School board races get ignored — but this one can’t. Here’s the TNT’s endorsement | Opinion

Local school board races have become a battleground.

Whether it’s contending with the toxic backlash to expanded LGTBQ+ rights and the overdue inclusion of trans students or parsing calls to ban books and the fuzzy and misconstrued notion of “critical race theory,” there’s a lot of noise for voters — and local parents — to contend with.

This year’s general election will feature one contested Tacoma School Board race, for Position 5, pitting incumbent Elizabeth Bonbright against a relatively unknown challenger, Bri’anna Wolk.

For The News Tribune Editorial Board, the choice is straightforward.

Bonbright, who currently serves as school board president, deserves your vote.

Having already served on the school board since 2019, Bonbright quickly distinguished herself as a capable, trusted leader.

First appointed in 2019, Bonbright, 66, arrived just in time to help the Tacoma School District navigate the unprecedented waters of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tacoma voters bestowed their trust in her in 2021 when they chose to retain her over a much stronger opponent than she faces this time around, and there’s simply no reason they shouldn’t do the same this year.

Bonbright’s professional career has largely been spent in early childhood education, and it continues to be one of her strengths on the school board. She spent more than two decades as executive director of the nonprofit Child Care Aware Washington, a statewide childcare referral program. More recently, she’s worked as an education policy consultant.

During this year’s Editorial Board Endorsement meeting, Bonbright thoughtfully described her motivations for running for another term.

She also addressed increasing violence in our schools and the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 shutdown, referring to the issues as priorities.

“I will have served four years by the time (the current term expires), but the work isn’t done,” Bonbright said. “We’ve got a lot more issues right now, and one of the key issues is youth violence. … Ever since COVID, it’s gotten worse. Youth mental health is a huge priority of mine, probably number one — trying to make sure everyone gets the help they need to be able to succeed.”

Bonbright should get another term to continue this important work.

Wolk’s candidacy, on the other hand, raises a host of red flags — while also making the stakes of this year’s lone contested school board race crystal clear.

As The News Tribune’s Shea Johnson recently reported, Wolk was born a white man but now identifies as a “trans lesbian two-spirit indigenous woman of color” who uses she/her pronouns.

At a time when trans rights are under attack across the country, make no mistake: The News Tribune Editorial Board firmly believes that individual decisions related to gender identification — and the expression of gender — are worth protecting, and not for us to judge.

Still, Wolk’s motivation for running, her platform and her choice to identify as a “trans lesbian two-spirit woman of color” in a school board race waged in the current political environment are impossible to reconcile or ignore.

Here’s what we know for certain:

Speaking to The News Tribune, Wolk criticized “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) efforts undertaken by Tacoma Public Schools and suggested that they come at the exclusion of straight white men. Taking a page out of the current Far Right playbook, Wolk argued that parents must wrestle back control from a school board with a “strong ideological bent” that’s out of control. When asked about the choice to identify as a member of historicall marginalized groups, Wolk responded: ““Why wouldn’t I do that? ... If they say I can do it, I can do it.”

The choice is obvious. The candidates speak for themselves.

Tacoma kids and families need champions on the local school board.

Bonbright deserves your vote.

News Tribune election endorsements reflect the views of our Editorial Board and are written by opinion editor Matt Driscoll. Other board members are: Stephanie Pedersen, News Tribune president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Amanda Figueroa, community representative; Kent Hojem, community representative; and Pamela Transue, a community representative who serves during election season. In certain cases, Editorial Board members with conflicts of interest may abstain from participating in specific endorsement decisions. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom and does not influence the work of news reporting and editing staffs. We do not endorse any candidates who do not interview with us. We do not endorse in uncontested races. For questions, email matt.driscoll@thenewstribune.com.

This story was originally published October 18, 2023 at 9:56 AM.