001Welcome to our uh opo school board meeting please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I pled Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all good evening again once again um we're going to open it up right here for the public comment or the agenda items right we look forward to listening to public comments we recognize the value of the thoughts on educational issues and school matters there are a few reminders please come to the podium to speak to the board please keep your statements to 3 minutes or less there will be a 30 seconde notice to inform you that the three minutes are closely approaching discussions involving Personnel litigation and student discipline will not
002be permitted thank [Music] you okay we have no one signed up to comment on action items tonight okay thank you we're on to the consent agenda board have you had the opportunity to look at the consent agenda yes are there any questions or comments no questions may I have a motion to approve so move I second all those in favor signify by saying I I I motion [Music] passes next uh performance of the budget Jim hly thank you Mr President uh each month we present our financial report comparing the year-to-date Revenue to the year-to-date expenditures for our tax supported funds our year year toate performance of funds report as of October 31st of this year shows the following in the education fund Revenue year-to date is 42 milon 545 926 with year-to dat expenditures of
0034,697 799 Revenue has exceeded expenditures by 4.34% for the year in our debt service fund year-to date Revenue 2,155 456 year-to dat expenditures of 3,843 910 expenditures have exceeded Revenue but all Debt Service payments have been made for the year and we will have an additional tax draw in December in the pension debt fund year-to date Revenue 1, 26644 the year-to-date expenditures 1,412 589 the expenditures have exceeded Revenue uh the revenue includes a $400,000 loan from the Ry day fund to be paid back next month all pension debt payments have been made for the fiscal year and again we do have an additional tax draw in December in the operations fund year-to date Revenue 13,34 259 year-to dat expenditures 16, 839 836 once again expenditures have exceeded Revenue but we do have an additional tax
004draw next month the operating referendum year to- date Revenue 2,741 174 and year-to dat expenditures of 4, again expenditures have exceeded Revenue but we do have that tax draw coming up in December the capital referendum fund year-to date Revenue 6, 34479 year-to dat expenditures of 5, 685,000 uh Revenue has exceeded expenditures uh we do have an additional tax draw in December but we also have the final payment of the year uh due on 1231 and finally rainy day fund no year-to-date revenue and the only expenditure for the year is the $400,000 loan to the pension fund which I mentioned to be paid back next month we believe a re we we believe a review of the fund shows a positive financial position if there are no questions we ask for approval of the financial reports
005for October of 2023 thank you Mr hfield board do you have any comments or questions this does need approval for the financial reports my I have a motion I move that we accept the financial report as presented second second all right all those in favor signified by saying I I I motion passes thank you Mr hfield thank you on next Dr Mall contract considerations no contract considerations this evening first and a while and then we're going to move on to Dr Judy Barb conect grants yes I have four grants for your approval this evening board two of them should look pretty familiar with with um our Title One and our title two they're two federal grants that are typical for us um with the title one basic grant for this year we received an allocation
006of $13,421.93 omic status of students within each of our schools these funds are used to support salary and benefits for staff used to carry out programming and academic support for our students we have four Title One schools at BCS Thomas Jefferson Elementary Flint Lake Elementary Park viw Elementary and Central Elementary our title two Grant has an allocation of 8,938 and7 VCS plans to use this grant to provide teacher retention incentiv enves and professional development opportunities for VCS teachers you'll see two new grants uh for your consideration this evening the first one is the school violence prevention program Grant this grant is managed by the US Department of Justice with an allocation of 390,000 the purpose of this grant is to provide funds for school safety measures in and around K to2 schools VCS plans to
007use the funds to offset the cost associated with updating parking lot lighting camera editions two-way radio updates PA system updates and updating the security entrances at Hayes Leonard School which houses our Veil alternative and several of our CTE programs we're happy to report that this grant is going to help offset some uh projects that we already had planned and part of our Capital project so it's very exciting that we received this one I also have the K to2 robotics competition Grant this grant is a state managed Grant and we received a total allocation of $ 22,527 191 this grant is designed to support state accredited schools in establishing or maintaining robotics competitions we plan to use this grant to offset the cost of robotics competition registrations and materials associated with those competitions happy to answer
008any questions if you have them there are none I ask for your approval thank you d bar yes um I do have a question on the school violence prevention for how' that come to fruition it's a new one it's new for us um we worked pretty hard on making sure that we understood all of the regulations it's also known as the cops Grant um and they opened up some of the things that schools could use it for which made it more applicable for us in this particular cycle it's a nice Grant congratulations absolutely we're very excited to have that questions just a comment it's always good that we're looking out for Grants and supplements to our normal Revenue stream to help offset costs and and be able to you know put some additional safety measures
