As the nation continues to grapple with contentious education issues such as parental rights and diversity initiatives in schools, one Wisconsin school board has illustrated the extent to which grassroots conservatives are taking an interest in local politics.

A school board in the sleepy city of Watertown saw a narrow 5-4 conservative majority on their school board rapidly turn into a 9-0 majority after the board’s four left-leaning members resigned, allowing the existing school board members to appoint their replacements.

Jarred Burke, superintendent of the Watertown Unified School District, said that he has seen a clear ‘ideological shift’ due to the resignations that have radically altered the school board’s composition.

“With each resignation, there has been a little bit more of a ideological shift,” Burke said. “But that’s what will happen when you have a board that picks the successors who resign.” (RELATED: Republican Businessman with Questionable History Enters Gubernatorial Race)

Watertown Unified School District has followed a trend of being willing to address more controversial education issues, instituting a ban on biological males in women’s bathrooms and sports as recently as November of last year.

One grassroots organization that has been driving policy changes at the local level in recent years has been Moms for Liberty. Moms for Liberty describes itself as an organization ‘dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.’

Reflecting increased interest in school board policies at the state and local level, Moms for Liberty’s growth in Wisconsin has exploded in recent years. In 2023, the organization had chapters in eleven Wisconsin counties. As of late 2024, the organization reportedly has chapters in over 400 Wisconsin schools. (RELATED: British Rap Group Loses U.S. Visa After Anti-Semitic Comments)