This episode contains strong language.

In Bucks County, Pa., what started out as a group of frustrated parents pushing for schools to reopen devolved over the course of a year and half into partisan disputes about America’s most divisive cultural issues.

But those arguments have caused many to overlook a central role of the Central Bucks School District’s board: providing quality education.

In Part 2 of our series on school board wars in the U.S., we look beyond the fighting and examine the pandemic’s harsh effects on teachers and pupils.

Guest: Campbell Robertson, a national correspondent for The New York Times.

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Background reading: 

• Republicans are heading into the 2022 midterm elections aiming to capitalize on the frustrations of suburban parents still reeling from the devastating fallout of pandemic-era schooling.
• The F.B.I. has begun to track threats against school administrators, teachers and board members to assess the extent of the problem.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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