Brayden Myer
Nearly 200 attendees packed Terrace 167 in Richfield on September 21 for the “Giving Parents a Voice” townhall hosted by Moms for Liberty – Wisconsin. The townhall featured panels of parental rights activists, an attorney, elected officials, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany. Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Crowley was invited but did not respond. The event was moderated by Moms for Liberty CEO and Co-Founder Tina Descovich and parental rights activist Scarlett Johnson.
The event opened with Moms for Liberty ambassador Laura Ackmann leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Moms for Liberty – Washington County, WI secretary Monica Kepes sang the National Anthem.
Tina Descovich spoke on the low educational performance in Wisconsin, stating only 57% of 8th grade white students and 9% of 8th grade black students are proficient in math in Wisconsin. “If our kids can’t read and can’t do math, our country is doomed and our state is doomed,” she said.
Descovich also explained Moms for Liberty’s efforts in Wisconsin. The first Moms for Liberty chapter in Wisconsin was started by Representative Amanda Nedweski in Kenosha County, prior to her running for office. Currently, there are thousands of members and 20 chapters in the state. During the last election, Moms for Liberty sent text messages to 250,000 low-propensity voters and 92% of them turned out to vote.
The event transitioned into a discussion on the New Richmond School District, which is currently under a federal Title IX investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights regarding the use of girls’ bathrooms by a male student.
Ella Frei, a 17-year-old from New Richmond who was at the center of this, explained how uncomfortable and intimidating this situation made her and her peers along with her fear of teacher response if she told her parents about it. In response to this occurring, she organized a walkout with one of the protest signs saying, “If you stand to pee you can’t pee with me,” to which the audience laughed and clapped. When she testified before her school board, she felt even more scared when the board members wouldn’t look at her. After that, she had to walk past an adult making hate comments against her on social media in the teachers’ lounge to use the closest single stall bathroom. She ended by saying “protecting girls shouldn’t be a fight, it’s just common sense.”
Heidi Frei, mother of Ella Frei, left the audience with a warning: “Do not become complacent. Complacency is exactly what got us in the situation we are in… state elections matter, school board elections matter, our governor elections matter.”
Joleen Degelau, Chapter Chair of Moms for Liberty – St. Croix, WI, explained her chapter’s efforts in organizing parents to address the situation. “None of us were going to let a single girl stand alone,” stated Degelau. Heidi Frei thanked Moms for Liberty for their help, saying “without you guys we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”
Cory Brewer, attorney from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), explained that the phrase gender identity is not in state law, but districts are putting it into nondiscrimination policies anyway.
“Every student should have privacy, every single student should have dignity,” stated Brewer. “Girls are bearing the brunt of this.”
A group formed during this controversy, New Richmond Parents for Strong Schools, which includes students, is being represented by WILL in a federal lawsuit against the district regarding this situation.
After the panel, Republican candidate for Attorney General Eric Toney spoke about the need to protect girls in private spaces and how he will be ready to defend them in court.
Following Toney’s remarks, conservative talk show host Vicki McKenna addressed the crowd, energized, on the need to save America’s schools from leftist indoctrination. “If we do not do something to save these schools from what has become teachers’ union inspired Maoism, it won’t matter what the price per gallon of gas is,” said McKenna.
She encouraged parents to start a Moms for Liberty chapter if their county does not have one. “DPI understands there is not a big enough group of people to fight them,” said McKenna.
McKenna also mentioned in the partisan landscape, the Republicans tapped out after school choice. Unless there is an uproar, that is it from the GOP.
McKenna pointed out that the left wants critical theory and the deconstruction of civilization as the goal of education. The government will tell you differently if you want school choice or if you say your kid isn’t trans. This won’t be fixed just having a Republican legislature or trifecta or Trump.
She then called to get rid of the teachers’ unions entirely, being met by a large round of applause.
The event’s final speakers then took the stage for the elected officials panel.
Representative Amanda Nedweski emphasized the importance of her bills protecting kids and improving their education. One bill she introduced criminalizes the sexualization of a child. Another bill relates to the required three credits of social studies courses in high school. That bill would require half a credit of those three credits to be devoted to Civics.
She also called to reform the public education funding model. “The biggest thing we need to do is have strings attached to the funding formula,” stated Nedweski.
She then recalled prior to running for office she testified on a parental bill of rights after waiting to speak for nine hours.
Tom Tiffany was met with a standing ovation as he took the stage. He emphasized how he will defend Title IX and support Moms for Liberty.
With the secretary of Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction being a constitutional officer, Tiffany stated he would use the budget to encourage the secretary to do the right thing. He would also use the budget with the colleges of teaching to ensure teachers are being taught the science of reading and to get back to the basics.
He also called for the elimination of “three cueing.” This is a method used for teaching children to guess the meaning of words they don’t know by using context clues.
Parts of his plan to reform the education system include fighting for a parents’ bill of rights, enforcing high standards, having honest report cards, holding administrators accountable, and putting more money into classrooms over administrators. He will do an executive order if necessary to stop government discrimination but wants to work with legislature. “Every kid, regardless of zip code, deserves a good education… we shouldn’t discriminate one against the other,” stated Tiffany. “We’re going to audit all of state government. You should also audit it for performance.”
Tiffany also ensured the audience they can reach out to elected officials to explain their positions.
The event was livestreamed on the Moms for Liberty YouTube channel.
