By Ray Cardello for June 16, 2021. Season 2 / Post 1

On Monday night, 150 to 175 Exeter, New Hampshire area residents filled the cafeteria at Exeter High School. They were not there for a potluck buffet. Instead, they were there for answers and to expel some venom on the people they feel have failed their children. These people are mad, frustrated, and not spectators sitting on their hands any longer.

The first hour of the session was closed to comments from the public.
This closure was a good thing for the new curriculum that the Board was discussing would have only raised the temperature in the room. The Board would not divulge how much had and was going to be spent on the new program. The description used an acronym, DEIJ, repeatedly in the presentation. DEIJ stands for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. There was very little about grading, programs for gifted students, programs for challenged students, but it did talk about equity of outcome. I envisioned a sausage factory where all students were ground up, put into casings, and in four years, they all came off the production line as indoctrinated graduates. The presentation of this program was terrible timing. I do not think the Board anticipated so many people seeing into the sausage factory.

The crowd was getting restless, and the noise level was rising. The people wanted to be heard, and the Board was dragging its feet. A motion was made to move up the public input segment on the agenda but was voted down 28-2. The Board was, if nothing else, unified. At the 78 minute mark, the Board concluded its business. They turned their attention to the militia in the back of the room. Signs, a mic, and anger-filled parents; the people were ready to go to war.

There was a line of 25 to 30 parents in line to speak for most of the next 2 1/2 hours. They called for the resignations of the Superintendent, Principals, and the entire Board. They talked about their children, who the administration had harmed. The Board members remained tight-lipped and silent the whole time. I was impressed by their self-control but not by their arrogance. They were being addressed by the people who pay their bills. They were directing their questions and comments at specific individuals, and yet, still no response. Amazing.

The Board may have done their best to squelch debate, but the people did their best to get their grievances on the record. It was apparent that this was just the first squirmish. The people are ready for a long battle. The days of the School Board calling the shots and indoctrinating the children of SAU16 are over. The people are awakened, prepared to challenge and fight to stop this Board’s methods. The days of complacency are dead. The days of accountability are alive. Lawsuits are being filed, and this is going to cost somebody some serious money. Nobody wants to accept responsibility for the actions of a few, but somebody will need to step forward to sign the checks.

The status quo may be Woke, but the people of this country are finally awake. They are mad and not going to take it anymore. This meeting may have been the first packed with anger and energy, but it will not be the last. The war to take back this country will take grit and effort from all of us on the right, but if the first battle is any indication, we are ready to go the distance.