The Arizona School Boards Association has withdrawn from the National School Boards Association under pressure from both parents and legislators.
The Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) voted on the matter at its Board meeting this week. The vote came, according to sources, after considerable feedback from ASBA members across Arizona, who sought the withdrawal.
In her letter to Dr. John Heim, the executive director of the National School Board Association (NSBA), ASBA Executive Director Sheila Harrison-Williams alluded to the controversial letter to the U.S. Department of Justice from his predecessor, that was written in cooperation with the Biden administration’s effort to peg parents as domestic terrorists and request federal law enforcement intervention at school board meetings.
“I believe this is the first time the ASBA is recognizing the legitimate concerns of parents by withdrawing from the National School Boards Association,” said Arizona State Rep. Beverly Pingerelli, who is also a Peoria Unified School District Governing Board member. “Parents don’t like being called domestic terrorists or being spied upon. Congratulations to all of the parents who are finding their voices and making them heard!”
“I am thrilled for the residents of Arizona as part of their taxes will no longer be diverted to fund this organization (NSBA),” said Dysart Unified School District Governing Board member Dawn Densmore. “Since we (the Dysart Governing Board) voted to end this relationship, we’ve since learned that Secretary Miguel Cardona initiated engagement with NSBA to draft a letter requesting that the DOJ enact the Patriot Act against concerned parents. This type of weaponization of the government is an atrocity.”
“I am pleased at the most recent actions of ASBA,” continued Densmore. “With that said, ending membership with the NSBA is one small step towards regaining the trust of many school board members and parents.”
“We must continue to hold our education leaders of all levels accountable for their actions, and this step by our Arizona School Board Association is a positive move forward in repairing broken trust between parents and our local school boards,” said Amy Carney, mother of 6 and candidate for Scottsdale Unified School Board.
Last month, the Arizona Senate Education Committee passed on a 5-3 vote, a bill that would prohibit school districts from using taxpayer dollars to pay for membership in a state or national school board association.
The bill, SB1011, sponsored by Sen. Kelly Townsend, came in response to the national controversy involving the National School Board Association.
“After almost 5 months of silence, I commend the Arizona School Board Association board of directors for finally voting to withdraw from the National School Board Association,” said former Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas. “An organization that declared parents ‘domestic terrorists’ for asking questions and attempting to hold their elected representatives accountable. I strongly encourage local school boards that are paying dues to NSBA to do so as well. Likewise parents and taxpayers should be demanding their district withdraw from ASBA; an organization that has been indoctrinating their elected officials to support and adopt curricula and programs such as CRT, DIE, SEL and CSE instead of fulfilling their primary purpose of teaching children to excel in academic subjects. Sadly ASBA has been supporting radical agendas and leftwing members for decades since my days as a governing board member.”
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