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Residents urge Whitley County school board to decline Turning Point USA partnerships
Summary
Two community members told the board they oppose formal district partnerships with Turning Point USA, citing concerns about the group's political activity and reports of problematic conduct; the board said the superintendent would follow up.
Two community members used the board's public-comment period to urge the Whitley County Consolidated Schools Board of Trustees not to allow formal school partnerships with Turning Point USA.
At the podium, Linda Mowry said she had read social-media reports suggesting the board was considering allowing Turning Point into schools and urged that any student participation require parental approval. "If it is going to be allowed within the schools, then I feel that parental approval should be required before there's any participation," she said.
Greg Wardwell, who said he came because of a recent gubernatorial push to facilitate Turning Point clubs in Indiana schools, told the board he was not seeking to silence students but was concerned about the district lending its institutional credibility to the group. Wardwell described Turning Point USA as a nonprofit that promotes conservative politics on campuses and cited a "professor watch list" and a "school board watch list" as reasons for caution. He also referred to reporting in The New Yorker about past conduct by a national field director and said some Turning Point programming has drawn criticism for comments about women.
Wardwell asked the board to avoid endorsing Turning Point under district banners such as Eagle Pride and provided a packet of links for board members to review. The board did not debate the issue during public comment; the superintendent was said to follow up with the speakers after the meeting.
No formal action or vote was taken on Turning Point USA at the March 23 meeting. The board made no immediate policy changes; members indicated any next steps would come after administrative review.
