While extremists chase away Idaho teacher of the year, state’s leaders stay silent | Opinion

Far-right extremists have chased away yet another good person from Idaho.

This time, they’ve scared off Karen Lauritzen, Idaho’s 2023 teacher of the year.

Lauritzen, who was a fourth-grade teacher in Post Falls in North Idaho, is leaving after right-wing activists and their allies attacked her and called her a “left-wing activist,” according to The Boston Globe.

Among her offenses? Supporting LGBTQ+ students, African-American students and, apparently, teaching about the United Nations.

The attacks came after she was named teacher of the year, selected by a blue ribbon panel from among 13 finalists.

Can you imagine the kind of person who, upon hearing that a teacher was just named teacher of the year, reacts by trying to find ways to attack that teacher for being an educator?

Lauritzen was accused of “promoting transgenderism.” Extremists reportedly found social media posts in which Lauritzen showed support for the LGBTQ+ community and Black Lives Matter, as if supporting all students were a bad thing for a teacher to do.

Lauritzen told the Boston Globe she faced complaints from parents about a lesson on some worldwide cultures who eat insects, and even objections to students learning about the United Nations, proof that these types of attacks are ridiculous and unhinged.

“I should have felt celebrated and should have felt like this is a great year, and honestly it was one of the toughest years I have ever had teaching, not only with my community but with parents questioning every decision I made as well,” Lauritzen told the Boston Globe. “Even after 21 years of teaching, my professional judgment was called into question more this year than it ever has in the past.”

Lauritzen has since left Idaho and moved to Illinois, hopefully where her talents are better appreciated.

Idaho’s loss is Illinois’ gain.

Lauritzen is still Idaho’s teacher of the year, and she’s still in the running for national teacher of the year. By most accounts, Lauritzen would be deserving of that award, too.

If that happens, imagine the embarrassment for Idaho. What should be a celebration turns into another indictment of a state being squeezed by far-right extremists — all while the state’s leaders stand by passively.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in North Idaho.

In September, Boundary County Library director Kimber Glidden announced her resignation, citing far-right religious extremism.

“Nothing in my background could have prepared me for the political atmosphere of extremism, militant Christian fundamentalism, intimidation tactics, and threatening behavior currently being employed in the community,” Glidden wrote in her announcement posted by the library, according to The Spokesman-Review.

A push by a few parents to ban books with LGBTQ+ themes “snowballed from there,” library board member Lee Colson said.

Extremists elected to the West Bonner school board hired the eminently unqualified Branden Durst over an eminently qualified longtime administrator, which has led to good people leaving the district.

Let’s not forget what’s happening with North Idaho College, which has been teetering on the brink of non-accreditation since extremists were elected to a majority on that board, firing their qualified president and hiring a lawyer who’s given them bad legal advice.

Although the trend of attacking public schools, schoolteachers and librarians seems to be more acute in North Idaho, it’s happening all over the state and across the country, as right-wing extremists complain — with no basis — that schools and libraries are trying to indoctrinate children. They complain about what they call “pornography,” but what it really comes down to is any material that contains LGBTQ+ content or even characters.

The Meridian Library District was the subject of an effort by a small group of extremists who wanted to dissolve the district because board members wouldn’t abide by their unreasonable demands. Fortunately, that effort never made the ballot, but imagine how librarians in that district must feel, being under attack and vilified, accused of indoctrinating children.

At what point do our state’s leaders start leading, and try to do something about the reputation of the state and the integrity of its institutions?

They are quick to make statements and issue press releases owning anything they deem as positive, but have absolutely nothing to say when doctors, librarians and educators are driven from the state.

Where is a statement from Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield, decrying how awful this is, that we’ve lost our teacher of the year? Where is something from Gov. Brad Little or Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke? They aren’t part of these extremists, but with their silence, they might as well be.

We’d call for a statement from the Idaho Republican Party, but it’s been taken over by these same far-right zealots who ran Lauritzen out of the state. More likely, we’d expect a statement from the party’s state chair, Dorothy Moon, siding with the extremists, applauding the departure of Lauritzen and congratulating Post Falls for losing an extraordinary teacher.

It’s time for Idaho’s leaders to make statements and issue press releases condemning the extremists and their tactics, because they are chasing away some of Idaho’s best and brightest.

In Lauritzen’s case, it comes down to misguided, disgruntled parents who don’t want their students to learn about the United Nations being given deference over experienced and talented educators.

Our state leaders should be condemning the former and standing up for the latter. Loudly.

Their silence speaks volumes.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Mary Rohlfing and Patricia Nilsson.