This article originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal February 3, 2026.

Keeping up with your children’s schoolwork can be hard. But they need something even more important from you. Pay attention to your school board. Better yet, run for it. Too many boards fail to serve children. Unless parents commit, nothing will improve.

I’ve spent the last five years fighting for transparency and excellence in my Michigan school district, against a system that dodges accountability, withholds information and punishes dissent—including mine.

With two children learning from home during the pandemic in 2021, I discovered that our district had quietly launched a new “Ethnic and Gender Studies” course for high schoolers. When I requested the curriculum, I was told to file FOIA requests. The response I got from the district, after four months of requests? No relevant documents existed.

The board, meanwhile, targeted parents who complained about virtual learning, monitoring their social media and contacting their employers. One mother lost her job. She sued and won a $190,000 settlement. Yet no one was held accountable.

Rochester isn’t unique. Many boards nationwide prioritize control over partnership with families.

While school boards antagonized parents, learning deteriorated. In Rochester, fewer thanhalf of students were college-ready as measured by SAT scores in 2024. Math scores declined the most. Our debunked literacy curriculum encouraged children to guess words from pictures instead of reading them.

In 2022 I left the sidelines, running for and winning a seat on the Rochester Community Schools Board of Education, which oversaw the school my children attended at the time. I advocated openness, accountability, and—most important—student achievement. Once in, I pushed for evidence-based instruction that neighboring districts adopted with strong results.

I knew the stakes. My son struggled under the old curriculum, guessing at pictures instead of reading, which hid an eyesight issue and set him back until we intervened at home. I also introduced motions to review curricula, update teacher training and hold public literacy forums. All were voted down.

The board silenced dissent. Last October, our superintendent privately briefed trustees about a proposed countywide tax increase that could appear on the August 2026 ballot if enough boards approved it. It would cost the average family about $337 a year. The superintendent explained the plan to a fellow trustee and me on a PowerPoint and urged us not to share it.

I wondered why this wasn’t being presented publicly. I suspected the board was keeping families in the dark to avoid their objections. When I said I’d speak out, the superintendent, Nicholas Russo, urged me to keep quiet. He also refused my request for a copy of the PowerPoint, only relenting after I submitted a FOIA request.

Two weeks later, I published a local op-ed explaining the plan and criticizing the secrecy. Other districts were already discussing it publicly. The board responded by censuring me. Trustees claimed I violated a bylaw by sharing information the district hadn’t released. They removed me from committees and passed a new bylaw in December requiring majority approval for any trustee to access documents—a blatant attempt to prevent hard questions.

They weren’t done. In January the board voted to stop approving the agenda before each meeting. The public couldn’t find out what trustees were advocating behind the scenes, nor could I propose additions publicly. The board simultaneously voted to end trustee comments at each meeting’s conclusion—another blatant attempt to silence me.

With the help of the Mackinac Center, I’m filing a lawsuit today in the 52nd District Court in Oakland County, Mich. Censuring an elected official for speaking honestly about a public tax proposal is a serious constitutional concern.

But this isn’t only about me. Too many boards are now full of insiders, not representatives for families. The current system rewards conformity. Union-backed endorsements and a narrow candidate pool from the same social circles produce groupthink, where unanimous votes are praised and accountability is sidelined. But where in life do we see this kind of conformity, with no room for healthy dissent?

More parents should run for school board, not to join the system, but to reform it. Students deserve leaders who place academics above politics, welcome accountability and refuse to hide information. My experience shows that your voice matters. Your district needs you. And your children need you.

Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author (or authors) and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy are properly cited.