Critical election: West Ada School Board
Voting has begun for the Nov. 4 local elections, and one of the most critical this year is the West Ada School District, the largest school district in the state. Two candidates – what we are calling the Everyone is Welcome Here Slate – are challenging current board members who forced teachers to take down the now-famous Everyone is Welcome Here signs in classrooms in Meridian and Eagle.
Dara Ezzell-Pebworth in Zone 1 and Meghan Brown in Zone 3 represent change for West Ada's school board. The current board supported state censorship of classroom signs, voting in July on a district policy agreeing with Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s opinion that the “Everyone is Welcome Here” sign pictured above violates state law.
Listen to Citycast on this race and see more social posts below.
Incumbents Lori Ann Frasure and Angela Redford both voted to censor the welcoming sign, a major reason that Ezzell-Pebworth and Brown decided to challenge them for the school board. Frasure and Redford also voted to censor books, opposed masking in schools, voted to end COVID exposure notifications to parents, frequently refuse media interviews, did not show up at a candidate forum for the race this month, and have supported Idaho’s school voucher program (Redford clip, Frasure clip, via The Ranch), which siphons public funds to private and religious schools.
Idaho Ed News has a good timeline and overview of the Everyone is Welcome Here scandal.
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Ezell-Pebworth in Zone 1, is a West Ada graduate and social worker, who advocates for inclusion. Ezzell-Pebworth said the district’s response to the “Everyone Is Welcome Here” poster made her want to run. She doesn’t think that should be a political issue.
“As a social worker, we value ourselves on advocating and visible inclusion is critical,” Ezzell-Pebworth said. “We cannot just assume that everyone feels welcome at the table just because everyone can come to that table.” - Idaho Ed News
Brown, in Zone 3, is a teacher, who has subbed in the West Ada District and won endorsement from the West Ada Education Association. In addition to supporting “Everyone is Welcome Here,” she supports free school lunches, higher pay for teachers, and better policies to prevent hateful speech and harassment in schools.
“My children will be in school full time next year, and I have the means to run a campaign,” Brown said. “I have a lot of value to bring with my Idaho teaching certificate. I think a school board should have an educator on it.” - Idaho Ed News
More information
- General voter information
- Check registration and find your polling place
- Register at the polls with photo ID and proof of residence.
- Follow Social Lindsay (TikTok, Insta)
- Idaho Statesman West Ada election story
- Searchable Map of West Ada District and schools