009in place and as well as the robotics that's that's exciting as well so thank you for seeking these out and to support our schools yeah behind the scenes I do have to thank Caitlyn Rooney Caitlyn is our educational uh support coordinator and she does a lot of the heavy lift on our uh GR writing and management when we receed them so without her uh we definitely wouldn't be able to follow the process as smoothly as we do so like to thank her publicly as well for any other comments or questions this motion does need or this does need to be approved the grants I have a motion to approve I move that we um accept all the grants the for grants that will presented this evening second all right all those in favor signified by
010saying I motion passes thank you thank you board on to more good news donations and gufts Dr McCall thank you Mr President uh we have uh several donations uh to approve uh first uh Ben Franklin Middle School received from Kona Ice of the dunes $240 for athletics Park View Elementary received $220 from their PTA for the second grade field trip TJ midd uh received an anonymous donation of $110 for the Builder Club at the veil bzo Sunrise Kanas $300 to be used at the principal's discretion bzo High School received a handful of donations Gregory lionberger $500 for the wrestling program Bridget Lang $200 for the cheer team Kate ntini pens pencils notebooks binders and folders to be used as needed Cynthia Mar Caro mini soda cans Rice Krispy Treats fruit snacks water bottles and candy
011for the German club namas donation of $70 for robotics club and the noon Kanas donated uh toward the Kanas Children's Fund in valo high school's name going back to Ben Franklin I received an anonymous donation of $1,687 for Media Center seating District wide we received $250 uh to the backpacks and snacks from steelco industrial lubricants and Lotus reach Incorporated donated $1,500 to the backpacks and snacks program Fleming Brothers Oil Company donated $516 991 to be used at the superintendent's discretion we received an anonymous donation of $350 which were tickets to I un's nutcracker for the entire first grade in teachers Anonymous donation of two days of food for 350 recipients for the backpacks and snacks program The Society of women Engineers donated 48 backpacks with school supplies for students in need Leonard Coro donated American
012flags to support the school efforts and Civics and North View Michael Miller donated $300 for school lunches and other student needs that concludes the list thank you Dr mall and also thank you so much for our community and uh their generosity every every month thank you so much board do you have any comments or questions all right may I have a motion to approve the donations and gifts so move I second all those in favor signify by saying I I motion passes thank you thank you and Dr call you're up again uh the total quality Energy Management update I will be passing it off to Mr mckenny there he is he [Music] is good evening they're all here for you Bob no pressure right uh good evening I'm going to do a quick reminder um
013our firm strateline was engaged by the school corporation uh at the end of last year uh to work alongside the school to evaluate how they were using losing and how they could potentially generate electricity and energy more responsibly uh we are an owners rep firm uh for Energy savings projects so we align with public entities to help them understand what opportunities may exist and if they do how to navigate that in the most effective manner uh in June the board approved moving forward uh with verie as the guaranteed Energy savings contractor and in August a contract reflecting the ter terms of the RFP that was awarded uh was signed the contract was uh for approximately $5.8 million that would generate over 8.5 million in guaranteed savings over the term of the contract those savings are
014guaranteed by the contractor and backed by Bonds in the event the contractor were unable to support the guarantee over the 20 years of the Project's life cycle there will be over 133 million doll in savings including in the in included in those savings um are incentives of over a million doll through the inflation reduction act and through the local utility company the project was financed off the books with a tax exempt lease uh that is subject to annual appropriation or annual renewal from the board um therefore if the project weren't performing as indicated the the school corporation would not be on the hook for for a dead project uh the project consists of eight energy conservation measures which can fall in three buckets one was an HVAC upgrade at Thomas Jefferson Middle School uh that
015included equipment replacement building controls and a virtual energy man management platform that the school anticipates will be adopted into all of the facilities at a future date uh in addition we've uh identified nine facilities they're receiving an LED lighting retrofit and to cap off this uh initial project uh solar is going in at the Thomas Jefferson campus it will offset approximately 65% of the energy being used at the elementary school and about 40% of the energy being used at the middle school but when combined with the other energy conservation measures at the middle school the middle school will reduce its energy consumption about approximately 65 to 7 25% uh the the uh vary companies mobilize in September to begin the lighting project so up on the the screen in front of you uh anything that's
