Mike Valdes vs. Erin Knight in school board debate
News April 21, 2022
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The District 5 seat on the Forsyth County Board of education opened up when Kristen Morrissey chose not to run for reelection. Mike Valdes, a construction manager, and Erin Knight, an independent reading specialist, qualified last month to run for the position. They participated in the Republican Party debate Wednesday evening in the County Administration Building.
Valdes, the father of three Forsyth School System students, has often volunteered to serve on school advisory boards and school councils. In the last year, he has done extensive research on the school system and learned “Primarily that the good outweighs the bad by a huge margin.”
He said he has a business acumen that is very relevant to what the School Board does. He has managed multi million dollar construction projects and employed large teams of multi-disciplined professionals. “So I am accustomed to diversity,” he said.
The three major issues facing the school system in the future, he said, are the county’s population growth, the loss of experienced teachers and the implementation of systems that are steeped in political problems. “That is just a fact. It is not open to debate,” he said.
Knight said she is a 25-year educator who has worked as an independent reading specialist the last 10 years.
“The thing I am most proud of is raising my three children and becoming involved in their education in Forsyth County,” she said. She has been involved in many school councils and steering committees.
If she is elected, she said she can be counted on to fact check and be a responsible communicator. “I will always go to the source to find the truth. I’m running because I have a heart for service and I look forward to ensuring the best possible education for our students.”
Knight agreed that attracting and retaining qualified teachers is a big issue. “The number of college students going into the field is declining each year,” she said.
“Something else that is important to me is the reading program. Dyslexic students are not screened in our schools and there is a big population of dyslexic students. It is not recognized as a disability.”
The candidates agreed on several other issues, including whether or not parents should be allowed to opt in on surveys and certain programs rather than being required to opt out.
But they parted ways when it came to the issue of divisive concepts making their way into the school system, Valdes said there is no doubt they have. While the School Board has long maintained critical race theory is not part of the curriculum. Valdes argued that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI),which the Board adopted as part of its strategic plan years ago, is a major concept of CRT.
Valdes said research shows that DEI is imbedded in teacher training, classes, supplemental sources and the school libraries. “Case in point, the school system suspended DEI because they agree with us. But it’s still in our books and libraries,” he said.
Knight, who has stated on her website that CRT is not part of the Forsyth County curriculum, said, “On the other hand, I do believe that DEI and SEL (Social Emotional Learning) do have their place in our schools. We shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”
SPLOST referendum, Cumming Mayoral race at stake today
News November 2, 2021
Dr. Jeff Bearden
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – It’s Election Day. Today citizens of the City of Cumming will choose their next mayor. But most eyes in the county will be on the $300 million education special purpose local option sales tax (ESPLOST) vote where angry citizens opposed to what they believe to be divisive social initiatives being taught in the county’s schools have threatened to defeat the tax.
In the mayor’s race, incumbent first-term Mayor Troy Brumbalow faces a challenge from attorney William Allen Stone III.
The current five-year SPLOST will expire in March 2022 and School Board members have threatened to raise property taxes if it is rejected.
At the heart of the conflict is Critical Race Theory (CRT) a concept that opponents say pits black children against whites and paints whites as the oppressor and blacks as the oppressed, Hundreds of citizens opposed to the ideology have packed the Forsyth County School Board meeting room for months speaking out in opposition. They have committed to defeating the SPLOST.
School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden says CRT is not being taught in county schools. But opponents claim that closely-related ideologies like Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) are and they want them banned. School Board members voted to suspend DEI training last summer. But opponents say Dana Peguero, who was hired as a DEI specialist with a six-figure income is still on staff and they believe if the SPLOST measure passes, DEI training will continue.
Polls open at 7 a.m. today and will remain open until 7 p.m.
State Rep blasts school board’s DIE plan, says opponents should stand up
News July 27, 2021
State Rep. Sheri Gilligan
CUMMING, Ga. – District 24 State Representative Sheri Gilligan spoke out against the Forsyth County strategic plan Monday saying, “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is more about division, exclusion and intimidation. If you disagree with them, you get intimidated. I believe it is harming our children.”
During Monday’s Forsyth County Tea Party meeting, Gilligan encouraged DEI and Critical Race Theory opponents to continue to speak out publicly, especially at Forsyth County School Board meetings.
“When you go to speak, it may look like they aren’t listening to you,” she said. “But understand your audience is the people who are watching you. Not just the ones that are in that room. You may not get the head nod in that room but you are making a difference.”
Loudon County Virginia has been featured on many national news outets for weeks for their fight with the local school board over CRT. The county is on the frontline of the war on CRT which has led states like Florida, Arkansas, Idaho and Oklahoma to ban the ideology. More than a dozen other states, including Georgia, are debating a ban.
