Why We Oppose Edward Weniger

Edward Weniger brought a concealed firearm into the Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 meeting of the Papillion La Vista Community School Board of Education, and when he was questioned if he had a weapon by a police officer who was present at the time, Weniger refused to acknowledge he was armed. One of the charges he faced included “Unlawful possession of a firearm on school grounds,” a Class IV Felony.

In testimony, Papillion Police Officer Svajgl said he was working security detail at the PLCS meeting when he spotted a metal clip on the outside of Weniger’s sweatpants with an accompanying bulge. Svajgl asked to speak to Weniger about the clip and asked him if he had a weapon. After several non-committal answers from Weniger, Svajgl said Weniger asked if he was free to go. When Weniger was handcuffed and searched, Svajgl found a Ruger LCP, a lightweight compact, semi-automatic handgun.

Weniger was sentenced to probation until June 2024 for the charges of “Failure to inform officer of concealed handgun” and “Violation of permitholder restrictions,” and he was also banned from board meetings for 1 year following the incident, per board policy.

Weniger posted the following on Facebook on June 16, 2023, “I disagree with the existence of the entire public school system,” all while comparing grooming, a serious crime, to the D.A.R.E. program.

On July 20, 2023, a book banning event was held near the PLCS central office, co-organized by SPLC-recognized extremist group “Moms for Liberty” and other local groups with a penchant for extremism whose members are the same people Don Bacon was referring to when he used the “radical” label. The organizers banned some community members along with the press, and they tried to intimidate attendees out of using recording devices in order to keep audio or video from reaching the public.

Their attempts didn’t work and recordings are being leaked.

The video above is a recording of Edward Weniger instructing attendees to abuse a complaint form as a way to attack teachers and librarians he disagrees with in an attempt to revoke their teaching certifications, endangering their very livelihoods. The form in question is intended to be used for very serious allegations, such as with cases of sexual assault. It is NOT intended to be used in some sick revenge plot against teachers and librarians the complainant disagrees with.

Later on, he instructs the audience to associate school board and city council political opponents with the words “porn” and “children”, so “it makes it easier to replace them come November 2024”. He also jokes that “I probably won’t be able to get through this whole thing without saying ‘groomers’.” We don’t think this is a joking matter, and indeed, this very tactic was used by Edward Weniger himself against the 3 Republican incumbents he is running against.

The PLCS Community Closet is a program that has provided for over 2,200 Papillion-La Vista families in need using clothing and personal hygiene products that were voluntarily donated by other families and businesses in the community.

At the 8/14/2023 BOE meeting, during public comment Weniger says, “It is not the job of the school to feed and clothe children, to serve them breakfast and open a community closet. These are things a nanny state does.”

The PLCS Community Closet is a great example of PLV families taking care of each other of their own free will, but Edward Weniger has repeatedly spoken against this program, comparing it to Mao’s reign and “communism”.

KMTV did a story on the program, highlighting the generosity of others in the community. This program is available for any family in PLCS or anyone living within the district. Visit the district’s website for more information, and you can also make monetary donations through the PLCS Foundation’s website.

In an email dated 3/23/23 to the PLCS school board and central admin, Weniger demands a school staff member face disciplinary action for merely listing “LGBTQ+” as one of several book categories in a high school building. Weniger described this staff member who was simply doing their job as “encouraging this proliferation of obscene material.”

At the June 12, 2023 PLCS board meeting, Weniger suggests the district is in the business of distributing actual pornography, demands to see disciplinary action taken against librarians for stocking books he disagrees with, and manufactures outrage by intentionally misrepresenting the facts over what the district has or hasn’t done about his personal “concerns”. Considering everything Edward has stated against public schools, are these “concerns” even legitimate, or are they just part of a smear campaign in an attempt to destabilize the district in his continued attacks against our public schools?

Weniger has also promoted a bill (LB 441) that would subject librarians and staff in our public schools and libraries to criminal prosecution under state obscenity laws over his deliberately misconstrued definition of “obscenity”.

Weniger signed the Moms for Liberty pledge, and has regularly participated in their events and other pledge signings. Moms for Liberty is recognized by the SPLC as an extremist group, and for good reason. An example from the SPLC’s entry on Moms for Liberty reads, “Melissa ‘Missy’ Bosch (Lonoke County, AR Chapter) was indicted for terroristic threatening towards the faculty and staff of Cabot School district. She was recorded musing about gunning down a school librarian.”

We believe we can have discussions about books without threatening teachers and librarians or resorting to defamation, both of which Edward has advocated for.

In this screenshot, he says he hopes “that more and more parents get involved in our district,” while using the hashtag “parents rights,” and has repeatedly stated that parents don’t have any say over their childrens’ education, but this is a false narrative. The reality is that the district already has healthy policies in place which includes providing parents/guardians the tools to monitor their childrens’ reading materials and opt their children out of anything they object to. That is what parental control looks like, and that is what we have.

However, that’s not good enough for Edward. He wants to make decisions on behalf of ALL PARENTS according to his own preferences and personal standards. That’s not maximizing “parental involvement” or embracing “parents rights”; that’s maximizing his own preferences and control instead of allowing other parents to make decisions for their own children.