016colored green blue yellow um are uh the areas of the school that have been completed with the lighting retrofit it's approximately 55% of the fixtures um of the initial installation at this facility uh to put it in perspective those fixtures that have been replaced already reduced the annual kwh usage by over 200,000 kilowatt hours resulting in $25,000 in annual savings to the school and that small portion alone in addition to uh that school other exterior lights have been replaced and uh the materials for the solar project um have been ordered purchase orders for the mechanical project have been ordered and the project schedule is being uh made managed effectively by the contractor ver safety is of highest uh utmost importance on any construction project especially when we're dealing with kids uh there are daily safety
017required meetings for all contractors that are on site all contractors have been background checked and are badged and uh the contractor has Personnel on site daily to assist with the uh folks performing the services our company is a third party making sure all of these things happen and documenting them accordingly uh to dat we have zero safety incidents and an incident would also include them not performing the required daily safety procedures if you want to scroll down just some some of the effects of of better lighting uh so prior to uh I should say going through the feasibility uh study for this uh potential project we looked at uh light level s the effect of improper lighting levels um on learning and of kids mental health um so in addition to Energy savings uh we
018are looking at the total picture of a of a student's experience um so you can kind of see here just some of the lighting level differences uh in the lights that have been replaced that was the main gym at the middle school you scroll down we've got the Fieldhouse um there was a large tournament that was being hosted the school corporation wanted to put their best foot forward so we we tackled that job early on and as you move down you can see I believe some classroom classroom example and hallway examples um I do want to publicly acknowledge uh so so construction projects are are typically a major burden for a school and its Community um when the school corporation hired us our responsibility is to mitigate that burden um that said uh the operation
019staff who's headed by Andy blastic here at B perzo school corporation uh has been phenomenal to work with uh we're hosting weekly check-ins bi-weekly uh all member um U meetings and um this morning we had we had a call one of the things we want to we want to know is like what feedback is being received from the community and from School Corporation and um there was there was no negative to report and we don't usually get out of boys but the fact that we haven't Disturbed classro or learning we're doing second shift work uh was a plus um some positive comments on the improved light levels and um the manner in which the crews are keeping the facility clean that is our update but would welcome any questions Bo do you have any comments
020or questions are we complete or still have more work to do we we're just getting started oh just getting started okay yeah we we uh so good question the construction schedule runs through the end of 24 uh the light lighting currently is scheduled to be completed again nine facilities by the end of May of 24 uh solar will begin about that time and and um ideally we will wrap that by the end of 24 so the school corporation can receive its tax credits um ideally a year ahead of when we budgeted I think it's nice to see our own comparable pictures um that was one of the things I asked earlier on what what had what other projects had you done and you were able to share from your website but it's really nice to
021be able to see our own comparable photos great thank you good to know what I'm [Music] try yeah thanks Bob for the positive update any anticipation of supply chain issues with the solar you said that they were ordered but have you heard anything uh We Have Heard on the solar modules uh there's a lot of uh interest in us-made product for for tax reasons um no concerns at this time I I think the contractor um elected to um set the date uh at the end of 24 uh for two reasons there is lead time on um large mechanical or U electrical equipment uh design navigated around most of that uh but we also anticipated a rush towards uh purchasing panels those have not been secured at this time but for no no reason other than
022they're still working through some final [Music] design Mr blastic anything from the back okaying great thank you thank you again okay all right we're going to move on to thank you request to advertise no request to advertise the internet services Chris Clifford more internet good evening board I come to you tonight uh seeking approval to advertise for bids for three years of internet access to be delivered to our primary ESS of valo High School uh this is a category one e rate project so we can expect half of our actual bill to be um half of what vendors are of what the vendors have quoted or will quote um the other half to be picked up by usack I'd appreciate your formal approval to proceed with the posting of this request thank you Chris Bo
023any questions I have a question is this through the vonet fiber or it could be but it is not it doesn't necessarily have to be anyone can anyone any of the vendors may use that but um not specifically for them okay Bo any other questions comments all right this does need a motion to approve so move and M have second second and all those they signified by saying i i i m motion passes thank you we're going to move on to Mr Ho field request to advertise RFQ for copy replacement and service thank you Mr President uh the leases on the majority of our copy machines are at an end many of the copiers are beyond their expected life their service life and they're requiring frequent repair and also obtaining replacement parts for these older