“How do we know about Loudon County,” Gilligan asked a Tea Party audience Monday. “Because they did not fail to show up. They showed up. They spoke out. We all know about Loudon County. You need to be the next Loudon County.”
Gilligan said many state legislators are considering some type of ban when the General Assembly reconvenes later this year.
“We won’t use the words CRT because what happens is words get changed. I do believe there will be a lot of support for something like that. It’s about treating people equally and not creating a division.”
Robbins talk on Critical Race Theory fires up Monday Tea Party meeting
News July 27, 2021
Jane Robbins
CUMMING, Ga. – A large crowd filled the VFW Hall last night (July 26) to hear Jane Robbins talk about Critical Race Theory (CRT), which has become a very hot topic nationally and in Forsyth County in particular these last few months where school officials claim that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) not CRT is not being taught in schools.
Robbins, an attorney and senior fellow with the American Principles Project in Washington, D.C., is a graduate of Clemson University and Harvard Law School who has crafted legislation designed to restore the Constitutional autonomy of states and parents in education and protect religious freedom in America.
Her 60-minute talk which centered on the dangers of CRT was so electric that it actually knocked out the power in the building momentarily. Or perhaps it was the brief thunderstorm rumbling through Cumming. At any rate, the topic was a timely one since the Forsyth County School System has come under fire from those who believe the schools Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic plan is really Critical Race Theory in disguise.
In addition to a slide presentation, Robbins provided a handout entitled “Vocabulary for Understanding the 21st century Woke Schools” which describes CRT as racial scapegoating that includes concepts like: black and brown races are inherently superior to the white race; every white individual is inherently racist and oppressive; a white individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his race and that white people should not attempt to treat others the same without respect to race.
Robbins’ said the woke vocabulary defines anti-racist as someone who constantly agitates for race-based social justice. Anti-racist, she points out, is to be distinguished from non-racist because merely not being racist is considered inadequate.
She also compared the terms “equity” and “equality” by explaining that in today’s woke lexicon, equality means treating students the same is racist because students who are considered historically oppressed should be treated better than other students.
Other tenets of CRT, she said, include: the belief that work ethic is a racist concept; linear thinking is a racist concept; family cohesion is a racist concept; politeness is racist concept. “When you are telling kids to be polite in school that is a white supremacist concept,” she said. “Jogging is racist. Table manners are racist.”
She also criticized the 1619 project, a work produced by the New York Times which won the Pulitzer Prize. The discredited project claimed the war with Great Britain was fought due to the colonists’ fear that Great Britain would force an end to slavery.
Robbins was frequently interrupted by loud applause and questions from Tea Party members who are concerned about CRT and DEI infecting Forsyth County schools.
Dawson County Republican Party presents discussion on Critical Race Theory
News June 23, 2021
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — Parents who are concerned about the danger of the Marxist-inspired Critical Race Theory (CRT) being pushed on public school students all across America are being invited to attend a discussion presented by the Dawson County Republican Party Monday, June 28 at 6:15 p.m. at 30 Main Street in Dawsonville.
The non-profit organization Truth in Education will present valuable information on how to recognize CRT and its aliases Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL).
Here in Georgia, parents in Forsyth, Cherokee and Gwinnett counties are taking a strong stand against the indoctrination of their children by this radical leftist ideology. In Forsyth County, hundreds of parents have loudly voiced their disapproval of DEI to the Forsyth County Board of Education.
Presenters are also expected to share their ideas on how parents and others can effectively prevent school systems from implementing CRT.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Forsyth, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Demand intensifies for School Board to end DEI
News June 16, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Opponents of the Forsyth County School Board’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) plan ramped up the pressure on Board members to end what they believe is a new form of segregation during Tuesday’s Board meeting.
The room was filled to capacity with stakeholders. About 90 percent opposed DEI. A small but noisy group of students were on hand to express their support for DEI.
While the speakers were mostly respectful, one student accused opponents of “ignorance” and “racism.”
Turner Davis, a rising junior at Denmark High said, “In recent weeks and months, our county has faced a group of concerned parents who have fallen victim to conspiracy, untrue information and their own ignorance. “It may seem there are a lot of people here who are opposed to DEI when they are only a loud minority who are trying to hide their racism and explicit biases by acting as concerned parents.”
Davis also lashed out at the School Board for suspending all DEI training until further review. “I’m astonished at the lengths this Board will go to accommodate the outlandish, irrational paranoia these parents exhibit.”
But those who spoke in opposition to DEI were a remarkably well-educated and diverse group. At least two had obtained a PhD and another a Master’s Degree. There were engineers, architects and teachers and one former law enforcement officer who spoke in opposition. The group also included multiple minorities like one Black parent, a Cuban-American father, and two women who fled Communist China.
