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Our Priorities
Restoring our district’s reputation.
Members of the Central York School Board banned over 300 books by or about people of color during the 2021-22 school year. It was the largest book ban in the history of American public education and included biographies of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The ban was widely criticized by elected leaders and press outlets across the political spectrum. After the York Dispatch broke the story, national news organizations such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, and even Fox News ran stories condemning the ban as racially motivated and wrong.
After months of pressure from students, teachers, and the community, the board temporarily lifted the book ban. When new school board members who opposed the ban were elected, they made sure the ban could not be reinstated—but our work isn’t finished yet.
The board members who voted for the ban devastated our children and embarrassed our community. Now they and their supporters are defending the ban and mobilizing in an attempt to take over the board in 2023. We can’t allow it.
And just when it looked like our community was starting to heal from this racist, humiliating incident, district leaders have started banning books again—this time using an obscure board policy that allows a committee to meet in secret and ban books without public disclosure.
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are the only candidates for Central York School Board who have publicly opposed these book bans, and they are the only candidates who have pledged to oppose future bans that would embarrass our district.
Ending partisan distractions that politicize our schools.
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia understand Central York School Board isn’t about Democrats or Republicans—it’s about Panthers. They’re running together as a bipartisan slate of candidates because school board is a nonpartisan office.
Just like our community, this slate includes candidates from both major parties. School boards aren’t supposed to be partisan institutions, so when Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia say they’re going to stand up to politically motivated decision making—they actually mean it. You won’t catch them plastering their political parties all over their yard signs or campaign literature.
Unfortunately, school boards across the country have become highly politicized. We can’t allow our children to become pawns in a political game where grandstanding and unhinged talking points are more important than providing students with the world-class education they deserve. And we can’t allow our district to be victimized by those with cynical political aspirations who view our school board as nothing but a stepping stone to higher office.
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are standing up FOR our kids and standing up AGAINST hyper-partisan nonsense. They are the only bipartisan slate of candidates in this race. They’re working together despite belonging to different political parties because as members of our school board they won’t work for either political party. They’ll work for you.
Improving transparency through community engagement
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are active and involved members of our school community. As board members, they will be accessible for our questions and responsive to our needs. Sometimes it seems like the public comments at school board meetings fall into a black hole, but Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia will take engagement with the public seriously. They also believe in utilizing parent and community survey data to make informed decisions and ensure they are communicating with the public effectively.
Finally, Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are committed to ending the district’s recent practice of banning books by secret committee and then making false statements to the community in an attempt to cover it up. We deserve better. We deserve school board members who will respect the people they were elected to serve. Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia understand school board members are elected to lead our school community, not mislead our school community.
Members of the Central York School Board banned over 300 books by or about people of color during the 2021-22 school year. It was the largest book ban in the history of American public education and included biographies of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The ban was widely criticized by elected leaders and press outlets across the political spectrum. After the York Dispatch broke the story, national news organizations such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, and even Fox News ran stories condemning the ban as racially motivated and wrong.
After months of pressure from students, teachers, and the community, the board temporarily lifted the book ban. When new school board members who opposed the ban were elected, they made sure the ban could not be reinstated—but our work isn’t finished yet.
The board members who voted for the ban devastated our children and embarrassed our community. Now they and their supporters are defending the ban and mobilizing in an attempt to take over the board in 2023. We can’t allow it.
And just when it looked like our community was starting to heal from this racist, humiliating incident, district leaders have started banning books again—this time using an obscure board policy that allows a committee to meet in secret and ban books without public disclosure.
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are the only candidates for Central York School Board who have publicly opposed these book bans, and they are the only candidates who have pledged to oppose future bans that would embarrass our district.
Ending partisan distractions that politicize our schools.
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia understand Central York School Board isn’t about Democrats or Republicans—it’s about Panthers. They’re running together as a bipartisan slate of candidates because school board is a nonpartisan office.
Just like our community, this slate includes candidates from both major parties. School boards aren’t supposed to be partisan institutions, so when Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia say they’re going to stand up to politically motivated decision making—they actually mean it. You won’t catch them plastering their political parties all over their yard signs or campaign literature.
Unfortunately, school boards across the country have become highly politicized. We can’t allow our children to become pawns in a political game where grandstanding and unhinged talking points are more important than providing students with the world-class education they deserve. And we can’t allow our district to be victimized by those with cynical political aspirations who view our school board as nothing but a stepping stone to higher office.
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are standing up FOR our kids and standing up AGAINST hyper-partisan nonsense. They are the only bipartisan slate of candidates in this race. They’re working together despite belonging to different political parties because as members of our school board they won’t work for either political party. They’ll work for you.
Improving transparency through community engagement
Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are active and involved members of our school community. As board members, they will be accessible for our questions and responsive to our needs. Sometimes it seems like the public comments at school board meetings fall into a black hole, but Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia will take engagement with the public seriously. They also believe in utilizing parent and community survey data to make informed decisions and ensure they are communicating with the public effectively.
Finally, Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia are committed to ending the district’s recent practice of banning books by secret committee and then making false statements to the community in an attempt to cover it up. We deserve better. We deserve school board members who will respect the people they were elected to serve. Mike, Eric, Ben, and Amelia understand school board members are elected to lead our school community, not mislead our school community.
