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In Cobb County, one of the most critical Board of Education races in Georgia is at hand. Republican incumbent David Chastain is facing Democrat challenger Catherine Pozniak on the November ballot. Why are the stakes so high? Republicans have a one seat majority on the Cobb board. A loss by Chastain would flip the majority to the Democrats in one of the Georgia’s most populous counties.
Partisan preferences aside, it is education policy that will shift dramatically if Democrats take control. To be blunt, Chastain is the only barrier standing between parent-centered, traditional, conservative and performance-based standards for students and teachers.
The alternative will be the new “Woke” social equity-based philosophy that has become the hallmark of most Democrat-controlled boards of education.
Chastain is a long serving board member and Lockheed executive. Pozniak is a teacher and former vice superintendent of schools in Louisiana. Chastain is the clear conservative; his opponent is a proud liberal.
As a Harvard-educated liberal steeped in so-called Critical Race Theory, Pozniak points to her support of equity and social justice in the classroom. Her backers include numerous liberal education groups and others such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), the local affiliate of the very liberal National Education Association. Additionally, 61percent of Pozniak’s total itemized 2022 campaign contributions are from out-of-state, with 23.4 percent of Pozniak’s contributions coming from the District of Columbia, New York and California. She has also received a total of $5,800 from the liberal Democrats for Educational Equity.
Also troubling is Pozniak’s involvement in circumventing “open meetings” laws in Louisiana while serving as the vice superintendent. Members were called before official meetings to answer questions, but the calls always ensured that a quorum would not be met. Two members refused to participate, and the matter was described in the Monroe Star News.
David Chastain is the choice for conservative values, and his backers– both financial and political– make that very clear. And this is underscored by Chastain stating: “We are here to educate, not indoctrinate!”
Audrey Nue is a longtime County County resident and parent
