Dads4Heights respond to rumors, conspiracy theories surrounding them

Dads4Heights sat down with The Kansas Constitutional to confront conspiracy theories and rumors being spread around about them from those left of center.

Dads4Heights are three dads—Michael Cichowicz, Troy Showalter, and Damon Shore—running for USD 450 Shawnee Heights School Board. However, despite this being a local school board election, the dads say they never expected the amount of attention they have received.

“I’m not a politician,” Cichowicz said. “I’m not running for President of the United States, or Senator, or Congress, or anything where maybe I would expect these issues to come up more.”

One concern that left-leaning individuals have brought up is their worry of “fake issues” like parental rights and the push back on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Cichowicz, however, said it’s not a fake issue for many parents.

“The easiest way to shut down a conversation you don’t want to have is to call it ‘fake’ or ‘misinformation,’” Cichowicz said.

“It’s a label used to shift perspective of the reader,” Shore said. “We have evidence of the issues. We have evidence of parent’s concern…. We are not generating a narrative that does not come from the community.”

Shore also stated that it feels as though they are displacing a large concern of the community simply because a candidate is running.

Showalter said he thinks it comes down to a difference of opinion.

“Whether you’re talking about parental rights. Whether you’re talking about these are real or fake issues. And how does it help kids with respect to DEI?” Showalter said. “On each of these things, yes, I’m running for school board, but I’ve also lived it as a parent. My opinion is that the current board’s regard for what parents think is very low, and I speak from experience.”

Showalter gave examples ranging from how COVID was handled to finding a line of posters at Shawnee Heights Middle School that started with ‘America is a Racist Country’ to the councilor’s office door having decor promoting “LGBTQ++.” Showalter also stated that adults should be able to live their lives and do what they want, but when it comes to children, it’s inappropriate to “advertise” any kind of sex.

Shore went onto add that due to the school board being a nonpartisan position, that he will look at things as objectively as possible with part of that being the need to know how educational functions are meant to serve.

“How does it improve the student outcome? And what educational function does it serve?” Shore said. “Then we can debate it from that capacity, and that’s the only capacity I really want to debate it.”

Dads4Heights have also had people concerned for being endorsed by ‘Moms for America,’ an organization with the mission “to empower moms to raise patriots and promote liberty for the healing of America.” The criticism being that the group is similar to ‘Moms for Liberty’ a group whose mission is to “fight for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government,” and a group that has raised objections to books and curriculum and wants to remove vaccine requirements. However, as the three dads are not all running the same campaign, they don’t all have the same endorsements. So, while Cichowicz and Showalter are endorsed by Moms for America, Shore is not.

“The people attempting to link the two groups are the same people that do not want any parental oversite in education,” Cichowicz said.

Cichowicz said he asked for an endorsement from Moms for America because they raise objections to books and curriculum.

“The Board of Education is not raising our kids. Your local educators are not babysitters,” Cichowicz stated. “We, as parents, are responsible for our kids.”

Cichowicz also said, “I hear a lot about parental apathy in regard to being involved in their student’s academic journey, but there is a large group of parents that want to be involved. It is apparently the wrong type of involvement according to these people trying to paint us as book banners and radicals.”

Cichowicz said that as a School Board member, he would like to hear from parents and explain the board’s position confidently without a political agenda.

Showalter read off questions that he screenshotted from Moms for America when asking for an endorsement. Questions included listing the reasons he was running for school board and how he would address the main issues with the current school board or district. However, there were also more hot topic issues like whether he supported school choice.

“I think this is important,” Showalter said. “Whether I support it or not, their actions have caused this situation, and now it’s out of their hands. It is a relevant topic. Why do they blame Moms for America for understanding it? They should also understand it.”

Another question was, ‘Who do you think is the ultimate authority in a child’s education and wellbeing?’

“I think this is a difference of opinion,” Showalter stated. “They think the NEA and them are responsible and have total control. Parents, at least the parents in this room, think the parents have control of their child’s education…. I side with myself, as a parent. And they can have their own opinion and we can disagree and that’s fine.”

Other questions dealt with other social issues like race and LGBTQ+ issue.

Shore said he isn’t endorsed by Moms for America because he didn’t ask to be after negative attention was brought to Cichowicz who was endorsed first.

“All it was, was people trying to use the Google searches of Moms for Liberty like it’s Moms for America,” Shore said. “I think that is an attempt to create fearmongering or guilt by association… At the end of the day, traditional values, sign me up… there’s nothing wrong with that. Being a patriot, that should not be a difficult word for people to say anymore.”

