Missouri lawmakers and a conservative political action committee are offering students in the Francis Howell School District at least $1,000 to start a chapter of Turning Point USA at the district’s high schools.
Francis Howell Families, the PAC that has organized in recent years to elect conservative leaning members to the school board, posted the announcement to its website on Saturday.
It states the PAC is working with Congressman Bob Onder and Missouri State Senators Adam Schnelting and Nick Schroer to offer the gift to the students to help establish a chapter of the group.
“Francis Howell Families along with our local elected officials believe [Turning Point USA] offers our nation’s youth a positive vision of faith, freedom, and love of country,” the announcement states.
The PAC would help facilitate the donations from private donors directly to the schools and not to individual students or teachers.
The announcement comes after Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and CEO of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed at an event in Utah earlier this month.
Chris Brooks, a representative of Francis Howell Families, said in a statement on Monday that the PAC believed in Kirk’s mission.
“Kirk’s mission was to engage in respectful dialogue about important topics with anyone who was willing to speak with him,” Brooks said. “We believe in that mission.”
A self-championed advocate for conservative values and free speech and a close ally of President Donald Trump, Kirk often spoke out against abortion, discussions of gender and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace.
Kirk’s killing has sparked a conversation around free speech as there are reports of employees being disciplined, including teachers, who shared commentary about his work on their personal social media accounts.
A Wentzville School District teacher was placed on leave after screenshots of her posts alluding to Kirk’s killing on social media were circulated by Onder and Schroer, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
A high school teacher in Columbia in the Metro East resigned after receiving backlash for posting on her Facebook page about Kirk’s death, according to the Belleville News-Democrat.
Gabriel James, a former Columbia High School student, spoke out in support of Mary Adams during a school board meeting on Thursday.
“Ms. Adams was truly an invaluable educator, and her absence will be sorely felt,” James said.
In May, a representative from Turning Point USA was denied the opportunity to speak during the public comments portion of Francis Howell’s monthly school board meeting.
Board President Steven Blair said the board has a policy that only permits members of the public who have a direct relationship to the school district — including parents, students, and community members — to speak during the public comment period.
According to its website, Turning Point USA has over 800 chapters at college campuses and over 1,000 at high schools across the country and has seen an uptick in requests to start new chapters since Kirk’s killing.
Brooks said Francis Howell Families said students have expressed interest in starting a chapter of Turning Point USA before and after their announcement.
In a statement on Monday, the district said students who are interested in establishing a student group must meet some requirements, including: having a roster of at least 10 students who will attend club activities, a faculty sponsor who attends or supervises all club events and a description of the club’s goals and intended activities for review.
Then the group would need approval from the Student Council at each high school.
The district also has firm guidelines in place for how a school can receive financial donations.
Some of those guidelines include:
- Donations valued at up to $5,000 can be accepted by the building principal.
- If the value of the gift or donated item is greater than $5,000 but less than $20,000, the Superintendent of Schools may accept or deny it on behalf of the District.
- If the value of the gift or donated item is $20,000 or more, requires ongoing annual service, a maintenance fee, significant personnel time, initial or continuing financial commitments from the District, or is a gift of real property, the Board of Education must accept or deny the gift/donation.
Turning Point USA has chapters at Eureka High School in the Rockwood School District, Saint Louis University, Washington University and Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville.
The Francis Howell School District has been marred in political controversy and culture war-related issues since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Most recently, school board member Jane Puszkar, who was endorsed by Francis Howell Families, hired a consultant to review the district’s library books for “age-appropriate content,” without board or district approval.
In April, St. Charles County voters cast out the conservative majority on the school board and installed candidates that were endorsed by Francis Howell Forward, a progressive political action committee.
Francis Howell community members said at the time of the election that the change in leadership was a signal of a desire to move past the culture wars.
Jamie Martin, who serves as the president of Francis Howell Forward, said on Monday that she wasn’t surprised by the announcement.
“When Francis Howell Families was first formed, their main point was academics and not politics,” Martin said. “They were vocal against what they felt like was indoctrination in schools and this effort seems in direct contrast with that.”
Martin said Francis Howell Forward supports the students’ right to self-expression, but is wary of adults outside of the district getting involved.
“We’re not opposed to students organically forming any club,” Martin said. “We support freedom of speech, but we don’t feel it's appropriate to incentivize children towards political and religious causes.”
During a school board meeting in August, Chief Communications Officer Jennifer Jolls shared feedback gathered from staff, parents and students around school culture and climate as a part of the district’s five-year strategic plan.
“We heard a pretty consistent plea to end the culture wars at Francis Howell, with an understanding that conflict among adults within our community often filters down and impacts students,” Jolls said.
This story has been updated to include comments from Francis Howell Families, the Francis Howell School District and Francis Howell Forward.
