POLITICS
Outrage Factory
NORTHLAND PARENT ASSOCIATION’S CENSORSHIP APPROACH TO EDUCATION By Barb Shelly In the summer, angry parents began commandeering the public comment periods of school board meetings in the Northland. They loudly objected to mask orders, read passages from books in school libraries and called them pornographic, and accused schools of indoctrinating their kids. Some claimed an affiliation with a new group, the Northland Parent Association. As classes started up in the fall and districts tried to cope with COVID-19 surges, the group played a more prominent and disruptive role. According to its president, Jay Richmond, the NPA has about 500 members and many more allies. “We are normal parents who are tired of having our kids being told what to do when it has nothing to do with education,” Richmond says. At the very bottom of the NPA’s website, I spotted a video that revealed a lot about the NPA’s philosophy. The video features a NPA member, Daryn Ross, interviewing a Kearney High School senior named Ethan.
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Ethan jumped the fence at a Kearney-Smithville football game and ran around the field with his shirt tied behind his head. For that, he was suspended for 10 days, banned from extracurricular activities for a semester, and placed under review for his graduation walk. Ross opines that the discipline was “over the top.” He says, “It’s kind of like the way they’ve lost their minds on making kids wear masks.” If Ethan had run around the field with a mask on, Ross suggests, “I bet you the administration and the school board members… would give you extra credit, probably a college scholarship, and maybe even let you walk at the front of the line [at graduation]. What’s your thoughts on that?” Ethan shrugs. “Yeah, I mean…Yeah, maybe.” Ross, who has a background in marketing and public speaking, takes the opportunity to make a pitch for the NPA. Then he gets to the Big Reveal: Ross and a few other parents—not the association itself—have pooled funds to present Ethan with a $150 QuikTrip gift certificate. With a high-five, Ross says, “Thank you for being so crazy, so fun, and getting out of your comfort zone and doing something really wild.” The video ends with Ross declaring, “Ethan, you are my hero.” Ross’s decision to reward him for bad
behavior speaks volumes about parental defiance. The NPA is typical of groups springing up around the country. Conservative-minded parents band together over mask mandates and school closures and move on to book banning. Then come the protests of school policies that promote diversity & inclusion, and discussions of systemic racism in America’s history. Seizing upon parental anger as a potent political weapon, a right-wing apparatus of funders and conservative media outlets has quickly formed to provide money, talking points, and legal advice. Conservative PACs began meddling in school board races in Johnson County last fall. The NPA made its mark in the Kansas City region with two actions. In late August, it filed a federal lawsuit against a host of school boards, districts, and public officials in Kansas City and North Kansas City, challenging mask mandates. In October, Richmond spoke at a North Kansas City School District board meeting and demanded the removal of several books from school libraries—including *Fun Home* and *All Boys Aren’t Blue*, two queer coming-of-age books—claiming they contained pornographic content. On the surface, neither action turned out well. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit. The NKC school district initially pulled
Screengrabs from Northland town halls, NPA meetings, and from the NPA website. Design by Miroslav Pavlovic
two books but put them back on the shelves. A few weeks after Richmond’s presentation, a man who assisted Richmond by holding up posters of pages from *Fun Home* was charged with child molestation and domestic assault. But the lawsuit and the book banning uproar gave publicity to the NPA. Richmond says he hasn’t been politically active in the past. The pandemic, and restrictions imposed by the schools, changed that. Richmond has three sons. The youngest, an elementary student, struggled with the COVID protections. “He is a very social kid, and it changed his personality completely,” Richmond says. “He hated school. He didn’t want to have anything to do with it.” Richmond began speaking out at meetings of school boards and county health boards. When the NPA was formed, he was nominated to be its president. The pressure on school districts in the Northland, which leans conservative in its politics, is new. For years, the region has been a destination for families looking for public schools with solid academic performance and a full menu of sports and extracurriculars. Richmond says he used to
