ST. CHARLES COUNTY — A U.S. congressman and two state senators are offering a $1,000 gift to Francis Howell School District high schoolers to set up Turning Point USA chapters.
The gift is “in cooperation” with Francis Howell Families, a political action committee formed in 2021 to elect conservatives to Francis Howell’s school board, according to a Saturday news release.
U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Senators Nick Schroer (R-Defiance) and Adam Schnelting (R-St. Charles) made the offer to students at each of Francis Howell’s three high schools.
“Francis Howell Families along with our local elected officials believe TPUSA offers our nation’s youth a positive vision of faith, freedom, and love of country,” reads the release. “Special thanks to Congressman Onder and State Senators Schnelting and Schroer for their generous support!”
Some constituents in the Francis Howell district have criticized the offer.
“This is not empowering students, this is exploiting them,” former Francis Howell superintendent Mary Hendricks-Harris said.
The offer is the latest example of how Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to reverberate throughout the St. Louis area. At least two area teachers have faced backlash for commenting about his controversial politics or death.
Kirk, a prominent player in the Make American Great Again movement, founded Turning Point in 2012 to galvanize young conservatives to vote. The nonprofit now has over 800 college and 1,000 high school chapters — including groups at St. Louis University, Eureka High School, Washington High School in Franklin County and Washington University in St. Louis, according to Turning Point’s website.
Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 by a 22-year-old gunman who “had enough of his hatred,” according to texts released from authorities.
Onder, Schroer and Schnelting did not respond to voicemails seeking comment Sunday.
The PAC’s announcement did not specify the roles of each party, nor how much each would donate to the $1,000 incentive, but said the money would cover “startup and operating expenses.”
Francis Howell Families had $405 on hand as of its latest Missouri Ethics Commission report from July 1.
Chris Brooks, spokesperson for Francis Howell Families, said the group has seen “quite a bit of interest” from students to set up Turning Point chapters.
“We don’t want any students to miss out on the important experiences a TPUSA club can provide because of the cost to run it,” Brooks said in an email.
“Charlie Kirk’s mission in life was respectful dialogue with students,” Brooks continued. “We agree with that mission and want to help carry on with it.”
Hendricks-Harris, superintendent of Francis Howell from 2015 to 2020, said she was unaware of any students trying to start chapters during her tenure. She has since helped organize against rising politization at Francis Howell by co-founding a PAC that foils Francis Howell Families.
“This is very polarizing, which is the exact opposite thing that we want to have in our schools,” Hendricks-Harris said. “We don’t want our kids being paid to think politically or paid for politics.”
Francis Howell Families has elected five school board members to Francis Howell’s school board since the 2022 general election, bringing about a massive cultural shift at the district that started with debates over mask mandates.
School board meetings, once mundane procedures focused on budgets, contract approvals and curriculum updates, turned into packed centers of debate on transgender students’ bathroom access or whether certain learning materials indoctrinated children.
Francis Howell Families candidates have lost the last two elections, and the conservative majority once held on the school board has since been broken by members who ran on more progressive or apolitical platforms.
Recipients of the $1,000 gift would have to clear a few hurdles to form Turning Point chapters.
New clubs need to verify the interest of 10 students to form, as well as secure a sponsor and write a constitution. An application would also need approval from the high school’s student council, Francis Howell Central’s student handbook shows.
For Isabella Duncan, who graduated from Francis Howell Central in May, “politics and school shouldn’t be mixed.”
“I think a lot of people at the school would not be OK with this,” Duncan said. “Of course there was a death, but capitalizing on it and brining [a chapter] it into a school environment is something that should not happen.”
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Monica Obradovic | Post-Dispatch
Education reporter
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