People tailgated at a school board meeting to watch new members reverse extremist policies

Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has been ground zero for some of the most bonkers extremist battles over book bans and LGBTQ+ policies in local schools.

But after voters rejected all the candidates pushed by the rightwing hate group Moms For Liberty and installed a more reasonable school board, it only took the new members a couple of hours to undo all the hateful policies enacted by the previous board.

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The new board president was sworn into office on a stack of banned books instead of the Bible, and she quickly moved to start the sweeping changes. Each time a new member was sworn into office, the packed room erupted in applause and cheers.

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Residents were so excited by the anticipated reversals they tailgated outside the meeting like it was a football game.

The district had persecuted LGBTQ+ youth from the beginning. They didn’t stop with banning books and forbidding teachers from using students’ preferred pronouns. They also denied a school the ability to perform the musical Rent because it includes queer couples.

They also hired a new superintendent with no experience who was intent on targeting trans students. When the new board won the election and made it clear they would oust him, he resigned after holding the position for only four months. The former board members gave him a $700,000 severance.

The new board halted four controversial policies passed by the previous board, including two related to library books, a ban on Pride flags, and another restricting transgender student athletes’ participation in school sports. The board also voted unanimously to challenge the severance package.

Karen Smith, the new board president, also promised that the more than 60 books challenged under the previous board’s library policy would remain on shelves. However, she is unsure what will happen with the two LGBTQ+ books that were officially banned.