Homeschool advocate and Moms for America state president is running for Polk School Board
A homeschool advocate and Moms for America state president has registered to run for the nonpartisan Polk County School Board seat currently occupied by Sara Beth Wyatt.
The Polk County Elections Office shows Rebekah Ricks, 44, of Winter Haven as the only candidate so far to have filed paperwork to run for the District 4 School Board seat. Her filing was dated Jan. 30 and listed her husband, Craig Ricks, as campaign treasurer.
Rebekah Ricks has previously run for the office and was defeated in the 2016 School Board race. She said she is primarily a stay at home mom but teaches college courses part time and remains the owner of The Homeschool Connection, which offers part-time, in-person instruction to homeschool students also taking online courses.
According to the homeschooler website Florida Parent Educators Association, “Rebekah (Ricks) has been active in politics and in the community since college, including working for several politicians.
“She is the founder of Moms for Medical Freedom and the President of Florida Moms for America, whose mission is (to) build the foundation of liberty on the homes of America, through the mothers of America, to raise a new generation of patriots, and heal our nation from the inside out.”
While her online footprint reflects partisan stances on policy issues, Ricks said in a phone interview on Tuesday that she believes students, parents and teachers deserve a voice in how the state and county operate educational systems.
"I know the legislation that is coming up that we are going to have to face, and I want to help our county," Ricks said. "That is really important to know what is going on in Tallahassee and making sure that in Polk County we implement the best way that is going to fit and help our children and our county.
"And it's parents, students and teachers; it is the trifecta there," she said. "You've got to make sure all these things are benefiting all the people that are being impacted."
Ricks said her role with Mothers for America includes tracking and writing portions of state legislation, including bills currently pending in Tallahassee. A Missouri native, Ricks said she gained a passion for studying legislation before moving to Florida.
She said 10% of the 3,000 bills introduced this session are related to education, and she mentioned two Florida bills in particular.
She is watching HB 1403, sponsored by Florida Rep. Josie Tomkow, R-Polk City, which could mean many changes for the parent choice voucher bills that passed in recent legislative sessions. The voucher bills provided funding for parents to use at religious and private schools and for homeschooling.
Should the bill in its current form pass, the age gap for special-needs and unique-ability students would be closed from the current laps in funding between ages 3 and 4, she said.
She said she's not so fond of other provisions in the bill, such as the elimination of spending on physical education equipment and equipment for students wanting instruments for music lessons, among many other educational items.
Another bill she's watching is an "anti-grooming" bill, she said.
The legislation (HB 1135) was filed by Rep. Taylor Yarkosky, R-Montverde, and would make “lewd or lascivious grooming” a third-degree felony. A groomer is defined as a person “preparing or encouraging a child to engage in sexual activity through overtly sexually themed communication with the child or in conduct with or observed by the child without permission from the child’s parent or legal guardian.”
Media reports about the bill have pointed out that Yarkosky has been a vehement critic of all-ages drag shows. The word grooming also has been used recently by conservatives to describe LGBTQ-inclusive school policies and drag events with children in attendance.
A history of activism
On the Moms for America website, Ricks is listed as the state president. It says she was an organizer of volunteers who washed clothes for the men and women aiding in the cleanup after Hurricane Ian.
The group’s website also promotes steps for building Christian families and tips on how to keep “groomers” from the LGBTQ community away from children in articles such as, “7 Ways to Beat the Groomers: Raise Your Kids with Healthy Gender Identity.” The article was posted on Sunday. The website also lets visitors register and download guides such as "Gender Confusion: What you need to know to protect your children," and "Social and Emotional Learning: How schools are indoctrinating children to be 'agents of change.'"
During the COVID pandemic, the Moms for Medical Freedom group opposed masks in classrooms as well as vaccinations to combat the coronavirus, as postings to its Instagram page show.
Ricks said she is not opposed to vaccinations in general but does not believe workers should be told to get vaccinated or lose their jobs, nor should parents be forced to get their students vaccinated for COVID.
On the events webpage of the Florida Moms for America, Ricks can be seen posing with national and local Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, of Georgia, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Florida Rep. Jennifer Cannady, R-Lakeland.
She also posted pictures of a former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., at a book signing flanked by women wearing Moms for America T-shirts. In another picture, she is holding a sign promoting adoption on a sidewalk next to a man holding an anti-abortion sign.
"I would say that I'm a conservative. I would not make bones about that," Ricks said. "But also a lot of things in education are not black and white. Like how you are implementing state law. Or how we are making sure our private school students get to take public school classes. Or that public school students are still getting the resources they need.
"Those are not necessarily left or right issues," she said. "They're everyone issues. They're issues that have to be worked out and talked through. So that is the point of the school board; talking through and making sure we have a good solution for those."
Is Sara Beth Wyatt running for re-election?
Wyatt, 29, has not filed paperwork with the Election’s Office. When reached on Monday for comment, she did not want to elaborate further on her possible run for re-election.
While Wyatt has been serving as a School Board member, she had simultaneously been busy in her professional life. She is listed on the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce website as its top leader, president and CEO.
Since her election to the School Board in 2016, Wyatt, who was elected in her early 20s, has twice served as its chairwoman.
A Winter Haven native, she has “a history of engagement and involvement in Polk County community,” her chamber website bio said.
James Dunn Jr. Political consultant sentenced for sending false texts in 2022 Polk School Board race
In addition to the School Board, Wyatt has served as development director for Theatre Winter Haven and has also served as program director for the Randy Roberts Foundation, her bio said.
More recently, she has served on the boards of directors for Polk Vision, Winter Haven Public Education Partnership and Junior Achievement of Polk County, the chamber said. She also participates as an advisory board member for Polk Academies and is a state level member of the advocacy committee for the Florida School Board Association.
In addition to the District 4 seat, there is also a challenger vying for a spot on the School Board to serve District 1.
Bernnie Brandt, 33, of Lakeland had filed to run in District 1, which is occupied now by first-term incumbent and board chairman William Allen. Brandt is a security supervisor who has never run for an elected position before.
The last day to register as a candidate for the School Board is June 14 at noon. Nonpartisan races, including School Board seats, are decided on Aug. 20, which is Florida's primary election day.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Moms for America state leader files to run for Polk School Board
