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School board members hold a special responsibility — not just to students and families, but to the ethical standards they agreed to uphold. The Code of Ethics isn’t just a formality; it’s a commitment to providing equal opportunities for all students, keeping politics out of education, and putting children first.

Yet, recent attacks from the state Legislature — vouchers, DEI bans, and partisan school board interference — not only hurt our schools but violate that ethical promise.

Before diving in, let’s recognize the custodians, cafeteria workers, teachers, staff and administrators who keep our schools running. Their dedication has made Clarksville-Montgomery County School System one of the best districts in the country — despite Tennessee ranking 45th in school funding. That’s no small feat.

This month, we celebrated the growth of girls’ athletics — but let’s be clear: without Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), opportunities like girls’ wrestling wouldn’t exist. DEI isn’t about lowering standards; it’s about fairness. Without it, progress disappears. Two of our School Board members, Ms. Carol Berry and Mr. Jimmie Garland, attended segregated schools. They saw firsthand that “separate but equal” was a lie — funding, resources, and opportunities were never the same. When they speak up for public education, they’re not playing a “race card,” as some have suggested — they’re speaking from lived experience. And we should listen.

Meanwhile, School Board member and state Rep. Aron Maberry is sponsoring HB0622 — the “Dismantle DEI Act.” This bill bans hiring decisions that consider race, gender or disability, gutting protections for marginalized groups. They call it “fair,” but we know better.

Maberry’s actions don’t align with the ethics code he swore to uphold. School Board members are expected to provide equal opportunities for all students, represent the entire school community — not partisan politics — and refrain from using their position for personal or political gain. Yet he has championed laws that do the opposite. HB793/SB836 allows school districts to refuse to enroll undocumented children, violating the U.S. Constitution. HB779/SB563 strips local school boards of control over accreditation. HB1250/SB1041 takes decision-making power away from local officials.

And now, he’s backing another concerning bill — one that allows untrained chaplains access to our children, operating without oversight and without liability. If legislators truly cared about students, they’d fund trained counselors, not push religious influence into public schools.

A school board member cannot spend the day pushing partisan policies at the state level and then show up to a school board meeting pretending to be nonpartisan. They cannot work to weaken public schools in Nashville and then claim to support students back home. That is a betrayal of their ethical duty. Public education isn’t a political game — it’s about our kids’ futures. Our children deserve leaders who put education over politics and uphold their responsibility to serve every student, not just the privileged few.