Two years of hard work by concerned parents in Wayne Township has produced a new Board of Education.

In 2020, COVID-19 created a pandemic that ultimately would take the lives of millions around the world. Businesses, government offices and schools were closed down in an effort to reduce the spread of the disease. As students began taking classes online, parents across the country gained a firsthand glimpse of what their children were being taught.

Parents in Wayne Township, New Jersey, grew especially concerned with what they saw. One parent, who grew up in the communist Czech Republic, witnessed a social studies teacher telling her elementary school students that the American Constitution was authored by "white supremacists."

That summer, others followed news stories of shootings, arson and riots by radical leftist groups such as Antifa in American cities. Other parents were concerned about the appearance of books in Wayne school libraries containing graphic cartoons of oral sex acts.

Those more closely following the BOE became concerned with the Administration's hiring of a "Trainer" that inspired the BOE to change the district's Mission Statement in a way that eliminated the existing "core values" of "respect, individuality, responsibility, citizenship, and teamwork."

By mid-2021, parents also became concerned about the entry of "critical race theory" and the encouragement of political activism that they found in the middle school summer reading program.

The parents and their supporters decided to do something about it.

In July 2021, three parents filed petitions to run for the Wayne Board of Education in the November election under the slogan "Education First." All three, Harry Prassakos, Evie Wentink and Michael Fattal were elected. Two of the three remain deeply committed to the pro-parent agenda on which they ran.  In 2022, two more parents, Barbara Rigoglioso and Ryan Battershill, both running under the slogan "Children First!," were elected.

In the summer of 2021, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the union representing teachers, committed itself to the concept that "teaching should be political." Should teaching be political? The NJEA thinks so.  The NJEA opposed the Wayne parent candidates in both 2021 and 2022 and campaigned for "progressive," pro-union candidates. The NJEA spent a record combined total of about $120,000 on the Wayne races. By comparison, the parent candidates each spent only a few thousand dollars and won comfortably.

Last week, pro-parent board members Prassokas, Wentink, Rigoglioso and Battershill joined with veteran board member Donald Pavlak to bring new leadership to the board. Mr. Pavlak is a well-known and popular former Wayne police sergeant who has been active in planning for an expected increase in students.

The partnership of Pavlak and the four pro-parent members acted as a working majority on the nine-member board. Mr. Pavlak was elected board president and Mr. Prassakos was elected vice-president. Mr. Fattal, formerly associated with the pro-parent forces, nominated board member Sean Duffy to oppose Mr. Prassakos for vice-president. Mr. Duffy received three votes.

As candidates, the four pro-parent board members ran on three principal positions: (1) transparency in governance, (2) age-appropriateness of curricula and books, and (3) greater parent/citizen involvement in curricula and other matters. If newly elected President Pavlak remains a kindred spirit to the pro-parent members, the prospect is bright for addressing the concerns of Wayne's parents and residents.