School Board Accountability and National Security Threats

On this October 30, 2023 broadcast, Kim Monson welcomed school board candidates from Thompson School District and Adams 12, who addressed alarming reading proficiency rates and the need for curriculum transparency. National security expert Andrew Thornebrooke from the Epoch Times analyzed how coordinated pressure from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea threatens American strategic interests. America Pressed on Multiple Fronts by Coordinated Adversaries Start listening at 72:12 – Hour 2 Andrew Thornebrooke, national security expert at the Epoch Times, warns that China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea now operate with unprecedented coordination to weaken American global influence. The United States faces resource constraints in cash, materiel, and military personnel, particularly artillery munitions and submarine crews, leaving it unable to respond adequately to simultaneous threats. Thornebrooke analyzes how Qatar occupies a contradictory position as both a major non-NATO ally housing America’s largest Middle East military base and a sponsor of Hamas leadership and Al Jazeera propaganda. He explains how China’s $2.5 billion airport renovation deal with Iran, paid in oil rather than currency, circumvents sanctions while strengthening the adversarial axis. The national security expert describes the Chinese spy balloon incident as a damaging intelligence failure, not because of data collection, but because adversaries observed exactly how America responds to such provocations. Land purchases near U.S. military installations by Chinese-linked entities represent ongoing intelligence collection risks parallel to intellectual property theft saturating both private industry and national laboratories. “Our adversaries are directly pushing these buttons because they know it will weaken us in the long run to thin us out and make us put our resources all over the world before we can really restock up here at home.” Andrew Thornebrooke, National Security Expert, Epoch Times Fighting for Transparency in Thompson School District Start listening at 14:07 – Hour 1 Nancy Rumfelt, current Thompson School District board member running for re-election, exposes a troubling culture of mistrust that prevents teachers and staff from sharing what really happens in classrooms. Rumfelt describes how board presentations rarely go below the surface, leaving parents and board members in the dark about actual student performance and behavioral issues overwhelming teachers. With a district budget of approximately $280 million, or over $20,000 per student, Rumfelt argues that transparency on both curriculum and spending must improve. Some Thompson schools report third-grade reading proficiency rates below 30 percent, a figure she calls unacceptable given the district’s strategic plan promises all third graders will be proficient by 2025. “They may be our students, but they are not our kids. They are 24-7 someone’s child, and they’re only our student for around seven to eight hours a day. And we need to remember that.” Nancy Rumfelt, Thompson School District Board Member A Paraprofessional’s View from Inside the Classroom Start listening at 24:47 – Hour 1 Yazmin Navarro, a military spouse and migrant parent running for Thompson School Board, took a job as a paraprofessional at her daughter’s school to see firsthand what was happening. What she discovered was deeply disappointing: students unable to...