Fiery conservative candidates are attempting to shift the discussion away from typical school board issues. By Reid Forgrave. Last spring, residents signed a petition in the southern Minnesota city of New Ulm asking school board members whether it's appropriate to include instruction on "sexual and gender identity" in the youngest elementary school classrooms.
No school board members responded to the petition, which echoed a controversial Florida law passed this year. But when a moderator posed a question about busing at a recent school board candidate forum, the most outspoken in a slate of conservative challengers piped up. The moderator cut him off, but Thom persisted. He did not. That charged moment underscored how this school board election has become a localized flashpoint in the national culture wars.
In New Ulm, the battle has been fought in churches, in placard-filled front yards, on social media and in a barrage of back-and-forth letters to the editor in the local newspaper, the Journal.
Some in this rural hub of 14, people β the seat of Brown County, where Donald Trump received twice as many votes as Joe Biden in the presidential election β have pushed for New Ulm to become more welcoming, which became especially resonant after recent incidents highlighted what some see as an anti-gay undercurrent in town.
Meanwhile, fiery conservative candidates like Thom are attempting to shift the discussion away from typical school board issues such as a high-stakes operating levy renewal on the ballot, which could lead to budget cuts. The petition, as well as critical race theory and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, dominate their talking points. As Steve Bannon, former President Donald Trump's chief strategist, told a recent gathering of conservative activists about what he sees as the culture wars' most important front: "School boards are the key that picks the lock.
