Emails that were able to be gathered via requests for public records from a parent’s association unveiled that the biggest teachers union in California had one researcher allegedly spy on parents who attempted to fight for their kids to return to the classroom during the pandemic.
Allison Stratton, one of the original founders of the Parents Association, a group of parents from different school districts in North San Diego County, stated to Fox News that emails sent from the California Teachers’ Association (CTA) highlighted how it took strides to fight against parents who wished for their children’s schools to come fully back to in-person teaching.
“We already suspected (it) because we see the same people show up at every school board meeting saying the same things, echoing what the union is saying,” exclaimed Stratton. “So, it’s not a surprise.”
The CTA, which has been vocally boasting that it is the largest member-driven and democratic group in the state, allegedly started looking for further information just a month after the parent’s group successfully slammed the state with a suit to reopen schools back in March of 2021.
The teachers union reportedly called on Ann Swinburn, a strategic research specialist, to try and uncover “some of the ideological leaning of groups” that paid for the lawsuits which have been filed against school districts all over the state.
As part of a series of back and forths, Swinburn asked a group of anonymous insiders who had all of the information about the Parents Association. During one of these replies, one of the parties accidentally added in a principal within the San Diego Union High School District, which has been officially hit with a suit by a local union, which was backed up by the CTA, in order to make them stay closed in December 2020.
“I think you accidentally included Adam Camacho on your reply,” stated one of the emails. “Not sure if we need to do any damage control.”
“I don’t think there will be an issue,” stated the response. “Unless someone does a record request for his work email.”
And Stratton, alongside the Parents Association, did exactly that.
Once the association disseminated the various emails across social media, Swinburn chose to outright delete her Twitter account. There are quite a few archived tweet, however, from Swinburn that were unearthed by groups of parents that allege that the CTA researcher thought that big money interest groups and right-wing groups were behind the vanguard for kids to head back to the schools for in-person training.
One candidate running for California superintendent of public instruction, Lance Christensen, denounced the revelations as “startling and disgusting” as part of a statement to Fox News.
“Conducting opposition research is a common practice in political campaigns. But to have the teachers’ union dedicate personnel to politically target moms and dads protecting their own children and expressing their first amendment rights is both startling and disgusting,” stated Christensen. “Entrenched special interests have used their war chests over the last two and a half years to intimidate and threaten anyone who dares to challenge their ineffective reign over public education.”
“This must end,” he concluded.