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SCHOOL BOARD RACE TAKES RANCOROUS, PARTISAN TURN
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Early voting: April 19-27 Election Day: May 1
By Rachel Snyder
People Newspapers
School board elections are typically nonpartisan affairs, but the Highland Park ISD Place 1 race has taken on decidedly partisan rhetoric and rancor.
Some Park Cities residents received flyers describing Doug Woodward as a “New Jersey Liberal,” who “had BLM sign in his yard,” “says #1 Quality For Teachers is Diversity, Not Teaching Qualifications,” and “recently worked as P&G’s ‘Diversity Officer,’ whose materials stated that all white people are racist, just for being white.”
Woodward responded on his campaign’s website and Facebook page.
“I did, indeed, have a sign in my yard briefly last summer which expressed compassion at a difficult time for all of us,” he said. “If you are asking whether my response indicates a support of any political platform you may associate it with, the answer is categorically no, and any suggestion otherwise is misinformed and irresponsible.”
Woodward called the suggestion he would support race over quality in the hiring of a teacher “absurd.”
Though the flyer supported candidate Kelli Macatee, she said it was produced by a
Place 1 trustee candidates Kelli Macatee and Doug Woodward took questions on the Bubble
Lounge podcast recently. (SCREENGRABS: RACHEL SNYDER)
political action committee, not her campaign.
“We live in a very divided time, sadly, and there are often times outside groups get involved in elections,” Macatee said.
Sources who saw the flyer said it appeared to be from Metroplex Citizens for a Better Tomorrow. According to the Texas Ethics Commission website, the PAC was formed on March 29, and its treasurer is Monty J. Bennett, CEO of Ashford Inc., a hospitality services firm.
Bennett, who has launched the nonprofit Dallas Express website, didn’t confirm or deny involvement in the flyer.
“Everyone knows that there’s really no point in responding because the left-wing media’s bully culture is to twist whatever anyone says into making a conservative look bad and a lefty look good,” he said. “Everyone also knows that Kelli is the conservative and Doug’s the lefty.”
In their bids to replace board president Jim Hitzelberger, who isn’t seeking re-election, Macatee had raised $42,030 to Woodward’s $15,005.55, according to campaign finance reports.
Macatee returned a $10,000 contribution inappropriately made by the Rowling Foundation, a nonprofit. The Rowling Foundation, according to its website, seeks to “be a resource for financial assistance, consultative ministry, and prayer support to those organizations committed to the cause of Christ.”
“A new check from the Rowling personal account was written & deposited,” according to an amended campaign report.
Woodward has been endorsed by more than 21 past PTA presidents as of March 26, according to his campaign. But one endorsement shared on social media raised eyebrows.
“The community leaders that signed the original letter felt that it was clear that the endorsement was made by individuals who had served the school rather than any statement from the organization,” Woodward said.
To make it clearer, University Park Elementary PTA president Julie Melihercik said, an unofficial school letterhead and her name were removed from a letter signed by nine past PTA presidents within a day of their being aware of the post.
Diversity, Inclusion Key Issues in HPISD, Election Students urge action; PCPU opposes ‘critical race theory’
By Rachel Snyder
People Newspapers
Months after students urged Highland Park ISD to implement diversity education, discipline users of racial slurs, and promote inclusion, those issues remain a source of contention within the district.
Recent board meetings have drawn students and parents to speak on those topics, and concerns over what changes could bring have been a flashpoint in the Place 1 trustee race.
Sophia Chung, one of the students seeking change through an “Open Letter to Highland Park” video this summer, urged the school board in April to form an inclusion committee and address racist behaviors such as taunting in the middle school.
“These behaviors are taught, and they can also be unlearned,” she said. “Students learn from what they see, which is why representation is so critical to a learning environment.”
But many are worried about what is and will be taught.
Leo Whelan, whose grandchildren attend schools in the district, attended a recent board meeting where he spoke against “critical race theory.”
“It’s divisive, un-American, and has no business in Highland Park school district,” he said.
On CNN, Kimberlé Crenshaw, a founding critical race theorist and a law professor at UCLA and Columbia universities, defined critical race theory as a practice.
“It’s an approach to grappling with a history of White supremacy that rejects the belief that what’s in the past is in the past, and that the laws and systems that grow from that past are detached from it,” Crenshaw said.
Whelan and others see the issue as a key one for the May 1 election.
“I’m going to do everything I can with my neighbors to make sure that we have a candidate who is elected that supports traditional American educational values,” he said.
Park Cities Parents Unite
Students addressed the Highland Park ISD trustees during an April work session to raise concerns and discuss
how to make the district more inclusive. (PHOTO: RACHEL SNYDER)
(PCPU), which advocates for lifting COVID-19 protocols in the district, has shared social media videos leading up to the election.
One refers to HPISD Place 1 trustee candidate Doug Woodward as “Diversity Doug” and includes a clip of him saying he believes there should be a lead diversity officer for the district.
Woodward told People Newspapers he also favors the creation of an inclusion committee.
“Although progress has been made and current programs have been effective in at least raising awareness, students and parents still report problems that we must have the courage to address,” Woodward said.
In a video shared on his campaign Facebook page, he said he didn’t know what critical race theory was when he filed to run and, after looking into it, doesn’t support it in schools.
Woodward’s opponent Kelli Macatee said she’s not part of PCPU but knows parents who are.
