Colorado Springs voters gave conservative education reformers solid control over Colorado Springs’ two largest school districts. The outcomes give reformers a 5-0 majority in District 20 and a 6-1 advantage in District 11.

The teachers’ union poured money into their candidates and lost to opponents who pledged to replace left-wing classroom indoctrination with a focus on reading, writing, math and other disciplines crucial to succeeding by improving society.

Congratulations and thanks go out to all board candidates The Gazette endorsed – who double as those who won. In D-11, they include: Parth Melpakam; Thomas Carey; Jill Haffley; and Jason Jorgenson.

In D-20, The Gazette supported winners Amy Shandy and Derrick Wilburn.

These results prove voters want a restoration of traditional learning and common boundaries in public school classrooms. They want fewer debates about pornographic and racist books – less focus on “critical race theory” – and more time and money devoted to the basics.

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With solid majorities favoring better schools with better outcomes, these boards should make swift, meaningful and tangible progress. A few reasonable community expectations include:

? Reward personnel who understand the schools are for improving the lives and futures of our children – especially those teachers who get the highest results.

? Replace teachers who use their positions for political indoctrination disguised as education.

? Upgrade the review process and quickly resolve concerns about young children accessing age-inappropriate content that potentially endangers them.

? Advance “equity” as high self-achievement by children without regard to ethnicity, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation and more.

? Teach the children their country’s true past, while explaining the progress that has made it the most diverse culture in the world.

? Teach our children they matter, no matter how they were created.

? The system is broken, delivering disgracefully subpar proficiency, so don’t be afraid to fix it.

Across the country, the National Education Association and local affiliates have controlled school board elections for years. Unions – intended to improve the lives of teachers – have placed controlling classroom content above the needs of students and teachers.

What was a long, quiet campaign to politically indoctrinate children has been so successful the union bosses no longer hide their anti-American agenda.

Never forget the Colorado Education Association’s written proclamation in April. This union, funded by withholdings from employee paychecks, represents 39,000 K-12 teachers.

Here’s the statement. It’s not a “Saturday Night Live” satire. This is real:

“The CEA believes that capitalism inherently exploits children, public schools, land, labor, and resources.

“Capitalism is in opposition to fully addressing systemic racism (the school-to-prison pipeline), climate change, patriarchy (gender and LGBTQ+ disparities), education inequality, and income inequality,” wrote the Colorado CEA.

They say this to teachers who we pay to prepare children to survive and flourish in a capitalist society. They seek to actively turn children against the most benevolent and providential distribution system humanity has known.

Common sense prevailed in the metro area’s two largest school districts. Let’s give thanks for what this means for school children – the people who determine the quality of our future.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board