Euan Blackman, candidate for Richardson ISD trustee, opposed the district's $750 million school bond election in 2021. Joining him in opposition was Lynn Strawn Davenport (LSD), herself a candidate for trustee in 2017. She lost. Despite their efforts, the district's voters passed the school bonds. In a 2022 article ("Forever InDEBTed"), LSD wrote, "My friend Euan Blackman and I have made the rounds speaking out against the big business of school bonds." In return, Blackman hosted LSD on his own podcast ("Euan, Me & ISD"), which went pretty much like you'd expect — a mutual admiration society meeting.
Lynn Davenport has been pretty much against everything related to RISD for years. In her 2016 testimony to the state legislature, she complained that school boards use words that "do not resonate" with her. Words like "global citizens, TASA vision, future-ready, global economy, 21st century learner, human capital, global future, social-emotional learning, rubrics, global workforce, outcomes, data-driven, college & career ready, rigor, blended learning."
Surprisingly, despite Euan Blackman's own opposition to "the big business of school bonds," in 2025 he supported most of a $1.4 billion Richardson ISD bond election. He just recently gained US citizenship, which made him eligible to run for RISD Board of Trustees himself. There's no evidence beyond that coincidental timing to suggest that his change of heart on school bonds might have been to curry favor with RISD voters, who have always supported school bonds. In any case, lately he's been sounding less like the Euan Blackman who used to attend RISD board meetings and sit with the protestors who wore "Firestone" t-shirts. When the audience became noisy and were warned to be quiet, he took to supporting the critics by by waving "jazz hands."
After guiding the district through COVID in 2020-2021, when Dr. Jeannie Stone resigned as superintendent, this was how Euan Blackman greeted the news.
If this is who he is at heart, then RISD will be torn apart again if he's elected. This time the disruptions will come from the dais of the school board itself. The man who wrote those words lacks the temperament needed in a school board trustee.
Who was a candidate Euan Blackman wanted to see on the Board of Trustees? None other than Sherry Clemens. (Oh, and he wanted LSD for trustee of Dallas College.)
There were many reasons why Sherry Clemens was wrong for RISD. If you want to go back down Memory Lane, you are welcome to. From the archives:
Dealbreaker #1: She's Extreme Even for Conservatives
Dealbreaker #2: She's Turning the RISD Into Southlake
Dealbreaker #3: She's Aligned with Lauren Davis
Dealbreaker #4: She Fought Against COVID-19 Mitigation Policies
Dealbreaker #5: She's Against by Books with Serious Themes
Dealbreaker #6: She Lies about CRT
Dealbreaker #7: She Thinks She Speaks for All Christians
Dealbreaker #8: She Thinks RISD is Better Without Dr. Jeannie Stone
But that was then. Has Euan Blackman changed? As a director of something called Innovative Teachers of Texas, Euan Blackman still has his own long list of topics that don't resonate with him. "Topics such as Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), Critical Race Theory (CRT), Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), etc." Oh, and "mask mandates and mandatory vaccines." In short, he is still triggered by a lot of things. That's a dealbreaker for me. Just because he supported the 2025 school bond or teacher raises doesn't mean he's changed, a judgment he would probably agree with.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
"Allies on a mic.
A long catalog of things
that 'don't resonate.'"
—h/t ChatGPT
No comments:
Post a Comment