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Soon after receiving this commendation, which the board’s newsletter called “a proud milestone,” Volpe contacted the Department of Education, calling and emailing to request a visit from the secretary.

“I basically kind of chuckled. I’m like, ‘this will probably never happen.’ But I said, ‘I’m willing to give it a try,’” she said.

“I wanted to basically have her come. I wanted to grill her on some questions that concerned me. And months went by and I didn’t hear anything,” she said.

When the call came in around Nov. 20 asking if the district would be willing to host the secretary, Volpe jumped at the chance.

“And to this day, I’m still in shock that they called. I still can’t believe we had the opportunity to do it,” she said.

By Saturday, Nov. 22, the event was confirmed.

“This was my first opportunity dealing with the federal government,” she said.

“They fly by the seat of their pants when they want to make an appearance. They have strict protocols. We don’t announce it to the state of New Jersey due to security measures,” Volpe said.

On Dec. 2, three days before the event, Cedar Drive Middle School families were notified that McMahon would be visiting.

Volpe also explained why she canceled a Dec. 3 board meeting that would have allowed the public an opportunity to ask questions and comment on McMahon’s visit.

Volpe said she had a district-related deposition earlier that day and she didn’t know how long it would take. She was concerned about being prepared for the board meeting that night, so she asked the superintendent to cancel the meeting.

“So regardless of rumors and misinformation that was put out by the media to the public that the meeting was canceled because I did not want to face the public or did not want to hear the public, is completely false,” she said.

During the meeting, the superintendent took “full responsibility for” excluding members of the public from a roundtable that included the board, three of their children and McMahon “because I’m not having a public meeting and public access when school children and staff members are present,” she said.

Several people who spoke at the meeting explained they were deeply concerned about the partners the superintendent listed in the initial email she sent to Cedar Drive Middle School families.

“The “History Rocks!” initiative is a key component of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, a national partnership between the U.S. Department of Education, the America First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College, and more than 40 national and state organizations,” the letter said.

The letter did not detail how any of the partners would be involved and this ambiguity left a lot of room for speculation about the content students would be exposed to during McMahon’s visit.

Speakers raised concerns about the groups’ views of traditional roles for women, their rejection of the trans community, and their embrace of a god-driven, overly positive and often whitewashed versions of American history.

Board member Robert Scales shared his understanding of why the partner groups are largely conservative.

According to Scales, groups like Black Lives Matter and the New Jersey Education Association “chose not to be a part of ‘History Rocks!’.”

“It’s an event, right? There’s trucks that have to be here. It’s a production staging to be set up, audio, visual. That requires money, right,” Scales said.

“The government went out to all organizations. The irony behind this is the only organizations that responded to this tour were right leaning organizations,” he said.

When asked about Scales comments about funding, the Department of Education said in an email “The freedom-loving groups that are a part of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition have not given any monetary contribution to the ‘History Rocks! Tour.’”

The department also did not confirm Scales’ claim that the groups he mentioned had been invited to partner with the secretary.

The only student who spoke at the meeting said she values her “diverse classmates and viewpoints that are taught.”

She asked the board to “reflect on the people you let into the school and how that will affect and possibly harm the students who this board claims to appreciate and seek to protect.”

Volpe said between 280 and 300 students participated in McMahon’s visit. Some parents kept their children home because of concerns about the type of information that might be shared with students given McMahon’s partners. About 320 6-8 students are enrolled at the school.

One Colts Neck father of seven, who identified himself as a “white Christian nationalist,” thanked the board for its “leadership and initiative that resulted in our small town being selected for Secretary McMahon’s visit.”

He was not alone in praising the board.

“Thank you for taking a stand for parents, children and teachers,” said a Manalapan resident.

“How relieved teachers must feel that they no longer have to be torn between their faith and a career,” she added