Know Before You Go: Mesa School Board Elections

Too many of our schools, with the backing of elected school boards, are working to purposely divide children by teaching them Critical Race Theory (CRT) concepts, like believing that the color of their skin is more important than the content of their character, and sexualizing them by presenting age-inappropriate sexual content.  

Your local school board has the power to reverse these attacks and make sure our children have age-appropriate education materials. The power lies in your vote! Elections take place on November 8, 2022. 

Core Responsibilities of a School Board: 

• Approve curriculum and textbooks based on standards, goals, and policies adopted by the board. 
• Review and evaluate curriculum as it relates to student assessment results. 
• Hold accountable the superintendent of the school district. 
• Create a responsible budget to advance the educational success of the students. 
• Provide transparency to parents and community members on what is occurring in their local schools. 

Concerning Content and Actions Allowed in the Mesa Public Schools by the Governing Board: 

Below are examples of CRT, sexual material, and/or political indoctrination seen in the schools. 

• Both Dobson and Westwood High School have a Gender and Sexuality Alliances club, which is a chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network. These clubs end up teaching students sexual content without parental approval. It’s a “loophole” to sexualize children without parents knowing.  
• One webinar was made available to teachers under the Professional Learning Newsfeed titled: “Educating for racial equity: Equipping oneself with anti-racist strategies.” 

• Equity seeks to achieve equal outcomes, not equal opportunity and often pursues its goals through unequal treatment. 

• As of July 2022, transgender and gender nonconforming students may change their pronouns and preferred name to match their new identity. Parents are only notified when the student requests a change in the school’s computer system, Synergy. 

• Though the Arizona Legislature has made laws that protect parents’ and student athletes’ rights in this issue, the school board’s original policy, which Arizona law overrode, included allowing students to change which bathroom, locker room, sports teams, and even sex-assigned bedroom on overnight trips they get to use. 

• These types of policies are driven by elite, Washington D.C.-based national unions and associations who are out of touch with Arizona values. Instead, they push an agenda that denies parent rights, supports restrictive COVID-19 mandates, instigates racist curriculum and transgender policies, and even labels parents domestic terrorists. 

Know Before You Go!  These school board races are non-partisan elections, and voters also have the opportunity to pick two candidates instead of selecting just one. The America First Agenda aims to give parents more control of their child’s education, education choice, and honest teaching of American history. You can research candidates and what they stand for by identifying keywords and phrases in their statements like “parental rights,” “patriotic education,” and “education or school choice.” Also, be on the lookout for Washington D.C based union language like “institutional racism,” “social justice,” “equity,” and “gender identity.” Understanding what a candidate stands for will help you make the best decision for your children and community.