School Board Election

Agrees with BBME's Parental Bill of Rights

BBME Interview:

BBME: When asked why he decided to run for the school board?

BAKER: I got involved due to a situation with SHARE. I had opted my daughter out of SHARE, so during the program she was sent to the library.   The librarian directed her to the back of the library next to a group of older students, possibly a club, talking about sex.  She was proximally exposed to the subject of conversation that  I had opted her out of by removing her from SHARE. I believe discussions such as these are for the parents to oversee.   I was angry at the principal for allowing this to happen and decided to get involved.  That’s when I started going to the school board meetings.  I would see that the school board doesn’t give a rip and they don’t listen to anybody.  So I stopped attending meetings until the whole CRT thing came up. With my family's blessing I decided to run for WCSD Board of Trustees. 

BBME: Do you feel that you will be a part of the leadership that will listen to parents and honor their right to be involved in their education?

BAKER: I am a people person. Being a pastor, I am a listener.  You can’t believe all the people all the time, but you need to listen to everybody and hear what they have to say.  One of the things that made me run is that the current board is not listening.  When you see 80-90% of parents wanting this and they go the other way, that’s not right.  It’s We, the People. The School Board is neither accessible nor transparent.

BBME: Should parents have full access to all curricula taught to their children?

BAKER: I believe parents have a right to full access. I don’t see how they can say that parents don’t have a right.  Until a child is 18, a parent is responsible for everything that child learns and everything that child believes.  Parents have a right to know what their children learn until their child is 18 years old. 

BBME: How do you feel about politics and divisive curricula in WCSD? 

BAKER: Classes like Current Events that would be the place to discuss politics.  But if you’re in a math class, you should only be learning math or history in history class.  I think kids are going to understand cultural events from being who they are. I don’t see a problem with a Current Events class but it has to be relevant and everyone is allowed to have an opinion. 

BBME:  How do you feel about accessibility to board meetings?  Do you believe they have been fair, accessible and transparent?

BAKER: I do not believe they are accessible nor transparent.  I would like to see this change.