Alabama Republican Party (ALGOP) chairman John Wahl took to the airwaves on Tuesday to clarify his and the party’s relationship with the Alabama Education Association (AEA) and to dispel some of the misinformation spread by AEA consultant Brad Presnall, who made it sound like the relationship was stronger than it is.
Wahl conducted two interviews, first speaking with WVNN’s Dale Jackson and later that day with Jeff Poor on FM Talk 106.5.
“For me, this is what good leadership has to do,” Wahl said on "The Jeff Poor Show" in response to an inquiry about his decision to reach out to the AEA after seeing comments made by their executive director critical of legislation passed in 2014.
Alabama Daily News quoted Alabama Education Association executive director Amy Marlowe, who said, "It seems like we've gone backwards because we used to have laws in Alabama where, as a last stop, the school system could find kids that went missing."
"Maybe they moved or are homeschooling, but that was an extra safety net to make sure Alabama's children were safe," she added.
“I'm tired of watching conservatives be on the back [foot]. They get in the middle of a session, and something comes up that we all knew was coming and then we don't, we haven't set the narrative. We're on the back foot, and it gets pushed through at the last minute because conservative leaders didn't want to be proactive and didn't take a stand on it,” Wahl said of why it’s crucial that he get ahead of issues.
Wahl described facing pushback from people within the party who are critical of any trust in or conversations with the AEA after he released a press statement highlighting assurances he received from the group that they would not seek to undermine the rights of homeschool parents.
“Do I regret having gotten in the fight and protecting educational freedom and standing up for homeschoolers and the right of parents to be in charge of the children's education?" Wahl posited. "Absolutely not."
The ALGOP platform states explicitly, "We support options for learning, including: public education, parochial and private schools, charter schools, home-schooling, magnet schools and technical and vocational education. We recognize and support parental rights in their child’s education."
“The bottom line here, this was not a phone call to the AEA, where I'm like buddying up to them, or there's some kind of love affair. This is about the fact that I wanted to hold AEA accountable, and that's why I called them,” Wahl explained.
“And I think transparency is important with communication, especially if you're dealing with a party that has not earned your trust, which is where AEA is at with me right now," he added. "They have not earned my trust. I do not believe them.”
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