Texas school board candidates push prayer in schools and LGBTQ bigotry

Multiple candidates for school board seats in Texas have pushed for far-right policies, including book bans and open discrimination of LGBTQ students.

School boards are typically tasked with boring, bureaucratic business like setting bus schedules and making budgetary decisions. In recent years, however, they have become epicenters for fierce social battles, fueled in part by anger over COVID-19 lockdowns and Republican fear mongering over transgender issues.

Moms for Liberty, a far-right organization concerned with these matters, has worked to elect its members to local school boards across the country. In June 2023, the Southern Poverty Law Center identified Moms for Liberty as a hate group.

Michael Bergsma, a vocal Moms for Liberty supporter, is running for an at-large seat in the Corpus Christi Independent School District. On his campaign website, Bergsma claims he was the treasurer of a group called Bible in the Public Schools and the chairman of the Nueces County Republican Party.

Between 2013 and 2023, Bergsma made multiple Facebook posts with derogatory comments about LGBTQ people. In an April 2013 post, Bergsma commented, “This is the future,” in response to a news article from a right-wing website that claimed a gay couple had been arrested for abusing their adopted children.

In a July 2023 post, Bergsma described former President Barack Obama’s opposition to banning books with LGBTQ themes from school libraries as “disgusting.”

Bergsma did not respond to questions for this story.

Samuel Fryer, who is also seeking an at-large seat with the Corpus Christi Independent School District, has expressed similar views. 

Fryer is associated with Citizens Defending Freedom, an extremist Christian group that has also pushed for LGBTQ book bans. In July 2022, when Corpus Christi school teachers protested outside of the group’s local chapter, Fryer reportedly tried to get them to back down by sharing his religious beliefs and quoting scripture.

Gerald Prater, who is running for election to the Leander Independent School District, has been even more overt in his bigotry.

In June 2023, Prater addressed a Leander Independent School District meeting and described LGBTQ content in schools as “criminal.”

“I think you’re causing harm to my children and other children with some of the stuff you’re exposing them to,” Prater said. “It wasn’t long ago that this would be clear to everybody that this is criminal activity. Now, it’s trying to be made normal by many in the world. I’m here to call it out today and call it what it is. It’s criminal activity.”

Prater’s campaign has been endorsed by Moms for Liberty.

Brandi Burkman is also seeking a seat with the Leander Independent School District. According to her campaign website, she too addressed a district meeting on the topic of “obscene book selections.”

In 2023, Burkman told a local high school newspaper that she pulled her daughter out of middle school because of a lesson plan that referenced the activist group Black Lives Matter.

In October 2022, Burkman shared a Facebook post spreading a right-wing hoax that schools were allowing students to identify as different species, specifically cats. The post Burkman shared urged parents to homeschool their children.

Burkman has been endorsed by Moms for America, a group with similar goals and values to Moms for Liberty. The group’s website says it is fighting “the dramatic cultural shift in America” that was “led by radical feminists.”

Burkman did not respond to questions for this story.

Jim Sneeringer is another candidate for the Leander Independent School District. Sneeringer has spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election being stolen from former President Donald Trump.

Minerva Peña had a seat with the Brownsville Independent School District from 2008 to 2023. She is running to retake her former seat this year. Like Bergsma, Peña has a record of sharing her political views on Facebook.

In June 2023, Peña shared a clip from Fox News about a gay pride event at the White House and wrote “Please forgive me but, this does not belong at the White House.” 

On Jul 6, 2024, Peña made a Facebook post asking her followers if they agreed that allowing prayer in public schools would make kids better students. On July 24, 2024, she asked her Facebook followers if they believe the Bible should be read in public schools.