An out-of-state political action committee dedicated to “changing education one school district at a time,” according to its website, has endorsed two candidates running for the Katy ISD school board, and is running ads on social media in support of one of them.

The 1776 Project PAC, based in Shirley, NY, is funding an ad on Facebook supporting David Olson, who is running against incumbent Dawn Champagne for Position 7. The ad appeared in the Katy Times’ publisher’s Facebook feed on April 12. The organization’s website also lists candidates that the group has endorsed in Texas school board races – and includes Olson, as well as Donovan Campbell, who is running for Position 6 against incumbent Rebecca Fox.

The organization’s Facebook page declares, “We are a PAC dedicated to electing school board members nationwide committed to abolishing CRT.” The PAC’s priorities, as listed on its website 1776projectpac.com, include reversing learning loss experienced during the pandemic, transparency about what is being taught in the classroom as well as transparency about how tax dollars are spent, parental rights, school safety and protecting girls’ spaces in locker rooms, bathrooms and girls’ sports. The group also opposes DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs and critical race theory while supporting a model of classical education in the arts and sciences and civics education.

The 1776 Project PAC claims on its website that it is the only national political action committee dedicated to electing conservative school board members. “We have a 62 percent win record, with over 200 successful candidates over the last three election cycles,” states the website.

The PAC was founded in 2021 by Ryan James Girdusky, who is a New York native, according to his website ryangirdusky.com/about-me. Since 2007, Ryan has worked in politics, starting out with New York City Councilwoman Helen Sears. He has worked on dozens of political campaigns including Michael Bloomberg for Mayor, Bob Turner for Congress, Liberty for All Super PAC, Bob Holden for City Council, and for the Logan Circle Group. He is also a writer whose work has been featured in nearly a dozen publications, and he has been a guest on television and radio shows.

However, both of the endorsed school board candidates deny association with this PAC. In answers to a candidate questionnaire created by the Katy Area Retired Educators group (KARE) and distributed to attendees at its April 10th meeting as well as through their electronic newsletter, the group asked: “Have you received or been promised campaign funds from any individual or organization (PAC) outside of the Katy area? If so, who are they and do they support or identify with an agenda? What is their purpose? Olson’s response: “I am not involved in working with nor raising money through any PAC. Any PAC will raise funds and support candidates which align with their core values. Individual donors will do the same for a candidate. As a candidate I have no say in who supports my campaign.”

Campbell said in response to the same questionnaire: “As a candidate, I am not involved in actively working with any PAC. I have received money from With Honor, a veteran-founded, veteran-run, non-

partisan PAC dedicated to supporting veterans who wish to serve civically. Rye, their CEO and co-founder, served in the Marines at the same time as I, and he's a friend of mine with a strong record of bipartisan public service and high personal integrity. With Honor's mission is to "strengthen democracy by fighting polarization with principled veteran leadership," and, among other things, With Honor has supported efforts to reduce the tax burden on Gold Star families – families who have lost a loved one in military service - as well as efforts to provide more Special Immigrant Visas for translators who served alongside US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm honored that they chose to support me.”

Rebecca Fox, the Position 6 incumbent who is running against Campbell said in her response: “I have not received or been promised campaign funds from any PAC outside of the Katy area in any of my campaigns or service to the district.” Dawn Champagne, the Position 7 incumbent facing Olson, replied to the questionnaire saying simply: “I have not.”

Fox and Champagne are both supported by a local Facebook group called KEEP (Katy Educational Excellence Partners) which has over 580 members, according to data from Facebook.