💰This is an expensive school board race | Morning Newsletter

We’re in for sunny skies and a high of 57.

We’re launching our latest newsletter, Inside Johnny Doc’s Trial, on Monday. It’s a weekly briefing on the ex-Local 98 leader’s federal embezzlement trial from reporters Jeremy Roebuck and Oona Goodin-Smith. The ex-labor boss is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the union he led for nearly three decades. Sign up today.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Bucks school board has been at the center of bitter culture wars. The arguments have centered on topics like masking, book bans, and the treatment of LGBTQ students.

Political action committees backing and opposing candidates for control of the school board are pouring big money into the intense race. As the money reaches nearly $600,000, our lead story explains how we got here.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Central Bucks is the third-largest and one of the wealthier districts in Pennsylvania.

Important numbers: As of Oct. 23, Democrats aiming to take over the board raised $317,649. Republicans, fighting to maintain their majority, raised $224,230. A political action committee attacking Democrats raised an extra $40,000.

Context: Political observers say most school board spending is not usually like this. A 2018 survey conducted by the National School Boards Association found that 75% of respondents spent less than $1,000 on their most recent school board election, while only 9% spent more than $5,000.

Over the past two years, Republicans on the Central Bucks board have passed policies banning Pride flags and prohibiting “sexualized content” in books. Just last month, the board advanced a policy that would ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that aligned with their gender identities.

Community members and advocates like the American Civil Liberties Union have intensely pushed back. Knowing that Republicans would likely have big-money backing like they did during the 2021 election, which cemented the GOP majority on the board, Democrats say they were motivated to counteract this year.

Take a look to see who are the biggest donors.

More than 400 protesters staged a rush hour sit-in and rally at 30th Street Station Thursday to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

At least 200 activists waved “cease-fire now” signs and stood in the grand court of the historic building with significant police presence. Another 200 demonstrators rallied outside chanting “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation has got to do.”

The gathering was peaceful and did not interfere with service but commuters struggled to get to platforms. About three hours in, police started detaining an undetermined number of demonstrators after they refused to stop blocking entrances at several Amtrak gates. The demonstrators surrendered voluntarily.

Note: Demonstrations have increased with the Israeli military’s escalating siege in the Gaza strip following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, with more than 200 hostages unaccounted for. Palestinian authorities say Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed 9,000 people, more than half women and children.

Click here for more pictures and videos of the demonstration.

The Twitter account @DidTheSixersWin is shutting down after documenting how many seasons?

A) 2

B) 7

C) 10

D) 15

Think you know? Check your answer.

👀Watching: Walt Disney Co. said it will acquire the remainder of Hulu from Comcast for at least $8.6 billion.

💭Wondering: How would you define a Philly nightclub? It was one of a few bills Philly City Council considered this week.

Hint: 🎢

FIX GLASS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Robert Terruso, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: Point Breeze.

That should get you started for the day. Stay warm out there.