Agovino.

Meanwhile, Montgomery County Democratic Chair Joe Foster was pleased that his voters turned out Tuesday.

“Generally, the day was good and it appears that Democrats had about mid-30s percent turnout,” said Foster. “We are hoping that it turns out to be 40 percent or thereabouts but we will have to wait to see. It was low voter turnout but seemed to pick up beginning (in the) afternoon. So we will see.”

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