No one was running for school board. Then a blog mentioned Moms for Liberty | Opinion

Early last week, a local blog sounded an alarm bell: With the filing period halfway over, no one had signed up to run for school board in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools this year.

“We need qualified people to run for school board. If you’re considering it, please reach out,” wrote Triangle Blog Blog, a progressive civics blog that covers Chapel Hill and Carrboro.

Of the seven seats on the board, four of them are up for election in November. But why would no one want to run for school board in what is often considered the best school district in the state?

Perhaps it’s because being a school board member these days can be rather unpleasant. Since the pandemic, school boards across the country have become a major battleground for culture war issues like mask mandates, book bans and Critical Race Theory, with groups like Moms for Liberty on the front lines. School officials are often on the receiving end of vitriol, harassment and even threats. Some North Carolina districts have had to increase security at school board meetings, in part due to unsavory visitors like the Proud Boys.

While that has been less pronounced in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools compared to other districts, outside noise still may have affected how residents view the role, and there’s also a meddlesome state legislature intruding more and more on classroom instruction and other matters. Current board chair Rani Dasi said that with education increasingly under attack, it may seem like the job takes extra effort that many people just don’t have.

“I mean, you hear about these groups who come into school boards and try to intimidate board members,” Dasi said. “And yeah, you might expect that might not be something people would be excited to sign up for.”

But, Triangle Blog Blog said, not running might come with consequences in Chapel Hill. In their post, Triangle Blog Blog expressed concern that a group of right-wing candidates might step up and win by default. They had received a tip that Moms for Liberty had four candidates waiting in the wings.

The alarm resonated — at least for some. Chapel Hill resident Scott McConnell, whose first-grader attends school in the district, was one of the first candidates to sign up. Triangle Blog Blog’s post was sent to his neighborhood listserv. His gut instinct was to throw his hat in the ring, but he decided to sleep on it. The next day, he consulted his mother, who is a science teacher, and his wife.

“I felt that if there were four uncontested seats, or even one, then that’s pretty much a green light for people who do not have the school district’s best interests at heart to apply,” McConnell said. “And then there’s no alternative.”

Is McConnell worried about the increasingly heated nature of school board politics? No, he says.

“If people picket my house because I refuse to vote for the book ban or whatever, they will be treated to music,” McConnell told me. “I’m a musician, I play trumpet, and I’ll do whatever I need to do to make sure that they don’t get the final word.”

Maybe in a perfect world, it wouldn’t take the threat of extremism to motivate people to run for office. But running for elected office can be daunting, confusing and expensive. Triangle Blog Blog tried to lower the barrier of entry by connecting people with resources that would help them navigate the process. But most importantly, the blog post reminded people that there can be a cost to letting someone else raise their hand.

Whatever it was, it worked. Melody Kramer, one of the co-founders and co-leaders of Triangle Blog Blog, said 52 people reached out throughout the week as a result of the post. By the time filing closed on Friday, 19 people had declared their candidacy, many of them political newcomers.

The chair of the Orange County chapter of Moms for Liberty told me by email Thursday that the group had not identified any candidates to support in the district.

“We were absolutely blown away and thrilled by the immediate outpouring of people who were happy to step forward once they knew that they needed to,” Kramer said.

Kramer added, “It’s a civic joy.”