024machines has also become an issue we're asking permission to publish a request for qualifications for a new combined copy release and maintenance agreement I there's got to be several copiers involved in this I would say it's a rather large project correct and and yeah I believe we have do we do it all at once every so when we get a new lease or do they cycle them like our buses or they they go through different iterations different years from what I understand there were two copy two main copy releases at at uh that just came to an end one's been gone for a few years it's been going month to month uh another large copy release I believe eight copers just came to an end uh we do have uh a few in between you
025know one or two copiers that are on separate leases that will be we will uh advertise either roll those into a new lease so we have a lease on all of our copiers at once or we'll maintain those separate ones by themselves and just uh lease the ones that need to be replaced right now all right thank you Mr I appreciate your comment I was going to ask why don't we roll them over the same way we do the buses so we never get to a point where we need to um replace them or they break down you're working on that what that I said you're working on that we are yeah how long does a copier last these days typically it's not really a matter of time it's a matter of copies um I
026think I'm going to refer to Mr Clifford I believe we have some that are they're well past a million copies oh yeah three million copies million four million copies so we do have uh some copy machines that are well beyond their their lifespan and our uh some of our secretaries are getting uh very close chummy with the repair people because they're here on a daily basis so we need to switch them out y all right board this this does need your approval I have a motion to approve advertise of the RFQ for copier replacement and service so move I second all those in favor signify by saying I I motion passes thank you Mr Holyfield thank you and we get to enjoy your company one more time tag Grant thank you Mr President uh following
027the approval of the VCS teacher appreciation Grant policy by the Department of Education uh the district is eligible to receive the teacher appreciation grant funding the grant funds are used to pay stiens to eligible teachers by law the school district uh School corporations are to receive this tag money by December 5th usually they at that date uh also according to the St according to the statute we have to distribute that funds within 20 business days of receiving it the grant can be used uh is used to provide stiens to the teachers and also can be used to provide a portion of the associated benefits such as M FICA Medicare and teacher retirement fund in order to qualify as eligible for the teacher appreciation Grant a teacher must be three things rated as effective or highly
028effective in their most recent VCS perform performance evaluation uh they must be employed as a classroom instructor either in the classroom or virtually and three they have to be employed by VCS as of December 1st of this year when they will when the tag money will be received uh the amount of the cash dip in will be determined by the superintendent according to our policy highly effective teachers must receive 25% more than teachers readed as effective for the 2022 23 23 tag award those teachers who are new to PCS but were employed last school year with PC will receive their portion of the tag money if they're rated as effective or highly effective on their last PC evaluation in addition a portion of the grant funds will be distributed to the special education inter local
029to pay for payment to qualifying special education employees who still work with PC uh as of today we have not received this tag funds from the state due to the December 5th deadline for distribution to schools we anticip at receiving the funds very soon and we are bringing this to your attention today as the payout to teachers may have to take place prior to our next board meeting in order to meet the 20-day business window requirement uh so we anticipate presenting the payment roster to the board at the December meeting board are there any questions or comments all right this motion does uh this does need a motion to approve so move and a second I second and all those in favor signified by saying I I motion passes thank you Mr willfield thank you
030and then one more from you operating referendum retention style all right thank you Mr President Uh current VCS employees with a higher date prior to January 1st of this year may be eligible to receive the 1% retention stien substitute non-contracting temporary and ECA positions are not eligible for the stipend and therefore they are not incl included in calculation this retention stien is paid from the 2022 operating referendum fund a roster has been provided to the board and with the board's approval the payment for the stiping will be scheduled as part of the December 8th payroll we are requesting approval to pay the 2023 24 school year 1% retention stien to all eligible employees board any other any questions or comments from Mr this is something we normally do each year I believe seems like yesterday
031we were just here one year ago it's true any others I have a motion to approve I move that we approve the 1% petion for 2023 a second second all those in favor signified by say I I motion passes thank you thank you all right we're moving on last but I think maybe not the least and maybe the most favorable In This Crowd is time for open public comment um all right I'm back again um we look forward to listening to public comments we recognize the value of the thoughts on the educational issues and school matters please come to the podium to speak to the board please keep your statements to 3 minutes or less there will be a 30C notice to inform you that the 3 minutes are closely approaching discussions involving Personnel litigation
