Daily Herald opinion: Boards need to hear diverse perspectives and from voices that are civil - and local

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

We've written this year to criticize outside pressures on our school board elections that can result in what Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 school board member Dave Long called "a lot of personal attacks, a lot of political vitriol." Such influences have come from conservative groups like the New York-based 1776 Project and Awake Illinois, as well as by the state Democratic Party and even Gov. J.B. Pritzker's campaign committee.

Now, national conservative groups, like Moms for Liberty, that have been working to influence local school decisions are being challenged by national liberal groups. One is named simply Stop Moms for Liberty, but there are others, like Red, Wine and Blue, and Defense of Democracy, which has an Illinois chapter. The Washington Post last month reported on how parents in these groups are realizing they must make their views known, too.

Governing boards need to hear from diverse voices among their constituents, especially to help them avoid merely bowing to the loudest or most persistent. But too often, boards are disrupted by emotional crowds arguing over specific points of an issue without a full understanding of how the schools and school leaders operate.

Liberal groups that have challenged book bans and curriculum restrictions have some public support behind them, the Post noted. A Fox News poll in March found 71% of registered voters "extremely" or "very" concerned about book restrictions imposed by local school boards. A March survey by USA Today/Ipsos found 72% of Americans in support of "teaching the ongoing effects of slavery and racism in the United States in public schools." In conservatives' favor, a Washington Post-KFF poll late last year found more than two-thirds of adults think it's inappropriate to discuss trans identity with students in elementary grades, though the poll found people divided about doing so in middle school and supporting it in high school.

Now liberal groups are stealing from conservative groups' playbook. Many are training parents to attend and speak at school board meetings, as conservative groups have. Red, Wine and Blue touts more than 11,000 completed "troublemaker trainings," the Post reported.

Such developments raise uncomfortable images of turning school board meetings into cultural battlegrounds, a prospect that bodes well for no stakeholders in the system - whether parent, trustee, administrator or, especially, student. We also are concerned about restrictions on books and on teaching about racism and LGBTQ+ awareness; such restrictions are harmful to students and society. The key is in managing the debates. Participation can be welcome and constructive if all parties recognize the responsibilities of board members to construct policies that reflect their entire community and respect the expertise of teachers, librarians and administrators who evaluate materials and build lesson plans.

Red, Wine and Blue's call for "troublemakers" to "defeat extremism" sounds combative, but its training goals seem more constructive, like providing "a little help having effective and persuasive conversations." That nuance is important.

"We do not exist to replace or supplant the work of local women and groups," reads a statement on Red, Wine and Blue's website. "We exist to make you stronger and more effective."

This is good advice for school activists of any political bent: Help people get involved, and even educate (accurately) on the issues, but in the end, it's important that campaigners steer clear of vitriol and stay local.