The last regular meeting of the Round Rock school district’s board of trustees before the November election was tense as the floor opened to public comment. The board previously kicked out speakers for disrupting the meeting. Amber Feller, the trustee president, warned the audience that hate speech and personal attacks were not permitted. Police officers stood by, ready to keep the peace.
Far-right candidates for school board Don Zimmerman and Christie Slape sat in the audience at Round Rock High School, ready for their two minutes at the microphone. They are two of the 16 candidates competing for the five school board seats up for election this year. The anti-LGBTQ+, pro-book ban speakers, Zimmerman and Slape included, outnumbered the more tolerant adults in the room.
Denise Ray, a parent supporting yet another conservative candidate for school board, Linda Avila, invited Muslim parents to speak at the meeting. Inspired by the protests of conservative Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan, in early October—who shut down their school board’s meeting and railed against books with alleged sexual content—Ray hoped they could muster a similar disruption in Round Rock.
