NAZARETH, Pa. — Divisions over policies regarding transgender students and book bans are driving a contentious primary contest for school board in Nazareth.
Four positions are on the ballot this month across three regions covered by the Nazareth Area School District, as two Democrats and one Republican are leaving the board.
- Four seats total are up for election this year on the Nazareth Area School Board
- Two seats are open in Region I, one seat in Region II and one seat in Region III
- Culture war issues are hot topics in the races
Current Treasurer Kenneth Butz (D) and board director Joseph Vasko (R) are vacating their seats in Region I; director Adam McGlynn (D) is leaving his seat in Region II.
Nine candidates across three regions
In Region I, Republicans Elmo Frey Jr., Erin Ferguson and Melinda Gladstone are competing against Democrats Jeff Greener and Sariann Knerr for two open seats. Greener and Knerr, who are running as a slate, cross-filed for both the Democratic and Republican tickets.
In Region II, Republican Christopher Miller and Democrat Jason Swails, who have both cross-filed, are competing for one open seat.
Incumbent Board President Gregory Leh, a Republican who has cross-filed, is running for re-election against Republican challenger Thomas McElroy in Region III.
The Northampton County chapter of Moms for Liberty has endorsed Frey Jr., Gladstone and McElroy. Moms for Liberty is a conservative parental rights organization based in Florida.
The group has pushed the school board over many months to adopt policies that would restrict classroom materials and library books, bar transgender students from using bathroom facilities that align with their gender identity and ban transgender athletes from playing on teams that align with their gender identity.
Targeting library books
The most recent controversy arose when McElroy emailed the school district in late March with a list of more than 20 books he said were inappropriate for students. Of the list, many appear to have been targeted because they include discussions of sex, racism or gender. District officials said none of the books have been removed from the library.
Greener and Knerr said they oppose the attempts by Moms for Liberty members and others to create policies that target LGBTQ students and restrict school library books.
Greener said trying to remove books from libraries is extremist.
“I think our children have a right to be able to learn things and not be controlled by any one person, what everyone can learn,” Greener said. “I don't think that's the right way of looking at things.”
For me, I don't want to go in and raise Cain or anything.Region I candidate Elmo Frey Jr.
Republicans Ferguson, a children's book author, and McElroy, a technician for J.J. Sullivan Oil and Propane, both favor restricting the books but not removing them from the library. Their proposal is to require parental consent to check out certain books.
“We put it back in the parents’ control and other kids don't have access to it,” Ferguson said. “So we don't take them off of our shelves. We don't ban them. We just make it a consent type of policy.”
McElroy advocated putting certain books in a restricted area of the library at an April school board meeting.
"I don't believe in violating First Amendment rights or outright book banning, however, we get permission slips home all the time, whether it's going to be a movie in school or they're going to have a lunch from somewhere else or they're going to walk somewhere. Why cannot we not find books we find are inappropriate and put them in a blockbuster corner? Once a year a parent gets a permission slip, signs off on it and their kid can access those books."
Concerns about 'woke' curriculum
Frey Jr. is a retired district justice who said he has grandkids in the schools. He was motivated to run for the school board because he is against teaching “woke” and critical race theory in the K-12 schools, he said. CRT, as it’s called, is an academic framework that examines how institutions perpetuate racism. It’s usually taught in graduate programs. But it’s become a catch-all for some who believe any discussion of race, inclusiveness or equity, is divisive.
I think our children have a right to be able to learn things and not be controlled by any one person, what everyone can learn.Region I candidate Jeff Greener
Conversely, Frey Jr. also said he’s not sure so-called CRT is being taught in Nazareth. He said he thinks most people are happy about how things are going in the district.
“It seems like you don't hear too many people complaining about things,” Frey said. “I'm sure there's always things that can be made better. But one step at a time. For me, I don't want to go in and raise Cain or anything.”
LGBTQ policies
Miller, a city of Easton police detective, ran as a write-in candidate to the Nazareth school board in 2021 on a platform of pro-parent choice and conservative values. Swails is a senior software engineer who is running for the school board for the first time.
Swails said policies that target LGBTQ students are harmful to children and their families.
“I'm typically not sympathetic with a lot of these efforts that are cloaked in the guise of parents' rights aimed at essentially making life unnecessarily difficult for LGBTQ individuals,” he said.
Greener said he believes policies around LGTBQ students need to be created, but should be written so every student can express themselves and lead happy, healthy lives.
There's got to be some common ground where we can just have everybody agree on policies that treat these kids like every other kid.Region II candidate Christopher Miller
Miller said transgender students are a big issue and every school is going to have to address that at some point. When pressed, he said there should be a policy around transgender students using a bathroom that corresponds to their gender identity. But he would not say what kind of specific policy he would favor, except to say one that treats transgender students like other kids.
“There's got to be some common ground where we can just have everybody agree on policies that treat these kids like every other kid. They don't feel alienated, nor will any other kids in the school feel alienated on the opposite end of the spectrum," Miller said.
When fringe groups talk about them, they forget the main word, kids, they are talking about kids. And the word trans just seems to get in the way there and they feel like they can say all kinds of things about these students who are trying to find their way in the world.Region I candidate Sariann Knerr
Knerr, who is a teacher, said the classrooms should be free of bias and discrimination.
“When fringe groups talk about them, they forget the main word, kids, they are talking about kids. And the word trans just seems to get in the way there,” she said. “And they feel like they can say all kinds of things about these students who are trying to find their way in the world.”
"But we need to make sure that everyone knows we are talking about kids, we're talking about children.”
McElroy said he believes the biggest challenges currently facing the school district are the controversy over LGBTQ issues and budget shortfalls. He would not specify his view on what he called "LGTBQ issues," but the Moms for Liberty Northampton chapter, who endorsed him, has urged the district to pass policies drafted by an attorney with the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a nonprofit group that opposes protections for LGBTQ and trans people.
The district’s proposed 2023-24 fiscal year budget includes a 2% tax increase. McElroy said he couldn’t answer whether he would vote to raise taxes or not if he were to be elected.
Gladstone, who calls herself a staunch advocate of parental rights and vaccine choice, and Leh, who won by 7 votes in 2019, did not respond to interview requests.
The primary election is Tuesday, May 16.