She said the district should focus on what unites rather than divides and not allow race to be weaponized.
“The vast majority of people I come across in Highland Park are not racist,” she said. “They have hearts of gold and champion various heritages, races, causes, and cultures and speak openly about championing others.”
parkcitiespeople.com | May 2021 33 HPISD Mourns Beloved ‘Mama Drama,’ Leader of Fine Arts Linda Raya built her legacy over four decades of service to the district
Longtime HPISD educator Linda Raya was so beloved HPHS parents Dina Jones Steele and La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas president at the time Rebecca Beasley, their steering committee,
and a group of volunteers worked for nearly two years on a tribute to Raya back in 2013. (PHOTOS: COURTESY HPISD)
By Rachel Snyder
People Newspapers
Longtime Highland Park ISD educator Linda Raya, known affectionately as “mama drama” and the “fearless” leader of HPISD fine arts, left behind a storied legacy in the district that spans more than 40 years.
Linda Raya died April 4 after battling cancer, her family shared. During her tenure with HPISD, she served as a theater teacher and district coordinator of fine arts. Before joining HPISD, she taught at the Northeast District in San Antonio and Long Beach ISD in Long Beach, New York.
“She was energetic, big-hearted, and fun-loving in the classroom with students the same as she was in a fine arts meeting with teachers or in a HP arts meeting with parents,” said Susan Cruz, a fine arts executive assistant in the district. “She genuinely cared about people and wanted everyone to be successful; whether it was helping students learn and not be afraid to express “I loved watching her during perforthemselves creatively, or encouraging edu- mances of our musical. Linda would alcators to stretch their imaginations to teach ways be beautifully dressed and greeting and reach students in many different ways, or the audience before and after the show in the generously donating foyer of the lobby,” her time to help parents creatively raise funds For 50 minutes each Walker said. HPHS parents for classroom items, day, her classroom Dina Jones Steele, a scholarships, etc. She was beloved because became a Broadway 1982 HP grad, Rebecca Beasley, their her generosity and stage, a Hollywood steering committee, caring were real and actively displayed on a Studio, or an old- and a group of volunteers worked for daily basis, no matter world playhouse on nearly two years on who you were.” Natalie Walker, the West End. I owe a tribute to Raya back in 2013. Highland Park High so much in my life They also initiSchool’s fine arts chair and director of and career to her. ated the creation of the Linda Raya Fine K-12 choral music, Doug Wright Arts Endowment said Raya introduced around that time. her to “every alum that came through the HP Arts awards the HP Arts Linda space.” Raya Scholarship to graduating Highland Park High School seniors who studied the same fine art for four years and will continue that study in college.
Also, at that 2013 tribute, it was announced the Palmer Auditorium stage at Highland Park High School would be named the Linda Raya Stage.
The master of ceremonies for the evening was Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and HPHS alumnus Doug Wright.
“Most people remember Linda for her profound humanity and heartfelt dedication to teaching. But she was a genuine theater artist as well, with formidable talent,” Wright said. “She introduced me to some of the world’s greatest playwrights, from George Bernard Shaw to Anton Chekhov to James Barrie. For 50 minutes each day, her classroom became a Broadway stage, a Hollywood Studio, or an old-world playhouse on the West End. I owe so much in my life and career to her.”
Maybe this spring’s graduation speaker wouldn’t mind if audience members look at their phones and “swipe right” instead of listening closely to her commencement address on May 15.
Then again, they might better pay attention to what the 31-year-old entrepreneur and SMU alumna learned during her quick rise to success.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble Inc., became the youngest woman to take a company public when she celebrated the initial offering of her dating app shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market in February.
“Our graduates will feel a sense of kinship with her as it has been only 10 years since she walked across the stage in cap and gown,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner.
The outdoor ceremony, scheduled for 8 a.m. in Ford Stadium, will be streamed live at smu.edu/live.
Wolfe Herd founded two companies while pursuing her international studies degree. After graduation, she volunteered overseas and worked briefly for a customer rewards app company before co-founding Tinder in 2012.
She was determined to reinvent the internet for women. On the Bumble app, women must send the first message to men they are interested in within the first 24 hours of matching. As she told SMU Magazine in 2018, “When you think about it, women are making the first move, which is empowering.” of 2001) to the Edwin L. Cox School of Business will empower future entrepreneurs by creating new technology-equipped collaborative spaces.
Their commitment will establish Bryan S. Sheffield Hall, part of the future Cox School renovation and expansion project.
“The Cox School, and its BBA program, in particular, taught me to anticipate future business landscapes,” said Bryan Sheffield, founder and managing partner of Formentera Partners. “This facility will give our next-generation CEOs experience in a data-driven, collaborative environment – and the skills to build trust with customers.”
Sheffield Hall will serve as the new hub for Cox School’s Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program, including BBA admissions, academic advising, and student records. It will house classroom space on the lower level and faculty offices on the second floor.
TOP: Whitney Wolfe Herd founded two companies before graduating from SMU: One marketed fair trade clothing; another raised funds for wildlife
affected by the BP oil spill. (PHOTOS: COURTESY SMU) BOTTOM: Located on the
southwest corner of the renovated business school quad, Sheffield Hall will feature Collegiate Georgian-style construction with up-to-date classrooms
designed for collaboration and data-focused problem-solving. (COURTESY PHOTO)
