Bentonville school board race still hot - Axios NW ArkansasLog InLog InAxios NW Arkansas is an Axios company.

Bentonville school board race stays hot

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios Two of Bentonville's five school board seats will head to a runoff on Dec. 6. Why it matters: The race has from a conservative PAC that school board candidates who opposed teaching critical race theory (CRT) in public schools.One candidate endorsed by the PAC won a school board seat. The big picture: School board elections have become a , many of whom believe curricula are trending more liberal.New York-based has involved itself in school board contests in states like Florida, Texas, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Context: CRT is a graduate-level examining how race and racism may have influenced American law and institutions. Reality check: Multiple people who work in the Bentonville School District told Axios last week that critical race theory concepts and curricula are not taught in Bentonville schools. The latest: According to the Benton County election commission's :Zone 1 — Joel Dunning, a former teacher, won the area with 53% of the vote against Erron Smith, who collected 47%. Dunning is the only candidate endorsed by the 1776 Project who won a seat.Zone 2 — Jennifer Faddis, the lone incumbent in the race, received nearly 58% of votes cast, and opponent Gail Pianalto saw about 42%.Zone 3 — The three-way race between Jeremy Farmer, Blanca Maldonado and Matthew Smith will lead to a runoff between Farmer (38%) and Maldonado (33%).Zone 4 — Becky Guthrie won the zone with nearly 68% of the vote over opponent Tim Rosenau who received about 32%.Zone 5 — Tatum Aicklen (41%) will face a runoff with Letisha Hinds (29.5%).Of note: Yoselin Bolivar, the third candidate in the race, was endorsed by the 1776 Project. She lost to Hinds by four votes. Be smart: You can look up what , or . Get more local stories in your inbox with .Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.

More NW Arkansas stories

No stories could be found Get a free daily digest of the most important news in your backyard with Axios NW Arkansas.Subscribe Support local journalism by becoming a member.