- Districts for Democracy
Divided Bernards Township school board rejects textbook
By W. Jacob Perry, April 25, 2023
An ideological war on the Board of Education reached new heights on Monday, April 24, when the board’s conservative majority rejected another “biased” sociology book that a teachers’ committee recommended for Ridge High School.
The 5-4 vote for denial triggered a sharp clash among board members as well as teachers and parents in the audience, several of whom charged that the move showed a lack of trust in teachers to select books and handle provocative material.
Similar splits have occurred in recent majority votes to defy state sex education mandates and cut administrative spending.
The vote was preceded by a curriculum committee report in which Salmon said an unnamed board member had criticized “The Real World” as “anti-white, anti-male and anti-America.”