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Tulsa Union School Board Member Could Use Some Schooling

10:39 AM EDT on August 12, 2020

Last week, we had Oklahoma State School Superintendant Joy Hofmeister on The Lost Ogle Show to talk about how Oklahoma public schools are going to re-open during the pandemic.

The TL;DL (too long; didn't listen) is that the state will issue some guidance and standards, but ultimately, it's up to the administrations and school boards of local districts to figure out when and how they reopen during a pandemic that, at last check, has already killed over 600 Oklahomans in just five months.

As a result of this plan, which I think we can all assume will probably not end well, concerned parents, teachers and students have been reaching out to their local school boards and superintendents, pleading with them to postpone in-person attendance and go to an online-only model in the name of public safety.

This includes Adam and Michelle Palmer from Tulsa. They have children who attend Union public schools, so they sent a nice little email to each member of the Union School Board asking to start the year with online schooling.

Here's the response they received back by school board member Jeff Bennett (pictured above). He's a customer service rep for United Airlines and hot air balloon enthusiast that has served on the school board unopposed since 2006:

Yeah, that's a real reply from a real school board member. Based on the "china virus" reference, the citing of debunked internet misinformation, and the fact that it reads like it was written by an 8-year-old boy, you have to wonder why Kevin Stitt hasn't already appointed him to the state school board?! It appears they share very similar views.

Seriously, though, what a dope! Was he drinking beer with the Western Heights School Board Member when he wrote that thing?

As a result of the email, Adam and Michelle are calling on him to resign:

Michelle Palmer said she’d like a call for Bennett’s resignation. Seventy-nine percent of Union students are Black, Indigenous or people of color or mixed race, she said.

“To have somebody who so casually drops racist rhetoric in response to an email from a concerned parent tells me Mr. Bennett is not interested in representing the total diversity of the Union school district,” Adam Palmer said.

Should a dopey school board member resign because he can't read or write well, believes in alternative facts, and, sadly, shares the same views of a lot of people in his district? I don't know. Perhaps it would be better if Adam or Michelle, or someone else with a brain, just ran against him instead in the next election. That may be an easier solution.

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