Friday February 24, 2023
COMMENTARY: Don't lose sight of what matters
COMMENTARY: Don’t lose sight of what matters
by Martin Davis
The announcement on Thursday afternoon that Spotsylvania County School Board member and former chair Kirk Twigg had been charged with a class 4 felony for forging a public record elicited an air of excitement among many in the county.
Social media quickly filled with celebratory notes, expressing satisfaction that justice was finally being served. The joy is understandable.
Since Twigg and fellow board member Rabih Abuismail ignited a firestorm in 2021 with calls to burn books, frustration with Twigg’s failures and embarrassing public behavior has grown across the political spectrum.
Before he passed last year, Spotsylvania resident Albert King told me of his personal frustration with Twigg and the other conservatives he helped put on the board - Lisa Phelps, April Gillespie, and Abuismail. King was the conservative force behind funding the campaigns of all four.
Once they were elected, they turned on King. He expressed regret for supporting people who “quit listening” to advice, and who acted with a level of arrogance and ignorance that was especially disconcerting to King - a solid conservative, and a first-rate intellect.
Among parents who value public education, Twigg’s blatant attacks on the institution and its leaders were hard to grasp. He fired a well-respected and highly-qualified superintendent, then took almost a year to find a replacement. He refused to talk to the media, to his constituents, and to anyone whom he disagreed with. He would not spell out his vision for the county - probably because he had no vision; just a desire to dismantle a system that he hated for reasons only he knows.
And then there was his constantly gaveling out parents who tried to voice frustration with his leadership during board meetings, but refusing to gavel out parents obsessed with banning books. These individuals would read ad nauseum from books they found personally abhorrent but had no problem reading in a public forum and over the airwaves.
All this on top of Twigg’s utter inability to run a meeting with any sense of order.
And this is just a partial list of the questionable actions and acts Twigg exhibited during his time as chair.
So yes, it feels good that someone has finally paid attention and is holding Twigg accountable.
But holding Twigg accountable will accomplish little on its own. If he is convicted, he will serve time and likely have to pay a healthy fine. This will not correct the damage he, and the current board majority, are causing.
What matters
The hard work of returning Spotsylvania’s school system to one that is respected is going to take years of work. The county has suffered a loss of brainpower (teachers defecting to other counties, senior-level administrators fleeing the central office, and in a case of subtraction by addition - A profoundly unqualified superintendent was hired and now oversees a district he is utterly unprepared to lead).
Further, for the teachers that remain, Twigg’s allowing hyperconservative parents from groups like Moms for Liberty to relentlessly criticize teachers has damaged the relationship between teachers and students, teachers and parents, and teachers and this board.
And then there are Spotsylvania’s students. They began returning to school post-pandemic just as Twigg and company were declaring war on the institution meant to serve them. The numerous failures of Twigg’s leadership have led to higher teacher-student-ratios in classes; more uncertified teachers trying to fill the void - their hearts are in the right place and their efforts commendable, but they’re not capable of educating students at the high level of the professionals they’re trying to replace - and a loss of institutional knowledge that can’t be replaced with new hires.
What will it take to correct this damage?
The damage done since Twigg took control is going to take years to repair. But there are some things people can do to ensure that the county recovers in a timely manner.
If Phelps, Gillespie, and Abuismail have any character at all, they will vote to ask Twigg to step down from the board while his case is being prosecuted. These charges are significant, and while everyone is innocent until proven guilty, to allow Twigg to continue will only deepen the mistrust citizens have for this board. Will it happen? Don’t bet on it. Phelps and Gillespie are entrenched and will probably stay with Twigg to the bitter end. Abuismail has repeatedly demonstrated not only a lack of understanding of school policy and board politics, but he’s no leader. He’s done Twigg’s bidding from the beginning, and he will in all likelihood continue to do so.
Voters must step up and elect people of good character and sound intellect. Should the November election turn against the Tea Party and force Gillespie and Phelps to the sidelines (Abuismail claims he isn’t running again), and smart, capable board members take their place, it will take a year to get rid of Mark Taylor and bring in a superintendent who will remove the other questionable hires Twigg has overseen, like Jon Russell. Will it happen? We’d like to believe so, but extremism runs deep in Spotsylvania. Thoughtful voters are going to have to turn out and make good decisions.
Commit to hiring high-caliber teachers to begin rebuilding the faculty. There is a national teacher shortage, and every district is struggling to attract talent. Alternative pathways to teaching will help, but Spotsylvania is going to have to find a way to pay more and to convince prospective teachers that the national ridicule Twigg brought to Spotsylvania was a fluke and is not likely to be repeated. Will it happen? Eventually, yes - but how many years in “eventually”? That remains to be seen.
Hire a high-quality superintendent. Spotsylvania needs a talented, deeply experienced, and student-focused superintendent to begin rebuilding the trust in the district and the teachers that Twigg has almost single handedly destroyed. Will it happen? If we get good board members, this is very likely to occur.
Do a better job of selling the value of traditional public education. “Parents choice” believers and “school choice” advocates are great at damning public schools, even though their models are no more effective (and in the case of charter schools less effective) than traditional public schools. Advocates for public education must retake command of the conversation and build a solid case for public schools’ value. This will make tamping down extremists like Twigg and keeping intellectually weak leaders like Phelps and Gillespie and Abuismail off future boards. Will it happen? It can, but this one will be difficult. Not because public schools can’t be defended, but because public school supporters have ceded the education conversation to conservatives for too long.
Even if everything breaks right with these five suggestions, Spotsylvania has an uphill fight before it.
It’s a fight worth fighting, however, because so much is on the line.
Spotsylvania’s students are worth the fight.
Now. And into the future. The county’s voters cannot allow this disaster to happen again.
An absolutely excellent commentary. I have shared it with 2 Facebook pages dedicated to fighting for our school system. Your list of 5 things that we can do are outstanding and very motivational as well as much needed.. Thank you so very much.
Spotsy also needs to vote for pro-public education candidates at the state level this year.
Legislators at the state level are voting on bills and agendas that affect our public schools. Our governor needs a check on his “choice” agendas. Looking at the big picture, it’s not enough for pro-public education folks to focus on school board. We need to clean house at the state level this year as well.