Written by by Wenyuan Wu at californiaglobe.com
Many Americans, like the 68% majority who support the Supreme Court’s ruling against race-based college admissions (based on a January 2024 Gallup poll), are becoming weary of the constant drumbeat of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The woke DEI agenda replaces equality with equity, merit with shallow skin-color representation, and free speech with ideological conformity.
Oftentimes, the woke agenda justifies the recruitment and promotion of woefully unqualified individuals to important leadership positions, which inevitably hurts the integrity and competitiveness of the institutions that hired these individuals. The rise and fall of the Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps of the Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is a perfect example of how ideology overtakes merit to damage public education and erode public trust.
In April 2017, Dr. Marian Kim Phelps was confirmed as the Superintendent for the PUSD, a top-performing K-12 public school district in San Diego. At the time, the school board had a split vote which selected Dr. Phelps over a more qualified but less “diverse” candidate for the role. Dr. Phelps, a DEI appointee who made $418,514 in pay and benefits last year, actively promoted antiracism, equity and restorative justice in the school district within her administration. The all-encompassing campaign to inculcate students and staff into upholding DEI and critical race theory has caused concerns and disapproval among parents and community members, while PUSD students’ test scores suffered.