Since COVID, school boards became an increasingly intricate political battleground for control over elementary and secondary education. The WSD BOE has been no different, especially in recent years.
In early 2022, the Wentzville School District made national news, joining countless other districts across the country in banning Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” a book about Pecola, a young Black girl who equated whiteness with beauty. The Bluest Eye discusses mature topics like racism and incest, fueling its frequent bans. Actions restricting the book from being available to students even sparked a lawsuit from the Missouri and National American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU, citing the First Amendment protections for the right to access information, challenged the restrictions by the district on eight critically acclaimed books, all of which were either written by or were about people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized communities. These charges also hoped to reform district policy that allowed for any book opposed by a parent to be banned. The landmark Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico, which included the right to access information from a library under the First Amendment, was also referenced as a precedent. Following the accusation, almost all of the eight books were brought back to shelves.
In 2023, the WSD was served another lawsuit from Missouri Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, for allegedly violating state sunshine laws, which require government agencies to make their records and activities available to the public. According to Bailey, the WSD violated sunshine laws by discussing controversial transgender bathroom policies privately instead of publicly. Board members, Renee Henke and Jen Olsen, elected in April 2023, filed the complaint igniting the legal dispute. According to the case, another board member stated that the district would be a “lightning rod” for litigation if the meeting were to be held publicly. More than 40 community members filed complaints to the AG’s office. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
Before the current district superintendent, Brian Bishop, assumed his position, the WSD was embroiled in local news once again. Danielle Tormala, the superintendent since 2022, had resigned, in exchange for a delicate buyout exceeding $1 million. Following the agreement, Tormala agreed to drop any charges against the district and school board, with the district and school board agreeing not to go forward with legal action against Tormala.
Prior to her resignation, calls for Tormala’s departure had materialized around the same time as her comment, “The terms diversity, equity, and inclusion cannot be dirty words in this district” during a board meeting. Her statement was in the aftermath of a district investigation by the St. Charles County NAACP for racism complaints made by parents.
The news of Tormala’s departure emerged during a time of district divisiveness and trouble, deriving from the aforementioned lawsuit with Bailey and the district book banning. Referencing the suit involving transgender restrooms, former state senator and current congressman Bob Onder, representing Missouri’s 3rd congressional district, even called Tormala a “wokester” via social media.
These headlines have birthed division within and politicalization of the district. Though school board candidates have rallied their campaigns around partisan politics prevalent in the Wentzville community, parents are preferring indifferent candidates over the ones that appeal to politics.
The results of the 2024 district election saw the more moderate David Biesenthal and Brad Welsh win over more conservative candidates, Leigh Palitszch and Cindy Reidy, both endorsed by Republicans Bill Eigel, Bob Onder, and the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee.
This time around, the race for the two vacant seats on the WSD BOE have just kicked off. Four people have filed for candidacy including Danielle Looney, Christina Macormic, Jeremy Way, and Julie Scott, the incumbent vice president of the board, who is running for re-election. The other open seat is currently occupied by board president Katie Lyczak, who will retire following this term. Voters head to the polls April 8 to determine the winners.
Danielle Looney is a previous graduate of Holt High School and mother of five children who reside in the Wentzville community. She has degrees in computer science and health management. Looney currently works as a controller at Farmington Manor, an assisted living facility in Farmington, Missouri. Some of Looney’s key issues include responsible use of taxpayer dollars, efficient transportation, decreasing late start days, and giving students quality education.
Christina Macormic and her husband reside in Lake St. Louis with their five children. As a board member, Macromic says that she would “work to create an environment where we prioritize academics and safety while utilizing effective and proven methods to support learning.”
According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, both Looney and Macormic were founding members of the St. Charles County Parents Association, a conservative parents group that sued the St. Charles County Health Department for allegedly violating state laws through their COVID-19 quarantine and health recommendations.
In August 2023, the SCCPA also launched “Operation Opt-Out” aiming to “arm parents with as much knowledge as possible to combat the ideological subversion that is being forced on our children” through downloadable online forms that opt their children out of opportunities like Leader In Me Training, iReady testing, and Compass Health presentations. While these forms are not valid for student accommodations, the opt-out forms also included exemptions from vaccines and addressed topics like anti-racism and critical race theory. Looney and Macormic had already resigned from the SCCPA Board of Directors by April 2023.
Jeremy Way is a father of two Holt High School graduates and resides in Wentzville. Since 2018, he has been the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Facilities, and Transportation at the Wright City R-II School District. He previously served as the Head and Assistant Principal at Warrenton High School. His key issues include student achievement, staff attraction and retention, and productive use of taxpayer dollars.
Julie Scott is currently an incumbent on the school board, serving since April of 2022. She has a background in nursing, having previously worked at SSM Health St. Louis as an oncology nurse practitioner. Scott also has experience as a freelance medical writer, and currently works as a medical science liaison at Gilead Sciences.
Both Way and Scott have received endorsements from the St. Charles County Families for Public Schools, a political action committee that “supports, informs, and advocates for people, actions, and legislation that provides for the highest quality public education experiences for all students”.
The founding board of the SCCPS consists of Dr. Mary Hendricks-Harris, current educational consultant and previous Francis Howell superintendent, former circuit judge and Democratic State Senator Ted House, and Pam Sloan, an educational leadership consultant and former Francis Howell superintendent and principal. The two candidates have also been endorsed by the Wentzville National Education Association, the local chapter of the NEA.
Given our substantial history with school board controversy, it is extremely important to consider the familiar stakes and recurring types of candidates brought by each election.
In recent years, WSD BOE elections have brought forth candidates that lean into drama and partisan politics. This push and pull between conservative and liberal candidates should instead focus on appealing to the conscience and informed choice of voters. In lieu of engaging voters by relying on the partisan stronghold in Wentzville, candidates should be charming voters with their valuable experience and visible care for the wellbeing and future of students.
There will always be room for improvement in terms of the public education that the Wentzville School District strives to achieve. Districts like ours have always had trouble deciding the best way to accomplish their ultimate goal of providing quality education to students, but until April, only one decision remains: which two candidates will be best suited to help lead the district, students, and community for the next three years?
Once again, the outcome of this election will lie within the hands of voters and their exigence to vote on April 8.