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A push to remove LGBTQ-themed books in a Texas county could signal rising partisanship on school boards

Hood County’s refusal to remove two books from the children’s section of the library sparked a yearslong political battle. Now school board races have taken on a deeply partisan tone, and elections serve as a purity test for far-right politics.

By Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica
Lead image for this article
Melanie Graft and Courtney Gore are sworn into the Granbury ISD Board of Trustees at the GISD Administration Building on Nov. 15, 2021.
Members of the community attend the GISD board meeting to view the swearing in of two new board members, Melanie Graft and Courtney Gore, at the GISD Administration Building in Granbury on Nov. 15, 2021.

An old fight resurfaces

Melanie Graft joins the Grandbury ISD Board of Trustees as one of two newly-elected members at a meeting at the GISD Administration Building in on Nov. 15, 2021.
Emily Schigu, a 5th grade reading teacher at Mambrino STEAM Academy in Granbury ISD, poses for a portrait on Nov. 15, 2021. Schigut spoke out during a school board meeting against the anti-CRT movement occurring in the district, which was followed by criticisms throughout the Granbury community. “I stood up and I spoke, and people came out of the woodworks…but there’s only so much that you can do before your own mental health and well being is jeopardized.”

Reviewing 130 Books

The Granbury ISD Board of Trustees convenes for a meeting at the GISD Administration Building on Nov. 15, 2021.
Two empty frames hang along with the portraits of the Granbury ISD Board of Trustees prior to the election of two new board members, Melanie Graft and Courtney Gore, at the GISD Administration Building in on Nov. 15, 2021.

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