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WALKER: It’s Very Sad To See Anti-Israel Activism in Central Bucks

The Democratic school board has been in charge in Central Bucks for three months, and the repeal of our previous board’s policy 321 is already plaguing the district. Policy 321 called for balance and neutrality in the classroom, whether in the context of teaching the Board-approved curriculum, facilitating discussions about current events, addressing students’ questions, conversing with students about social or political matters, or assessing students’ responses and work products.

The policy also stopped teachers from displaying flags or posters advocating any political or sociopolitical activities and issues in the classroom. When the Democrat majority took over, school board Member Heather Reynolds motioned to halt Policy 321 during their first school board meeting. She did not reference how to protect students from unwanted political activism (which is currently happening in our buildings). Her fellow Democratic school board members agreed with her, and the audience clapped. There has already been fallout from the repeal of the policy, and parents should be very concerned about where the district is heading.

The district is allowing anti-Israel political activism during school hours. Recently, it was brought to the attention of several parents that an organization in Central Bucks West High School is allowing students to gather during lunch and learn to write anti-Israel letters to the Pennsylvania state treasurer to stop dropping bombs in Gaza. Not only is this political activism, it doesn’t make sense.

The state treasurer has nothing to do with how Israelis protect themselves from a terrorist organization or how Israel conducts missions to rescue hostages. This student activity was purely to sway children’s views about political candidates–the one thing our previous board worked diligently to stop. I recently saw school board President Karen Smith at an event with the Democratic candidate running for state treasurer.

The latest thing teachers are doing is hanging huge “progress” flags in my child’s middle school. Some say this isn’t political and makes children feel safe. I am not sure why an American flag doesn’t promote the feeling of safety. The real problem is, what if a teacher says the same thing about a Palestinian flag? Or what if parents don’t want their children to believe they can change genders?

No guidelines or parameters are set up to say what type of political symbols are allowed in school. As a community, we need the district to explain what it is doing to protect all children since they need to feel safe, and it is only focused on a small minority.

The previous policy of keeping all symbols and flags out of school was working to protect all kids. Now, it’s a free-for-all, and I am very concerned for our Jewish community. If the district is allowing anti-Israel political activism in districts, why not Palestinian flags and marches in the buildings? It’s very disappointing this is the trajectory our district is taking. The politicizing of our children and schools has to stop immediately. It’s hard to understand why people in Bucks County voted for school board members who want politics to be a school priority. Here we are, though. It’s a terrifying time in Bucks County.

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WALKER: The Central Bucks Community Should Be Concerned

On Dec. 13. the new Democrat-controlled Central Bucks School board had its first policy meeting, and if you are a resident here, you should be very concerned.

During the election, I helped run a PAC to elect candidates to protect girls sports and spaces because they are under attack by the Democratic Party.  In June 2023, state Sen. Steve Santarsiero  (head of the Bucks County Democratic Party) made a speech stating that he supports “The Fairness Act,” which sounds good from the title but in reality what it does is allow biological males to play in female sports and use their locker rooms.   This act is also supported by Governor Josh Shapiro.

During the Democratic run boards’ first policy meeting they decided to halt policy 321.  This policy keeps politics out of classrooms.  So now a teacher is free to hang up a Palestinian flag or a Trump flag.  This is terrifying given the amount of antisemitism that is in our area.  Universities all over the country are being reprimanded for antisemitism and our new board just invited it into classrooms.  As a Jewish person I find this appalling and it speaks to their lack of awareness of our current political climate regarding antisemitism.

Secondly. the new board wants biological boys to play in girl sports but they tabled that policy because too many residents were upset. They want to wait for further clarification from the PIAA.  The PIAA doesn’t set these types of rules.  They allow for each school district to set a policy.  This is exactly what they did with masks during COVID.  If any of the new school board representatives were paying attention they would understand how the PIAA operates.   This is exactly why our previous board created a policy to protect girls sports.

Girls all over Pennsylvania are in a lot of trouble if the new board allows biological males to play in female sports and use their locker rooms because we are basically the largest suburban district and other school districts will model us.  This isn’t going away either.  Parents with biological girls need to make sure their girls are protected and looking back to Board President Karen Smith’s previous votes I have no faith this board will help girls.  The Pennsylvania Democrats funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into the new candidates campaign and these elected candidates have an agenda to follow.

The board also halted policies 109.1 and 109.2 which ensure children only have access to age appropriate material.  So now it’s a free for all.  Any type of book will be allowed to enter the libraries in school.  Parents this is your chance to donate whatever you would like!

Lastly, the board will vote on allowing student representatives to have a say on the board.  So if you ever wanted your 7 year old to help create board policies for a school district with a $360 million budget this is your chance!  Stay tuned for details.   Central Bucks residents these representatives were highly endorsed by Sen. Steve Santarsiero.  Gov. Josh Shapiro attended their victory party.  They are a reflection of their beliefs.  Remember that going forward.

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