Superintendent fired, CRT banned after Moms for Liberty candidates revamp South Carolina school district
Moms for Liberty-backed candidates took six of the board's seats
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Newly-elected school board members, endorsed by Moms for Liberty are shaking up a South Carolina school board and making immediate changes to the school district.
The Berkley County School Board voted to fire the district’s superintendent, Deon Jackson, shortly after removing David Barrow as the board chair and replacing him with local attorney Mac McQuillin. McQuillin had the backing of the parental rights group Moms for Liberty.
"I would like to make the motion to terminate the employment of Mr. Deon Jackson, the Superintendent of Berkeley County School District effective immediately. Do we have a second?" McQuillin said shortly after replacing Barrow.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Board member Yvonne Bradley, one of three to vote against the termination, called the swift move "unbelievable."
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An even mix of proponents and opponents to teaching Critical Race Theory are in attendance as the Placentia Yorba Linda School Board in Orange County, California, discusses a proposed resolution to ban it from being taught in schools. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
"It is unbelievable that on the first night of a new board that such things would come up," Bradley said. "Unbelievable. Unbelievable." Several attendees also walked out of the meeting following the vote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jackson was replaced by Anthony Dixon, who had worked in the district as an administrator. The board also voted to ban Critical Race Theory and create a committee to decide whether certain books and materials should be banned from schools.
"We understand that the public wants and deserves answers regarding Mr. Jackson’s and Ms. Richardson’s termination, but the prospect of litigation and the fact that their termination involve personnel issues limit our ability to comment fully at this time," McQuillin told ABC News 4 after the shake-up. "However, we expect to be able to share our rationale in the future, and we are confident that we made a decision that is in the best interest of the District and its students."
Moms for Liberty celebrated their candidates' first actions on Facebook Wednesday, writing, "Berkeley County - 6 new board members clean house first night on the job," along with a picture of Jackson.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Parents and community members attend a Loudoun County School Board meeting about critical race theory in Ashburn, Virginia, on June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital why they believe school boards have experienced such swift national change.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"New school board members have been elected in communities across the country because voters are tired of the status quo of failure in our public schools," the co-founders said. "Change is long overdue. We kicked off this year stating that 2022 is the Year of the Parent and people are starting to see what that looks like. We are seeing parents advocate for their children in schools with a tenacity like we’ve never seen before, and you should expect to see more examples of bold leadership as newly elected school board members take their seats on boards across the country. Parents have decided they are no longer going to sit in the shadows while school boards decide the future of their children for them.
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As conservative groups made parental rights advocacy an integral part of their vies for seats on school boards across the nation, the issue also created uproar with critics who claimed their policies promoted bigotry and censorship of classroom and library materials.