Proponents of Suing School Board Members Claim Cause Is "Legal & Lawful."
The group of individuals who seek to personally sue members of the Anchorage School Board over the district's mandated COVID-19 mask policy have switched up their messaging over the poorly rationalized effort that ostensibly serves as nothing more than a vehicle to harass elected officials who chose to help protect public health and safety.
The plan is based on the false notion that all government officials must have a private bond in order to hold office and that parents can then file claims against local school boards’ bonds if school boards don’t stop pursuing “unconstitutional” policies.
The asinine endeavor is being propagated by “Bonds for the Win,” which tells parents they can threaten to file “surety bond claims” against school board members and superintendents — accusing them of violating multiple laws unless they make changes such as dropping mask requirements. Members of the group have been hammering school officials across the country with baseless charges over COVID policies and diversity programs for the past two months.
NBC News reported in February that school officials, insurance companies, and the FBI, have stated that Bonds for the Win's assertions are false. Despite the fact that the group has yet to win a court case, it has had some success inundating school districts with documents, threatening local officials, and interrupting school board meetings.
But these salient details may not matter to at least one individual associated with the local effort who felt the need earlier today to convey to those in Save Anchorage that they believe the efforts to be a "legal and lawful pursuit."
A flyer for the effort was distributed at Eagle River Assemblyperson Jamie Allard’s “Alaska Freedom Convoy” event in February. The flyer asked parents to reach out to a telephone number if their children had suffered symptoms since the district's mask mandate went into effect.
Some of the conditions listed include general ailments such as stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea, increased respiratory infections, increased cavities, dizziness, and vertigo.
While the chance some right-wing radical succeeds in their effort to sue a school board member is incredibly low, it is worth noting that last month, I learned that Anchorage School Board members (through the district) had received FOIA requests regarding photocopies of a number of documents, including a Public Official Surety Bond, from more than one individual.
The effort is, of course, conveniently being pushed at a time when Anchorage voters will determine whether school board members Dr. Kelly Lessens and Margot Bellamy will be re-elected to another term.
