Conservative Guilford County school group, Take Back Our Schools, is shutting down

Featured photo: Guilford County School Board building

According to a Facebook post that was published on Monday morning, the conservative group known as Take Back Our Schools, is shutting down.

While the post does not indicate an author, the official Take Back Our Schools – GCS Facebook page published a long message on Monday indicating that the group was shutting down and that their “fight is over.”

As Triad City Beat has reported in the past, Take Back Our Schools has been operating in Guilford County since at least 2019 and has rallied around conservative issues such as anti-masking, book bannings and anti-vaccine mandates. Leading up to the November election, the group allegedly illegally endorsed and funded Republican school board candidates, two of whom won seats on the board.

Most recently TCB reported on the discrepancy between Take Back Our Schools’ nonprofit filing status and their actions during the election. According to their state filing, the organization was registered as a 501c(3) organization which is barred from engaging in political campaigns or raising money — both things that Take Back Our Schools has done. Instead, Gene Parker, the organization’s incorporator, asserted that he had incorrectly filed Take Back Our Schools as a 501c(3) and had intended to file as a 501c(4).

Given the discrepancies, Guilford County School board chair and vice-chair Deena Hayes and Winston McGregor, both Democrats, filed complaints against the organization to multiple entities including the State Board of Elections. However, it is unclear whether any action has been taken against Take Back Our Schools to date.

TCB reached out to Gene Parker for a comment but did not hear back in time for publication. 

The group’s Facebook post does not give an explanation either, vague enough in its messaging that a supporter asked outright in the comments if the group was shutting down. In response, the account responds that “yes, it is” because they “were not able to find anyone to take it over.”

The post itself thanks its supporters while leveraging a warning for those who pushed against the group.

“To those who continue to play the game and want to hide in the shadows we see you and more importantly your constituents know who you are and we hope will continue to call you out and hold your feet to the fire,” the post states. “More importantly God knows who you are. The truth always comes out and we can only pray justice will be served.”

Over the last year when criticisms have been launched against the group, leaders of Take Back Our Schools have claimed that they are just a tiny, grassroots organization. But reporting by TCB has shown that the group was anything but. Even in their farewell post, the group thanks major organizations like the John Locke Foundation as well as Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.

While the group has stated they are shutting down for now, it is unclear where that leaves many of the group’s followers in the aftermath. In the post, organizers for Take Back Our Schools urge members to pick up where the group left off.

“TakeBack’s fight is over,” the post states. “It is now up to all of you to #fixit.”