The Francis Howell and Wentzville school districts, which have been at the center of culture war battles in recent years, will have more progressive leadership on their school boards this spring.
Amy Gryder and Sarah Oelke will be the newest elected members of the Francis Howell School Board. Jeremy Way will join the Wentzville School Board, while board Vice President Julie Scott retained her seat for another term.
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Gryder and Oelke were endorsed by progressive-leaning Francis Howell Forward, which describes itself as a nonpartisan political action committee that advocates for protecting public schools.
Oelke, a resident of the Francis Howell district, is a teacher in the Parkway School District. Gryder is a Francis Howell graduate and now a parent — two of her children graduated from Francis Howell North High School, and her youngest attends Barnwell Middle School.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Oelke thanked voters for choosing her to help lead the district.
“Our voters sent a clear and resounding message: we are ready to move past the distractions of the ‘culture wars’ and focus on what truly matters—our students, our teachers, and the future of our schools,” Oelke said. “We are tired of the “noise” and ready to move beyond the baseless fears that have been impairing our progress.”
In a video posted on Facebook, Gryder said she appreciates the confidence voters placed in her and thanked everyone who cast a ballot — even those who didn’t vote for her.
“Thank you to all of the voters who came out and got engaged,” Gryder said. “It’s really important that we have people paying attention to what’s going on at the local level.”
The Francis Howell School District recently hired Mike Dominguez as its superintendent. He will start in the summer.
The district is no stranger to controversy: Last year, the board voted to prohibit teachers from discussing gender identity in the classroom and rolled out a newly revised curriculum on Black history and literature, which faced criticism from students, parents and teachers.
The Wentzville School District has been scrutinized for similar cultural flashpoints in public education, including book bans.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the board voted in March to remove the book “Sold,” which discusses child sex trafficking and was available to students in school district libraries.
Way and Scott, the winning Wentzville candidates, have said they want to bring the focus back to supporting students and teachers and away from politics.
Both candidates were endorsed by Community Allies for Public Education Success and St. Charles County Families for Public Education — organizations that support funding public schools. In a video shared to Facebook, Scott thanked the community for turning out to vote and said she’s “ready to get started.” She is the current board vice president and has two children enrolled in the Wentzville district.
In an interview with STLPR, Way said he’s looking forward to bringing his experience as both a teacher and longtime school administrator to the board. Way is an assistant superintendent in the Wright City R-II School District and plans to retire this summer.
“I have nothing but love and respect for everybody in public [education],” Way said. “The things they do behind the scenes every day is incredible, and I’ve had the opportunity to see that for most of my adult life.”