Jonathan Beckford, an African-American husband and father of four, who immigrated to the U.S. when he was 17 said he struggled financially at first, but completed a double major at the University of Arkansas and has since risen up the corporate ladder and made a comfortable living for his family.
Beckford said he stands firmly against DEI, which he believes is Critical Race Theory (CRT) in disguise.
“One reason is it defines the world as one where humans are powerless as individuals to gain meaning and power due to identity groups. The claim is the world is a collection of man-made power structures that oppress some identities and create advantages for other identities. That is a horrible view of the world, one that I don’t teach my kids and one I would not expect my hard-earned tax dollars to support.”
Following the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Chairwoman Kristin Morrissey said, “We stand behind our plan. We will revise it if needed but we stand behind the need to have a plan to make sure our students are accepted.”
After a brief recess, the Board unanimously approved the $508.8 million FY 2022 General Fund budget that includes $520 million in expenditures with $11.3 million to come from the reserve fund.
Expect another full house when BOE meets Tuesday
News June 14, 2021Dr. Jeff Bearden
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – The Forsyth County Board of Education will hold two called meetings prior to the regular monthly meeting on Tuesday June 15. At 5 p.m., the Board will meet to discuss ratification of a property sale, followed at 5:30 p.m. by a public hearing on the FY 2022 budget.
Several key items appear on the regular meeting agenda at 6p.m., including approval of the FY 2022 budget and the proposed SPLOST 6 project list.
But, it is the Public Participation portion of that meeting that is expected to draw another standing-room-only crowd when angry opponents of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategic plan to demand it be removed from Forsyth County Schools.
Opponents say that DEI is merely a Trojan horse that hides Critical Race Theory (CRT), an ideology that judges people by the color of their skin and not the content of their character and segregates them into two groups – white people are the oppressors and blacks are the oppressed.
Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden says CRT is not being taught in Forsyth County Schools.
Forsyth County parents demand School System remove Critical Race Theory from schools
News May 23, 2021
FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. – Last week, Governor Kemp sent a letter to the state Board of Education urging “immediate steps to ensure that Critical Race Theory and its dangerous ideology do not take root in our state standards and curriculum.” He called CRT “divisive and un-American.”
At about the same time, angry parents of Forsyth County students and others complained during a Board of Education meeting that CRT — which has its roots in Marxism — has already infected the local school system disguised as a strategic plan euphemistically labeled Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). And they demanded it be removed.
The meeting room was filled to capacity (approximately 200 people) and many more watched the proceedings on a lobby monitor as one-by-one, opponents blasted the concept they say pits Americans against one another and judges people by the color of their skin and not the content of their character.
Eddie Solly was the first to approach the rostrum and he torched a suggested reading list a school director tweeted to Forsyth County teachers last year that included such toxic titles as Me and White Supremacy, Dying of Whiteness, White Fragility and Lies My Teacher Told Me.”
Solly said, “These books can also be found as recommended reading on the pages of CRT, The 1619 Project and Marxist advocates. But this list is taken directly from the Forsyth County School Director of Communication and Community Engagement Twitter page. That same director called my cell phone from her office yesterday to confront me for following her Twitter page. She didn’t like the fact she thought I was using information from her page.”
Kendall Cameron said, “CRT has not formally been made part of the curriculum, however, resources are being provided to teachers to integrate it into lessons. Let’s be clear, if you are advocating or allowing the teaching of CRT, a concept grounded in ideology and not real scholarship, you are by the definition of the academy for over a century, promoting racism. If you have materials you are providing where it says if you are born a White male, you are an oppressor, then you are abusing our children.”
But the most moving comments came from Theresa Shen, a first-generation immigrant from China and the mother of a rising ninth grader in the Forsyth County School System who said, “I’ve traveled around the world and lived in several countries. America is the best country in the world. It is very sad for me to see the current Black Lives Matter and Antifa. These are mere words, but under a hidden agenda. So is CRT. It is rooted in communism. The same playbook is being played in communist societies. Divide and conquer. Make the population hate each other so they can control. DEI is in disguise of CRT.”
Another speaker told Board members, “This problem will not go away until it is condemned and removed.”
School officials stubbornly and arrogantly say their DEI plan is not the same as CRT and they will not change it. So much for listening to those who elected you. Very few opponents were buying it. They say if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.
Forsyth County GOP President Hunter Hill called DEI “a Marxist Trojan Horse disguised with sunshine, rainbow and a bow on top. This is Marxism 101 and it’s anti-American.”
CRT has enjoyed some early acceptance in some states but many others are beginning to push back vigorously. State legislatures in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona and South Dakota are debating banning the practice.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Forsyth, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com