032and student discipline will not be permitted thank you thank you Watkins we do have several people who signed up uh and so I will do the traditional U who's up who's on deck and then who's kind of third waiting in line so that you can anticipate when it's your turn uh before we start with that I I would like to make just a couple of comments um I have had a few handfuls of emails uh and meetings on this topic uh and so I would like to address the issue regarding the progress pride flag in the classroom at alzo high school by summarizing some of that um content now um as many of you are already aware we do not make comments on any individual teachers or students and that being said it is important
033for Val braa community schools to provide the most supportive and inclusive learning environment for all students as such Whenever there are concerns brought forth from students in a particular classroom or from their parents regarding non-curricular materials or speech whether those materials in question are discussed displayed or promoted in the classroom there is a protocol to engage in to come to a resolution so that the education process is not disrupted and a focus on learning can be had in a neutral classroom environment as public school Educators our school houses and classrooms must be safe spaces for all students to focus on their academic and personal growth even when they may reside on opposite sides of their backgrounds beliefs or cultures from their peers additionally we strive to create and evolve opportunities for our students to be
034individually seen and successful in the form of Pathways clubs access to resources and support Personnel among other avenues it is a charge we do not take lightly and we certainly understand the complexities involved in serving our diverse community in that capacity to that end we continue to engage in conversations with Community Partners such as the lgbtq Outreach of Porter County parents and especially our students to develop strategies and structures to ensure safe and supportive environment for all students including our El lbtq plus Community thank you we'll begin uh our public comment starting here on the first page we have naren lean Chris pillo and carollyn [Music] Rea hi I'm Norine lean um I wanted to talk about the flag uh my concern with this is uh that the pride flag um is not all inclusive
035there are 32 different uh Pride Flags um the the 1978 pride flag the Gay Pride flag the progressive pride flag the pansexual pride flag asexual pride flag transgender pride flag gender queer PRI pride flag Rubber and I don't want to even know what that is pride flag demisexual pride flag lesbian pride flag non-binary pride flag intersexual inclusive Pride flag drag queen pride flag queer uh people of color Pride uh flag just to name 14 of them there's 32 of them um my question would be uh are we going to have all of these flags to be sure everyone is accounted for but at the same time I want to remind everyone that they're own the flags are only uh covering gay people uh or Pride people and um the uh the 2022 Indiana code Title
03620 uh educational article 30 curriculum chapter 5 mandatory curriculum 0.5 display of United States flag which covers everybody it's uh it's a United States every single person is covered under that flag says and to say it this um also covers saying the Pledge of flag and there's um you don't have to say the Pledge of the flag but these are the state the states are are Constitution State state constitution um requires that the American flag US flag that covers everybody is in the schools and um saying the Pledge of Allegiance to that flag is a a in our constitution section 058 uh says the United States flag shall be displayed in each classroom 30 seconds of every school in a school corporation I'd like to also know who's going to fund these flags if it
037they're not covering everybody and then um oh I think that's my last comment thank you thank you thank you uh Chris pillo Carolyn Rea then Heather [Music] Novak good evening um like I suspect everyone else in this room I'm here to uh address the elephant in the room so to speak uh the ISS that you very generically glossed over Mr McCall I I've got an opinion on this those who know me know my opinion I'm not here to share it or to call out the other side I I am here believe it or not to say something that I think folks on both sides of the issue would agree with and I'm here to speak about the utter lack of leadership um from the board and Dr McCall on this you knew these people were
038coming you knew this was um a thorny issue there's nothing on the agenda Dr McCall you read an innocuous statement that was generic and didn't really provide any details or context the people the voters the taxpayers the teachers the students especially the students they deserve more of you and better of you these divisive issues aren't going to go away and yet you hide from them each and every time that's not leadership that's cowardice and we all of us I think expect better of you and frankly we're tired of the lack of response the lack of conversation the lack of dialogue with the voters with the taxpayers with the teachers the students the people in this community who care about issues on both sides you can do better you must do better this can't continue to
