School boards become battlegrounds for nation’s divisions on race, gender and more

Amna Nawaz:

School boards have traditionally been the domain of nonpartisan civic service, with volunteer community members weighing in on curricula and budgets.

But in the last few years, school boards around the country have also increasingly become reflections of the nation's polarized political divisions.

Tonight, Judy Woodruff reports on one district in Northwest Pennsylvania where policies around library books, gender and sports and how race and history are taught have divided some community members.

It's her latest installment of America at a Crossroads.

Judy Woodruff:

At Saegertown High School, students stream into the building in the waning days of the school year. It's one of three high schools in a sprawling, mostly rural district called Penncrest, which covers 400 square miles south of Erie, Pennsylvania.

And it's a community where resident Jeff Brooks says ties to the area run deep.

Jeff Brooks, Board Member, Penncrest School District:

My grandfather was supervisor for 50 years. My mom started the rec board here, was involved in the church.

Judy Woodruff:

Brooks lives on the family farm where he grew up. A social worker in Erie, he's lived in this area his entire life, save four years in the Navy.

Jeff Brooks:

It's the same people I grew up with. When I'm at any place, I know people. I know their parents. I know their kids.

Judy Woodruff:

Brooks graduated from the Penncrest District himself, and had three children go through the district, his youngest still in high school.

And you decided at some point to run for the school board?

Jeff Brooks:

Yes.

Judy Woodruff:

Why?

Jeff Brooks:

Penncrest used to be a top 50 district in the state. And when I did a little research, we're kind of living off our reputation.

Judy Woodruff:

Brooks was elected to the board as a Republican in 2017 and reelected to a four-year term in 2019.

Jeff Brooks:

The way school board should be done is a very boring, thankless job that you don't get paid for. You show up at a couple of meetings. You hear people talk about curriculum. And that's not what it's been.

Judy Woodruff:

Like in many school districts across the country, Penncrest has found itself caught up in debates over cultural values and what belongs inside the school walls.

Brooks says the recent turmoil began in the spring of 2021, when a school board member shared a Facebook post of a photo of LGBTQ-themed books on display at a district high school library.

The board member, David Valesky, added — quote — "Besides the point of being totally evil, this is not what we need to be teaching kids. They aren't at school to be brainwashed into thinking homosexuality is OK."

Valesky did not respond to interview requests from the "NewsHour."

Teresa Barickman, Parent:

It's a school board member calling students in the district evil. And that, to me, is appalling.

Judy Woodruff:

Teresa Barickman: is a parent in the Penncrest district. Her son graduated last year. And her daughter, Claire, will be a junior at Saegertown this fall.

Teresa Barickman:

Some of the political rhetoric that we have heard on the national level has empowered people and let them feel like it's OK to say these not-so-nice things about people.

Judy Woodruff:

The dust-up around the book display didn't immediately lead to any policy changes. But later that summer, a resolution was introduced against teaching Critical Race Theory, or CRT, in this overwhelmingly white district.

Jeff Brooks:

I think, if you ask 20 people to write down what they thought it was, you would get 20 different definitions. It's not being taught. No one has given an example of CRT being taught. It's just a boogeyman that's out there to scare everybody.

This would reassure everybody, so that they're not pulling their kids out of their school because they think we're doing something that we're not.

Judy Woodruff:

While the original resolution didn't pass, the board did affirm that the district has multiple policies which protect students from indoctrination.

Luigi DeFrancesco, Board Member and President, Penncrest School Board: Penncrest is a very conservative district, and they care about the kids, and they want the kids educated, nothing else.

Judy Woodruff:

Luigi DeFrancesco is president of the Penncrest School Board. He immigrated to the United States from Italy as a child and moved to this rural area of Pennsylvania in 1977. A retired civil engineer, he's served on the school board off and on for more than a decade.

How has the board changed in the last few years, would you say?

 Luigi DeFrancesco:

The only thing that changed is that the community finally got involved into what's going on with the board. The majority wants to make sure that they protect the community standards and the children get educated in what they're supposed to be educated for.

Judy Woodruff:

Last December, the board introduced two new controversial policy changes, one designed to ensure students join athletic teams only that are consistent with their gender at birth, even though no transgender athletes have identified themselves, and one targeting library materials that include — quote — "visual or visually implied depictions of sexual acts, explicit written depictions of sexual acts, or visual depictions of nudity," exempting anatomy for science or classical works of art.

Jeff Brooks:

My original reaction was that this is wanting to limit the world that our kids see and to villainize our LGBTQ community. We shouldn't be creating division. We should be focused on creating the best opportunities for our kids in school.

Judy Woodruff:

Teresa Barickman learned about the proposed change from her daughter.

Teresa Barickman:

There already was a policy in place. If a parent disagrees with one of the books, they can fill out something. The school district will look into whether the book is appropriate or not.

When I talked to the superintendent, he had never had a parent fill out this form and send it in.

Claire Barickman, Student:

The following copies of our petition include over 180 signatures from people across the district.

