Moms for Liberty and their impact on Lowcountry school boards

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A nonprofit advocating for parental rights could play a key role in decision making for the Charleston and Berkeley County School Districts.

Moms for Liberty endorsed a majority of both counties’ newly elected school board members. So, who are the Moms for Liberty?

“Moms for Liberty is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots organization that was founded in 2021 by myself and Tina Descovich, two former school board members and moms,” said Co-founder Tiffany Justice.

Justice, who is based in Florida, said the organization has since expanded to 250 chapters with over 100,000 active members across the country. Their mission is to defend and protect parental rights at all levels of government.

Moms for Liberty endorsed five newly elected Charleston County School Board members and six in Berkeley County.

Kevin Hollinshead ran for the District Four seat in the Charleston School Board race but lost. He spoke about the influence of Moms for Liberty in this election.

“They had a heavy influence on this particular election. Whether we agree with them or not, they had this in motion for about two years,” Hollinshead said.

Berkeley’s new school board kicked off its term with a major shake-up on Tuesday night when they voted to fire Superintendent Deon Jackson and Dr. Tiffany Richardson who served as the district’s lawyer.

“It’s important to note these people are not new to school boards. They may be new to being a school board member, but they have been watching their school board and taking notes. They very clearly knew that their superintendent and their staff attorney were two issues that needed to be addressed and I really applaud them for taking swift action,” Justice said.

Meanwhile, the board’s decision is causing concern among another advocacy group that stands up for teachers. SC for Ed is calling for more transparency.

“We don’t know whether there was good cause to make those decisions, but the public should have been able to be informed of the decision-making behind that. And what really concerns us is the way that it’s impacted, again, teacher and staff morale,” said Steve Nuzum, SC for Ed’s Research Director.

The incoming Charleston County School Board will be sworn in on Friday, according to district leaders.