Back on Track PAC's voter guide highlights Marxism, gender identity, staff turnover
Back on Track America, a political action committee based in Springfield, posted its 2025 voter guide — including questions about Marxism and gender identity — for the April 8 school board election.
The other questions focused on more mainstream issues such as teacher turnover, technology, and budget cuts.
The annual guide, the result of a survey from Christians Uniting for Political Action, asked seven "yes or no" questions aimed at identifying which of the four candidates align with the priorities and beliefs of the groups.
Candidates Kelly Byrne and David Myers completed the survey — and answered "yes" to every question — while Sarah Hough and Gail Smart opted not to participate.
The survey was conducted by Calvin Morrow, executive director of CUPA and Back on Track America PAC. The News-Leader left a message seeking comment from Morrow but it was not returned.
Back and Track and CUPA have issued voter guides in recent school board elections.
A note at the bottom of the 2025 guide said it was created for educational purposes "so voters will know where a candidate stands on important issues."
This year's guide also includes a snapshot of how students performed in key areas on 2024 state-mandated exams.
On April 8, the two board candidates with the most votes will be sworn in mid-April. They will serve three-year, at-large terms alongside Judy Brunner, Danielle Kincaid, Maryam Mohammadkhani, Susan Provance, and Shurita Thomas-Tate.
The board sets policy, approves an annual budget and hires and evaluates the superintendent.
Byrne and Myers answered "yes" to the seven questions on the survey. They included:
Are you concerned that the SPS district is losing students and teachers due to a lack of effective discipline policies for addressing behavior problems?
Would you support a policy requiring textbooks and/or workbooks for all core subjects to be available for students to use at home?
Would you follow the current federal government administration's guidelines to define and identify the two sexes as male and female in all school policies?
Would you support freezing the salaries of executive administration instead of making budget cuts that directly impact students and teachers?
Would you support policies in the district that promote American patriotism and individualism while discouraging Marxism and collectivism?
Do you believe parents should have the ultimate authority over their children's education?
Do you believe the Springfield school board should hold the superintendent and executive staff accountable?
In recent interviews, Smart and Hough acknowledged they were invited to participate in the survey but declined.
"Candidates get a lot of candidate surveys and what I do appreciate about them, although it takes a lot of time to fill them all out ... what I appreciate about many of them is their open-ended questions. You're asked a question and you get to write a response," Hough said.
More: Springfield MSTA endorses 3 candidates for 2 open SPS board seats
Of the Back on Track and CUPA questions, Hough said "that particular survey is a 'yes or no' to fairly leading questions that, to me, would be a more nuanced discussion than a simple 'yes or no.'"
Myers and Byrne said they filled out the survey because they were asked. "Anybody that's asked, I've done it," Byrne said.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: What to know about Back on Track PAC's Springfield voter guide
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