OUTFOXING THE RIGHT

By Jill Smolowe

When attorney Jack Bryant and his wife began scouting the suburbs around Austin, Texas, in 1988, they wanted the best schools for their two sons. Eventually, they settled in Round Rock, a predominantly white, professional town whose system, Bryant says, "gave us the best bang for our buck." But in Bryant's view, that changed two years ago after Christian conservatives gained control of the school board and tied up meetings with debates over banning Maya Angelou's memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which some members described as pornographic. A dismayed Bryant convened a group of parents around his kitchen table and launched Advocates for Public Schools. In the past two elections, the group has helped elect a new back-to-basics majority that has pushed for granting individual schools greater autonomy.

Round Rock is just one of 13 Texas school districts where moderates have prevailed over religious-right candidates in recent elections. And the rout of ultraconservatives in Texas mirrors the results of school-board elections last November in two key districts in California and Florida. While there is little evidence so far that the movement is spreading fast throughout America's 15,025 school boards, there are signs that moderates, many of whom stayed home when the first wave of ultraconservatives marched into office three years ago, are now mobilizing themselves. "If you have a really active group [of moderate parents]," says Matt Freeman of People for the American Way, a liberal activist organization, "you can often beat these guys."

In Texas, California and Florida, ultraconservatives seized control of key school boards in 1992 largely by encouraging heavy turnout among like-minded voters. But in the next election cycle, moderate teachers and parents parried with a simple strategy: they publicized the conservatives' record. When voters learned that their school boards were spending more time squabbling about creationism in science classes and abstinence in sex education than debating such practical matters as teachers' salaries, they turned the conservatives out.

In Florida's Lake County district, crucial school-board decisions about construction projects were held up while a Christian-right majority formulated, then adopted, an "America First" policy instructing teachers to promote American values as "superior to other foreign or historic cultures." The policy struck many people in the predominantly white, Baptist county as offensive. School-board meetings that had once attracted just dozens now drew hundreds of adults, itching to trade insults. As the rancor deepened, voters seeking to defuse the ideological tension formed a committee that screened candidates and raised money. "It was a joint effort by parents, teachers and the business community," says Gary Landry of Florida Education Association United. "They were tired of the divisiveness." In the end the moderates regained a majority, trouncing ultraconservatives by a 2-to-1 vote.

In Vista, California, near San Diego, board meetings turned into all-night shoutfests when a Christian-right majority promoted use of a creationism textbook. Even more controversial was the board's rejection of two state grants, one offering $250,000 for a Big Brother-type program for lower-income kids, the other $400,000 for free breakfasts for poor children. One board member reportedly argued that the meals program had "more to do with welfare than education" and that children should eat breakfast with their parents. Voters reacted by mounting a recall campaign and found support among the area churches. "People get very upset when one group takes the position that they speak for God," says Ken Blalack, who helped lead the campaign in Vista. The effort unseated two ultraconservatives and restored moderates to the majority. Still, throughout San Diego County, ultraconservatives gained majorities in four of eight school districts.

Part of the Christian Right's success comes from retooling its strategy to emphasize fiscal rather than social issues. It is also working to revive its strong organizations. Wyatt Roberts of the conservative American Family Association of Texas warns that the Christian right failed to rally in the May elections because it was coasting on the electoral victories of last fall. "Irrespective of philosophy," he says, "the bottom line is who does the best job on campaigning." Moderate groups concur. The National Education Association and People for the American Way recently agreed to cooperate with local coalitions in as many as 10 states to oppose right-wing candidates. Neither side in this battle can afford to be complacent again.

--Reported by Dan Cray/Los Angeles, Hilary Hylton/Austin and Marcy Lamm/Atlanta

With reporting by DAN CRAY/LOS ANGELES,HILARY HYLTON/AUSTIN AND MARCY LAMM/ATLANTA