Phoenix – On Monday, former Congressman and current Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon wrote a letter to the executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) calling on the organization to formally withdraw its affiliation with the National School Boards Association (NSBA) as a result of the latter’s campaign to intimidate concerned parents across the United States.
NSBA has drawn widespread scrutiny in recent weeks due to its jaw-dropping decision to solicit from the Biden Administration the resources and assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a means of dealing with school board meetings.
According to FOX News, “Four out of the eight members of the U.S Commission on Civil Rights have penned a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, chastising him for his recent memo regarding parents who protest school boards.”
“We write to express our concerns regarding a recent memorandum issued by your office,” the four members wrote in the letter, questioning Garland’s motive for issuing the memo which instructed the FBI to take the lead on a task force to address threats against school officials, including creating a centralized way to report such threats, FOX News reported.
“This public-private partnership to smear engaged citizens has already served to increase tensions at school board meetings and ultimately will chill the ability of those citizens to freely petition their government without fear of reprisal,” Salmon wrote.
Salmon’s letter:
October 18, 2021
Sheila Harrison-Williams
Executive Director
Arizona School Boards Association
2100 North Central Avenue
Suite 200
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Dear Dr. Harrison-Williams:
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. My name is Matt Salmon. I am a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and current Republican candidate for governor of Arizona. I am a proud resident of the City of Mesa who is deeply concerned about the future of education in our state. I have long supported increasing teacher pay, expanding opportunities for students, and strengthening the vital relationship that parents have with their children’s schools.
It is for these reasons, including and especially the latter, that I write today to urge the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) to take immediate steps to formally withdraw your affiliation with the National School Boards Association (NSBA).
As you are aware, NSBA recently wrote a letter (1) to President Joe Biden falsely claiming that school boards were “under an immediate threat” from attendees of local school board meetings across the United States. The letter solicited from his Administration the “resources” of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to “deal with” the issue, citing news articles about, in the association’s words, “extremist hate organizations showing up at school board meetings.”
However, a closer review of those news articles reveals an unfortunate truth about the real source of NSBA’s hostility. Its letter, for example, cites the arrest of a Virginia man who had become frustrated at a local school board meeting … but it conveniently fails to note that the frustration stemmed from officials’ repeated negligence and inaction after his ninth-grade daughter was sexually assaulted in a school bathroom. (2) This is ‘extremism’?
The association’s letter is filled with other stark phrases, such as “a form of domestic terrorism,” with no evidence to justify using them, and it has become crystal clear to the American people that NSBA’s real problem is with everyday parents who are not okay with what is happening in our classrooms. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s subsequent memorandum (3) indulging NSBA’s attempt to intimidate these parents is a slap in the face, plain and simple. This public-private partnership to smear engaged citizens has already served to increase tensions at school board meetings and ultimately will chill the ability of those citizens to freely petition their government without fear of reprisal.
I was pleased to learn on Friday that the governing board of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association voted (4) to withdraw its membership from NSBA, stating that the national group’s “call for federal intervention is not the place to begin, nor a model for promoting greater civility and respect for the democratic process.” The school board associations in Louisiana (5) and Florida (6) have likewise condemned NSBA’s behavior because it “discourages active participation in the governance process” and promotes “federal overreach,” respectively. Other state associations have joined this growing chorus, and there is little doubt that more will do so in the future.
The bottom line is that I find NSBA’s antagonistic posturing toward concerned parents to be deeply inappropriate and frankly un-American. The association has disqualified itself from enjoying the benefits of a formal relationship with our state, and I urge you to take the steps needed to formally withdraw your affiliation with NSBA as soon as possible. I also would appreciate clarification as to whether ASBA was consulted about NSBA’s letter to President Biden ahead of time and, if so, whether your group suggested any changes to its language.
I genuinely believe that Arizona is the best state in our nation in no small part due to our long history of independent thinking, rugged individualism, active and engaged citizenry, and dedication to the values – starting with love of freedom – that make the United States so exceptional. I am proud to stand with each and every parent who cares enough to get into this fight for a brighter future, and I hope that efforts will be made by ASBA to reaffirm support for civic engagement in local school board meetings, which cannot be properly achieved until you sever your partnership with NSBA and the poor judgment of its leaders.
Sincerely,
Matthew J. Salmon