039stand you can't continue to hide and cower when these issues come up we expect leadership not cowardice and that's what we're getting thus far from from all of you Carolyn Ora Heather Novak uh Haley Stallion and just this is the page with Brett Miller Daniel Gibson Kyle auton and then Adam and magdalina Gibson as well so looking ahead good evening um I'm a recently retired teacher and a parent of former VCS students Willie Carver was up until last year a French and English teacher and the sponsor of a student club called open light he is also openly gay and openly Appalachian from the introduction to his book of poetry he says it was thanks to my students work that I was named the 2022 Kentucky teacher of the year an honor among the 40,000 formidable
040teachers in the state an honor that ultimately shattered my ability to maintain the necessary hope to see my students soar my recognition was swiftly followed by a small but vocal group in my community that began to make accusations against my student group this was a group of kids teaching themselves history raising money for mental health awareness and cleaning Parks long story short ky's 2022 teacher of the year left teaching that same year when our son came out at age 15 I had no idea he had not been happy for much of his time as a student but I was clueless and unprepared my first reaction was a very awkward I guess now I have to practice what I preach I was raised to teach acceptance love and honesty and I was going to do the
041best I could for my son my husband did much better and just gave him a big hug and said why didn't you tell us sooner and big sister was ready with a hug in a few tears and we began our journey of learning that's why I'm here tonight while in high school when our son reported being bullied it was suggested that he must have said something to provoke the bullies he stopped reporting he occasionally heard a teacher or two make hurtful comments sometimes directly to him using stereotypes about gay people I asked my son this week who or what made you feel safe when you were in school he said that there were safe space stickers on doors that made him feel accepted I asked if there were any teachers with whom he felt safe
042who did not have stickers on their doors and he said yes the outspoken ones he said he was lucky privileged to have a parent who was a teacher in each building through Middle School and High School adding you guys weren't homophobic I know this was a few years ago but since my son was in school here the signage that made him feel like he had a trusted adult to talk to is gone in order for students to engage in learning Educators should know that their needs for safety and belonging must be addressed first valpo's mission and value statements reflect these needs using words such as Integrity empathy respect safety my challenge to you practice what you preach do not fear an honest discussion or the display of rainbow colors consult materials such as the Nea
043website's tools for justice take ongoing measurable actions to foster a school community that makes every student feel welcome promote signage and actions that support equality I have three extra copies of Mr Carver's book if anybody's interested thanks thank you Novak Haley Brett [Music] Miller hi my name's Heather Novak and I have a daughter in the high school I have a kid gearing up for the high school in the middle school and while our family is pretty traditional we've always been open-minded I led my daughters actually um when riffer was passing we we protested they were inst strollers at that time of course but I showed them that we show up with our bodies for what matters and even if it's not my kid maybe it's your kid or your friend's kid that needs a safe
044space and I believe that the people of alzo can support that I think that whether they understand it or not they're strong enough to handle a little bit of discordance Mr kasus in 2016 you did the right thing you led this community in a series of uncomfortable confrontational and very needed conversations around inclusion and equity in the city of Alo and how to best support and protect the most vulnerable of our citizens you championed the human rights ordinance that offered a pathway for those to find Justice and their voice when faced with incidents or Prejudice or hate The Advisory human relations Council which I saw put into action you championed the formation of in 2011 it played an important role in the process but the ahrc has been hobbled by design by the current Administration
045and no longer serves those it was made to serve just as past April after the ahrc voted unanimously to bring forth their recommendation to recognize June as pride month in valarezo the current mayor and city council declined to even comment on the presentation the ahrc hasn't met since they didn't meet for their scheduled June 27th meeting they don't currently have another meeting scheduled the city's failure to publicly recognize and celebrate lgbtq plus people in valo is further evidence that the schools need support and backing from the broader community and its leaders including its School Board I call on you as our future mayor again you did a good job before I'm confident that you're going to be able to move forward in your new time as mayor again to make sure that the HRC is
046a key component and an integral body that you ensure that we are in fact a modern and welcoming City for all especially our youth the work Starts Here and Now with building a school district that values and nurtures all of valpo's children's and build safe and inclusive spaces for them to learn and Thrive thank you fory Brett Miller Daniel [Applause] Gibson he is there any research showing that cisgender straight children have detrimental effects on their learning in a classroom with a pride flag suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people according to the CDC LGBT Young youth is four times more likely to consider that or attempt the Trevor Project estimate it's estimates that at least one lgbtq youth between the ages 12 13 and 24 attempt suicide every 45 seconds in
