BEND â Typically, school board races in Central Oregon are a quieter affair than City Council or state Legislature campaigns.
The elections are in May, not November, and during odd-numbered years. Turnout is lower, as most people donât get as fired up about whoâs going to be on the school board as much as they do about whoâs going to represent them in Salem. And the race is nominally nonpartisan â no Republican or Democrat identifiers on the ballot.
But not in this yearâs race for the Bend-La Pine School Board.
The campaign has become politically charged, and three candidates on a conservative slate have repeatedly criticized schools for how they teach issues of race. Theyâve said local schools make white students feel guilty, and claim so-called âwokenessâ â slang for an alertness to racial or social discrimination and injustice â is ruining local schools.