The Culture War in Somers: Education, ideology and the battle for accountability

Dear Editor, 

In our quiet town of Somers, a culture war has been brewing under the surface for years, and the heart of the battle is education. What started as a community’s effort to question the direction of its school district has escalated into a full-scale ideological clash. Parents have been deeply concerned about the academic decline of their children, while a vocal minority of progressives on the school board appear more focused on political agendas than the future of Somers students.

At the center of this debate is the Somers Central School District, where student proficiency scores and rankings have plummeted.  This decline in academic performance, despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, stands in stark contrast to surrounding districts like Briarcliff and Katonah, where proficiency rates are significantly higher. In this context, it’s not just about numbers—it's about the future of the children who will be entering an increasingly competitive world, and whether the district’s leadership is doing enough to prepare them.  According to the Westchester Magazine school ranking, we have dropped each year and in 2024 we ranked 27th out of 48 high schools in Westchester.  On their College Readiness index, Somers received a 52.1, compared to North Salem's 65.7, John Jay's 68.2 and Greeley’s 83.6.

For years, many Somers parents have felt that their concerns about this decline, as well as other troubling developments in the district, were being ignored by a board more concerned with pushing political ideologies than with the academic success of students. The hiring of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) coordinator, whose views on race and identity openly contradicted the community’s values, was one of the earliest red flags. The individual in question, a vocal activist, made headlines with statements like “Racism does not cease to exist until whiteness, as a social construct, ceases to exist.” Despite concerns raised by parents about whether such extreme views were appropriate for a role aimed at guiding children, the school board remained silent—revealing just how far the district had strayed from its mission of educating all students equitably.

When parents began questioning these decisions at board meetings, demanding answers about why their children’s education was being compromised and hijacked, they were met with disdain. Rather than receiving transparent responses, these concerned parents were dismissed with labels like “racists,” “nationalists,” or “misinformation spreaders”—terms designed to silence dissent and discredit their legitimate concerns. This is a tactic that many are now recognizing as part of a broader strategy to “pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it,” a directive taken from Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals.

This strategy has not only fractured the community but has also created a dangerous precedent where legitimate questions about the effectiveness of educational policies are dismissed as part of a broader culture war. The concern here is not about whether DEI initiatives or progressive educational practices have a place in schools. The concern is about whether these policies are being implemented with proper oversight, transparency and an unwavering focus on improving student outcomes.

In May 2023, a ray of hope emerged. The community turned out in record numbers to vote for Dom DeMartino and Patrick Varbero to the school board—two candidates who had promised to restore transparency and hold the district accountable for its spending and decisions. The public’s enthusiasm for their election was a direct response to the growing frustration with the previous board’s lack of engagement and accountability. Parents who had felt shut out of the conversation began to see that change was possible. With a historic win, the community felt relief but what we forgot was the voices that got them there also needed to stand with them.  Electing two board members in itself is not enough.  Every year a community must show up and continue to have their voices heard,  BOE elections are not one and done!

Now, as the district faces even more pressing challenges—namely, the continued decline in academic performance—it’s time for the community to take the next step. Three new candidates, Michael Ritacco, Michael Rinaldi and Jozef Vala, all long-standing residents of Somers, with children in the district, are standing up to continue the fight for transparency and real change. None of them have held political office before, but are deeply committed to the well-being of their children and the broader community. They are not motivated by political ambition but by a desire to protect the future of their schools. Their candidacy represents a return to a district focused on the needs of students rather than the ideological agendas of activists or union leaders.

Somers stands at a crossroad and it is in the hands of the community to vote on May 20th.  Will we allow the ongoing ideological conflict to continue to drive a wedge in our community? Or will we stand united, regardless of political leanings, to ensure that our children’s education is the top priority?
If there is a culture war in Somers, let's be honest about who started it. This was not a war started by the parents; it was one imposed upon them. It wasn't the concerned parents asking legitimate questions about the future of their children’s education who brought this here.  Most parents were sending their children to school to give them the best start they could, while they went off to work to be able to afford the school taxes. It was a small but particularly vocal minority of progressives who, over the past several years, have used their positions on the school board to push a political agenda—an agenda that has led to the academic decline we see today. 

Now, it’s time for a change. We need school board members who are willing to ask tough questions, hold the administration accountable, and put students—not politics—at the center of their decisions. Vote for Michael Ritacco, Michael Rinaldi and Jozef Vala to restore accountability, transparency, and focus on the future of Somers’ children.

In the end, we must remember that the true battle is not over ideology—it’s over the quality of education we are providing for our kids. And in this fight, we cannot afford to lose, and we win by having our votes count on May 20th.  

-Tina Berisha Palushaj, Somers