He also pointed out that Moms for America has been around since 2004, stating that they only got this much attention due to Moms for Liberty, a group started in 2021, being so aggressive in what they’re doing.

The conspiracy theory of Dads4Heights being funded by a PAC was also brought up. However, all three candidates deny this, claiming they fund themselves, but have a place on each of their separate pages of the dads4heights website where individuals can donate to each of them individually.

Lauren Tice Miller, who is seeking re-election to the USD 450 Shawnee Heights School Board, is running against Shore. She claimed that candidates need to focus on “real issues” and gave the example, “the growing use of fentanyl in the state.”

Cichowicz said he found it concerning that she would use her voice as a lobbyist for the KNEA to speak over the parents of the state, including her own district, and call their concerns “not real.” He also said he does not believe that the state’s growing use of fentanyl is the number one priority locally.

“I want to focus on our local issues of prevalent vaping in the middle and high schools, maintenance issues, overcrowding, and our property values,” Cichowicz said. “If we want to depoliticize our boards, let’s get the politicians out first.”

“I think if they weren’t real issues, then I wouldn’t be running,” Shore said. “I think it’s the parents, it’s the teachers, it’s the administrators, it’s the people that work in the school systems and have been in the school systems that will determine the real issues. The community will determine the real issues. And it’s important for the school board to listen to them.”

Shore also said he would be hard-pressed to focus specifically on fentanyl usage as part of a school board.

“I would actually like to understand the quantitative side of the aspect which would be like, is it laced into something? Is it being sold on schoolgrounds? Is that the topic of discussion here? Because generalizing, saying we need to focus on fentanyl usage as a school board is really a stretch. I can’t link the two, personally,” Shore said. “I can link it if it’s being laced into another drug and it’s being sold on schoolgrounds or it’s being used on schoolgrounds. That becomes a different topic of conversation.”

Shore also said that they have policies on that, but that he isn’t sure that such policies are effectively being handled.

Conspiracy theorists have also claimed that Dads4Heights are “White Christian nationalists.” Something that all three of them deny.

“I have no idea where they would even get that from,” Cichowicz said. “Besides the fact that I am white. Because I am proud to be an American and take my rights seriously? Who even knows where that came from.”

Shore asked Showalter the number of times they had been in a situation where they were compared to something that was nowhere close to who they actually are.

“This situation right here, yes, granted, that is my race. I’ve been open about my faith. My faith has ebbed and flowed over the years. I use the word ‘prayer’ in a statement. But I’m not going to hide my faith to encourage people who may or may not vote for me based on whether or whether I’m not a Christian,” Shore said.

Shore also said that this extension of labeling has been frustrating and a test to his emotional intelligence, but he doesn’t know where the narrative came from, and that he couldn’t even fathom the concept of it, stressing that all he wants is to create an environment where children can come in and learn.

“It’s just them trying to control or create a narrative to put fear in people,” Shore said.

An anti-LGBTQ+ narrative has also surrounded Dads4Heights. However, all three dads willingly sat for hours having an open discussion with a journalist who is openly gay, Showalter, even inviting him to his home.

“You’re an adult. Live your own life,” Showalter said. “Why is it so important to talk about sex to minors?”

“Your character is not defined by your sexual orientation by any means,” Shore added. “Are you a good human? Yeah. Do you treat me kindly? Yes. And I’m fine with it. I want you to have the chance at prosperity just like anybody else in this country. And I want you to have access to the education that everybody else should have in this country.”

Shore said his approach or policies are not attempting to alienate anybody, but to drive an educational, functional environment.

“I get it. People are going to have their feelings hurt across the way. I’m sorry,” Shore stated. “We don’t live in a society where anybody can be catered to 24/7. But I can treat you the same way you treat me. I can be a resource for you when you need help. I can be there for you at any point in time regardless of anything that you align with. It doesn’t matter.”

“You go back to, ‘How does it help kids?’” Showalter said. “If it takes resources away from the things that, in my opinion, ought to be focused on in terms of education, and I’m not saying all you need is reading, math. There’s a lot of things that you can do to develop your mind. Maybe there are some good things about homosexual books in the library, but there are reasons to protect minors from sex too early.”

The school board election will be held on Tuesday, November 7 with the registration deadline on Wednesday, October 17. To register to vote in Kansas, click here.