“Remember, parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities. That knowledge must be earned,” states a slide in the presentation. “Teachers are often straddling this complex situation. In (the Eau Claire Area School District), our priority is supporting the student.”
The presentation included further context, Nordin said, about how teachers should talk with students if a student comes out to them, including asking them if they’ve told their parents and possibly offering advice on how to have that conversation if they haven’t.
But the slide text spread, including on national right-wing news, and is still well-known enough that it was specifically mentioned in a question during the July 27 Republican gubernatorial radio forum. Nordin believes it likely contributed to the threat he received in his inbox in March.
“I am going to kill you and shoot up your next school board meeting for promoting the horrific, radical transgender agenda,” the email stated. “It’s now time to declare war on you pedos. I am going to kill you and your entire family.”
From the April 2019 spring election through March 2020, roughly 224 seats changed hands out of the approximately 2,800 board seats statewide. The following year, the first of the pandemic, the number jumped to 298.
But from April 2021 through March 2022, it ballooned to 426. And already this year, including the spring election, there have been 409.