After the swearing in of the FHUSD School Board members on Wednesday, Jan. 11, a discouraging thing happened. Newly elected board members Libby Settle and Madicyn Reid did their best to take over the School Board by nominating each other as president and vice president.

Smarter board members Dana Saar, Jill Reed and newcomer Lillian Acker had no part of that horseplay. And of note, the likes of Crystal Cavanaugh and her supporters were there to cheer on their chosen ones, the same ones that actively campaigned against the school district override and bond issue last November. Settle and Reid want to do anything they can to dismantle our school district. Mark my words.

Oh, and it took no time for Board member Reid to pipe up on social media after the meeting about her grievances with actions and decisions of previous School Board members. Sound familiar? Yes, it does.

The same tactics of questioning past decisions are the mantra of Allen Skillicorn, Brenda Kalivianakis and Hannah Toth, newly elected members of Town Council, joined by Gerry Friedel. They couldn’t wait to start their assault on the Town’s sign ordinance, group homes and advocating for a prayer to start every meeting (by the way, expect that to be a topic of future School Board meeting agendas, too). Is it their need to address their yet unclear Town agenda by sowing distrust, nickel and diming every issue, and berating staff? They want to take the Town backwards. Mark my words.

What’s this mean? I’m not woke. I’m waking up to what seems to be a trend to negatively affect what our town is known for: a safe, friendly, orderly community that until now had focused on quality-of-life issues. Are you awake to what is going on?