A back-to-school greeting from one of Oregon’s largest school systems has ignited backlash after officials chose a drag entertainer to deliver the opening message to teachers and staff.
Portland Public Schools shared the video on its official Facebook page Friday, marking the start of the 2026-27 academic year.
The clip opens not with a superintendent or school board member, but with drag performer Poison Waters, legally known as Kevin Cook, who was billed on screen as an advocate, educator and host.
Waters used the moment to praise district staff for their commitment to students.
“I’m here to wish you all a successful 2026, 2027 school year and to thank all the amazing principals, teachers, and staff for your dedication to your students and their learning,” Waters said. “While we can often get caught up in the hustle and bustle, it’s so important to remember that together we rise with excellence and purpose.”
Elected officials followed in the same video. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Maxine Dexter both appeared alongside other Portland-area figures later in the clip.
The footage stayed largely under the radar until the account Libs of TikTok surfaced it online, triggering a wave of criticism from national figures in the school choice movement.
Among the loudest critics was Corey DeAngelis, an education research fellow with the Heritage Foundation known for his advocacy of school choice.
He did not mince words in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Monday.
“Portland Public Schools’ back-to-school video is beyond parody,” he said. “The government school system is trying to groom young impressionable minds into gender ideology. They want to brainwash other people’s kids and replace their families.”
DeAngelis argued the video illustrated a broader overreach by public education officials into matters he said belong to families.
“The school system has overstepped their boundaries and needs to stay in its lane,” he said. “The public school system is rubbing it in that they have control over children whether the parents like it or not. Kids don’t belong to the government. Parents are responsible for passing down values to their children, not government schools.”
He then pivoted to a policy argument, framing the controversy as a case study for expanding education options outside traditional public schools.
“The video posted on the school district’s official Facebook account is free advertising for school choice and homeschooling,” DeAngelis said. “Families need the power to take their children’s education funding to the schools that align with their values rather than subvert them.”
California superintendent candidate Sonja Shaw offered a similar rebuke, telling Fox News Digital the casting decision was deliberate.
“That wasn’t an accident. It was a choice. And it tells you exactly where the district’s priorities are,” Shaw said. “Public schools exist to educate children in reading, writing, math, science and critical thinking. They are not stages for adult entertainment or ideological and cultural signaling.”
She urged the district to redirect its focus.
“Get politics and adult entertainment out of our schools and get back to educating children,” Shaw said.
Tina Descovich, CEO and co-founder of Moms for Liberty, added her organization’s voice to the criticism, telling Fox News Digital that a man in drag has no business welcoming children back to school.
“Portland Public Schools has been unabashed about its objectives: hijacking the classroom to push a sexualized curriculum and progressive viewpoints on impressionable children,” Descovich said, adding that teachers unions bear responsibility as well. “We see exactly what this district (backed fully by teachers unions) is doing, and Moms for Liberty will keep fighting to protect our children from the left’s indoctrination and get students back to learning again.”
Away from the political firestorm, Waters has built a decades-long career in Portland’s entertainment and advocacy circles.
A biography published by Portland State University describes Waters as a longtime performer, educator and community advocate who once taught a noncredit class on the history of drag at Portland Community College.
That same university awarded Waters an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 2025.
This is not the district’s first brush with controversy over gender-related policy.
Portland mother Allison Roberts recently filed a lawsuit against Portland Public Schools and her children’s elementary school, claiming administrators retaliated against her for objecting to gender-identity curriculum and a Progress Pride flag that includes intersex representation.
Fox News Digital previously reported that the district declined to comment on that ongoing case.
Portland Public Schools, Waters and Dexter’s office had not responded to requests for comment on the welcome-back video by the time of publication.
