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The 9-R admin building in downtown Durango. The School Board’s normally sleepy election has taken on newfound interest as political ideologies clash, mirroring a national trend./ File art
The new frontlines National culture wars take center stage in 9-R election by Jonathan Romeo
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n a world where politics have infiltrated seemingly every aspect of daily life, what would be another dull School Board election in Durango this fall has instead entered the fray of culture wars plaguing the nation. Across the country, local schools have become ground zero for battles over how children should be taught sensitive issues such as race and gender, and whether districts should mandate COVID protocols like masks or vaccines. In many communities, these tensions have erupted into shouting matches at school board meetings, harassment of board members and staff, and in extreme cases, violent clashes that lead to arrests. Just this past month, the National School Board Association asked for the FBI’s and DOJ’s help to address the increase in incidents of violence and intimidation against its members. In a number of these incidents, the disrupters are part of a nationwide movement, mostly led by conservative groups, who view school boards as the new frontline in the culture war over social issues – regarded by some as the “Tea Party 2.0” movement. In recent weeks, conservative thinktanks have even released blueprints for ousting school board members they see as too progressive.
In Durango, tensions within the school district have not reached heights seen elsewhere, but that’s not to say the friction isn’t there. In August, for instance, a Durango School District 9-R meeting had to be shut down and police were called after an unruly crowd showed up and refused to wear masks and follow capacity restrictions. As a result, the meetings are now held online, yet angry people have called in to accuse the district of silencing free speech and threatened legal action. Now, the upcoming Nov. 2 School Board election, which has seven candidates vying for three open seats, has put the spotlight on a slate of candidates accused of pushing this “ultra conservative” agenda. Three newcomer candidates – Donna Gulec, Richard “Dean” Hill and Kristine Paslay – who have seemingly banded together to run as a three-piece ticket under the group name, “Building Durango’s Future,” acknowledge they have conservative leanings. But, they are adamantly against the idea they are part of a larger national effort to take over school boards. “Being portrayed as extremists is absolutely unfair,” Gulec said. “I’m just a normal person. I don’t go around screaming and yelling my ideas, which are not extreme in any way. I don’t know where they get that from.”
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‘Swirling hot mess’ So how did school boards, previously a place for mundane budget talks and staffing issues, become the epicenter for political fervor and ideologies? Generally speaking, tensions started flaring this spring and summer as schools started to plan reopening to in-person learning, sparking debates between those for and against COVID-19 protocols such as mask and vaccine mandates. Tensions further escalated once the concept of “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) splashed onto the scene, intensifying talks on how schools should teach race. CRT is a concept from the 1970/’80s, mostly taught in universities, examining the impacts of systemic racism on American institutions and laws. Opponents, however, see CRT as a way to negatively impress upon students that America is racist at its core, and to view the world as oppressors vs. the oppressed. 9-R, it should be noted, does not teach CRT. As the 2021-22 school year approached, things got nasty as citizens would disrupt school board meetings across the country with protests and threats against district officials. As tensions heightened, people were arrested. In some instances, school board members (and sometimes entire boards) were
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