Judy Woodruff:

Claire Barickman and a friend drafted a petition opposing the policy change that they circulated among students and community members and presented it to the board in January before the vote.

Claire Barickman:

These books cover many crucial topics for students and are representative of many groups throughout the district, covering topics of race, sex, gender identity, and diverse backgrounds, which allow students to feel safe and seen.

Judy Woodruff:

But, just days later, the board approved both the new book and trans athlete policies, despite reservations raised by the district's lawyer that the changes could open the district up to lawsuits.

David Valesky, Board Member, Penncrest School Board:

It is essential that this policy needs to be pushed through. It's legal. And my conscience is clear on it. If we go to court over it, so be it, because, at the end of the day, we are standing up for what's right and standing up for what God has said is right and truth.

Judy Woodruff:

So those policy changes were passed.

Jeff Brooks:

The policy changes were passed.

Judy Woodruff:

And what effect do you think they have had?

Jeff Brooks:

The biggest effect that it's had is, it's taken time away from our administration to be able to focus on classrooms.

Judy Woodruff:

The district administration undertook a review of about 150 books, ultimately removing about 10 of them.

Brett Zook, Parent:

There is some agreement that some things are off-limits. My argument is, this is more about where to draw the line, and why not err on the side of caution?

Judy Woodruff:

Brett Zook is a parent of three kids in the Penncrest District and one who just graduated.

After learning about the proposed book policy from two of his daughters, he spoke at a Penncrest board meeting in support of the policy.

Brett Zook:

That was first time I had attended any school board meetings.

Judy Woodruff:

So you felt pretty strongly about it?

Brett Zook:

I did. I mean, I think these are things that are very important to people. At the same time, I wanted to be part of a healthy discussion, if possible, and try to have some input to the conversation that could be received by those who didn't agree.

Judy Woodruff:

Zook contends the fact that parents could already ask librarians for books to be off-limits for their children was inadequate, and that the policy as written does not target any particular group.

Students could go to the public library and check out these books. And, certainly, there's so much available right now online and social media. How much of a difference does it make because some books have been taken off the shelf?

Brett Zook:

Yes, I don't view it as a war to be won. I view it more as acknowledging that, if there's a shared space, which a public school library is, and there are some that feel this isn't appropriate, here's the standard we're going to have.

Even with the policy in place, parents still have the opportunity to present whatever they want to their children.

Teresa Barickman:

You know, this is a public school. And if they want to shelter their kids, then homeschool them or send them to a private school.

You know, it's not about me. It's not about my daughter. I can take my daughter to the library. I can buy her the books. But because it is such a rural and lower-cost-of-living community, there are families that can't. And those are the kids that I worry about.

Judy Woodruff:

Board President Luigi DeFrancesco denies that the policy discriminates against any group, including the LGBTQ community, and insists that change was necessary to conform with Pennsylvania state laws against providing explicit material to minors.

A number of these books that you're citing, there's real disagreement that that's pornography, that they will say, yes, there's some explicit language in there, but it's brief, it's within the context of a story. These young people are learning about different experiences. It doesn't mean that they're going to become that or do whatever they read.

 Luigi DeFrancesco:

But the law doesn't say that. The law says, do not provide pornographic material, period. You know, if they get information from someplace else or whatever, you know, I don't want to be guilty.

Judy Woodruff:

What about their argument that they're just trying to protect children from bad things, bad material, bad influences?

Jeff Brooks:

I understand that. And I think that a school should be a safe place for every kid. But there's no way to protect everyone from every idea that's out there. To me, to be protected would be understand the world around you and be prepared to deal with it.

Judy Woodruff:

Teresa's daughter Claire says that the divisiveness of the book controversy among school board members has not trickled down to students.

Claire Barickman:

Overall, I feel like people, for the most part in our school try to be kind to others. And there are people that have come up to us and said that they didn't sign the petition only because they just didn't want to get involved with all the drama and the politicalness that it had become.

Judy Woodruff:

That political drama now has a chance to be resolved at the ballot box.

In May, residents voted in primaries to fill seven seats on the nine-person Penncrest School Board. Luigi DeFrancesco ran for a two-year term, but came in third and isn't expected to be on the ballot this November.

 Luigi DeFrancesco:

It really don't matter to me if I win or lose, as long as we have a board that will protect the kids and educate them.

Judy Woodruff:

Jeff Brooks decided not to run again.

Jeff Brooks:

It had become very personal attacks on me, that I was a groomer for children, that I supported kiddie porn.

And I didn't feel like I could respond in an election in a way that would be what a school board member should respond. The other thing, I thought that I was a poster child as some sort of liberal socialist. And by me not running, then the issues could be on the facts and not the fiction.

Judy Woodruff:

With school out for the summer and the primary passed, things have quieted down in the district, but divisions in this close community have been opened up, as everyone waits to see the makeup and actions of the new school board this fall.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Judy Woodruff in Saegertown, Pennsylvania.