McGuckin and Kanitra defend students against marxist Murphy appointee

The 10th District duo are fighting Phil Murphy's latest assault on New Jersey students.

TRENTON, N.J. – Activists who approve the normalization of extremist views in classrooms to New Jersey’s 1.4 million schoolchildren must be kept off the state Board of Education, Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and Paul Kanitra say. They oppose Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to stuff the state Board of Education with far-left activists who will set the educational agenda for years to come.

Grassroots efforts by parents to thwart a Senate vote on Skillman, N.J. resident Serena Rice proved successful in March. Still, pressure to keep her confirmation off the Senate’s April 15 agenda must continue, the Assemblymen said. They will send a letter to Senate President Nick Scutari demanding her nomination be held.

“She thinks fathers and mothers who don’t want their sons and daughters exposed to sexually explicit material are bigots and is furious that anyone has a problem with children viewing drag queen shows,” McGuckin (R-Ocean) said. “If she wants to live in some unsustainable leftist fantasy, have at it. But stay the hell away from the rest of us and our children who live and compete in the real world.”

“Call me a crazy conservative, but I don’t think this is a person who should be anywhere near deciding what happens in our kids’ classrooms,” Kanitra (R-Ocean) said. “Her hostility toward parents, toward female athletes, and quite frankly, childhood innocence, should disqualify her.”

Profile Picture of Serena Rice

Rice currently leads Abiding Peace Lutheran Church in Budd Lake. Previously, she was the executive director of the Anti-Poverty Network of New Jersey and managing director of the Poverty Research Institute of Legal Services of New Jersey. She has never served as a teacher or on a local school board.

One of three nominees named by the governor at the end of 2023, Rice raised the ire of parents who flagged her Facebook posts—all since removed from her public profile. She claimed that “white male patriarchy” causes mass shootings and mocked concerns over biological males competing in girls’ sports as “absurd” and “not a problem.” She further stated that local school board candidates running on a parental rights platform were “reactionary candidates who want to make schools unsafe for queer kids under the misguided claim of protecting parental rights.”

The New Jersey Family Policy Center dug further into Rice’s policy positions which have since been erased from Facebook:

• She was "deeply bothered" by local moms and dads who run for school board under the slogan "respecting parents" In her view, she said, they are "reactionary candidates who want to make schools unsafe for queer kids under the misguided claim of protecting parental rights." Oct 21, 2023, Facebook

• She claims parents who share their concerns and objections to their local school board regarding sexually explicit lessons are "making schools less safe for trans students" because of their "bigoted backlash to the NJ state curriculum standards." Nov 7, 2023, Facebook

• She shared and celebrated a post that claims mass shootings are not caused by mental health problems, but by "White males." Furthermore, "This is not a mental health problem. This is a white male patriarchy problem." Mass shootings are "more about racism, sexism, privilege, and entitlement than anything else." May 26, 2022, Facebook

• She stated since some athletes have "physical advantages" over other athletes, protecting girls from physically competing against biological males is "absurd" and it's "not a problem.... we should focus on REAL problems." May 6, 2021, Facebook

• She shared and endorsed a post that said "...I celebrate drag queens... and I am furious with those who don't." Furthermore, she personally said about those who don't support drag queen shows for young children, "I genuinely do not understand what people are afraid of from a particular subculture just existing in their spaces." March 8, 2023, Facebook

• She believes to reject transgender ideology is a sin. "Transphobia is a sin. Let us call out and denounce the sin of transphobia in our communities and institutions..." Jan 15, 2023, Facebook

The 13-member state Board of Education is responsible for adopting the administrative code that dictates how state education law is implemented. Members also advise the state Department of Education commissioner on educational policies. They are nominated by the governor and must be vetted and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee before being voted on by the full Senate. They serve six-year terms.

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