047the US that's it thank you thank you Brett Miller Daniel Gibson kyleon my name is Brett Miller uh I am a Val perzo resident I have four children that have gone through the Valpo schools one has graduated I have twins that are currently Juniors one of which is gay and I have an eighth grader that is transgender this decision and how this affects the school also affects my children it affects the fact that the statement you said tonight I I truly believe is just an oxymoron it is something that the school board is saying because they have to say it because they have a room full of people that are questioning what you're not doing at the end of the day this is about a group of people that just want to be seen they
048want to be heard they want to be loved my house backs up to BF Middle School we fly a pride flag we have FL flown a pride flag for probably the last 10 to 12 years this was before my daughter came out as being gay it is before my other daughter who is now transgender came out at the end of the day I want students that sit in that school that Middle School to be able to see that flag and know that there is somebody in this community that cares about them that is worried about them and is concerned about their well-being irregardless of my children my other thing that I'm going to bring up is when we talk about this population this population next to Veterans has the second highest suicide rate these students
049are the ones that are going to go home and do something that is going to end their life prematurely I just ask that you you listen to everyone who speaks this evening the pros the cons but at the end of the day I want people I want my child to know that in a safe space my my transgender child has been bullied and I I I thank Miss sinowski and I thank Mr Slater for doing everything they could to nip that in the bud last year and she is he has come back this year more elated and ready to just take on the school and be that student that I know he is again I I've I come out here to just ask you to listen to the public thank you thank you thank you
050Daniel and then kyleon and then Adam and magdalina hello I'm Daniel Gibson uh junior at vzo high school and I'll begin by reading the remarks of my sibling uh Lena Gibson was a freshman at the high school this year and who could not be here today I'm Lena Gibson a freshman at the high school this year and I've gone to VCS schools my whole life I'm also transgender I've only come here to say what I know through my experience I'm not a lawyer a teacher a big fany fancy activist or whatever I'm a kid with homework to do by the way but it seems like right now it's up to kids like me to convince people that we deserve safety respect and support let me say this that flag that was taken down I never
051saw that as a kid I was never given any sign that I was safe in my community I was never given any indication that I was anything other than shameful broken and alone for who I was none of that made me h a happy straight young woman I was still trans just more depressed I know so many kids like me lgbtq plus youth all of whom were greatly influenced by what they were exposed to as a child not in their identities oh no those are the same just in the fact that they were told so many times by an uncaring world that they did not deserve to live that they started to believe it too I can't think of a single lgbtq plus youth I know whose safety I don't worry about every day I've
052talked 13year olds down from suicide while I was 13 years old myself all this to say a flag that doesn't say what you think it says at all a flag like like that doesn't say what you think it says at all it says you're not alone it says you are loved you are beautiful you are worthy you are not broken you are whole it says it gets better if that flag had been anywhere when I was at my lowest my most desperate the only thing that flag would say is this hey kid there's a place for you in this world don't leave yet thank you [Applause] Kyle hi I don't think I can say anything better than that um I I guess that what I I know other people have many better things to say
053too uh the term that catches me a little bit is is the thought of a neutral classroom environment and um I don't think that currently exists so we heard a lot about um the suicide rates and even the four times uh risk it goes up to nine times when the person is not supported um so that's that's not neutral you know when my daughter has to think about how she is going to dress for school whether it's she'll be safe or not depending on how she dresses uh that's not a neutral environment you know um there's a thousand laws against the existence of my kid uh that's not a neutral environment and there's a tremendous amount of uh privilege uh that is taken for granted by uh White straight cisgender people in the schols I
054went to um you know the parents night for kids to you know to my kids schedule and uh the teachers are great I love them all they're really they're really great uh but I'm also struck looking around the room and saying wow this room has uh posters everywhere uh 98% of them are white men I look at the curriculum that is being taught in the books they have to read and so forth It's all about white men um it's it's just it's not it's not neutral um currently and to have a small few safe places to know that there's a kind compassionate teacher to know that there's one place where people can breathe one place that they can be accepted uh that sounds kind of nice you know I I think of that game as
055a kid you play pickle not pickle ball but when you run between two bases so if you're straight you're always on a base you are always safe um some of our kids are don't have a the base to stand on um struggling so uh we we found out tonight that Lighting in the school can affect our mental health you I I am I'm really glad I'm really glad for the new lighting I really that was he was impressive and uh I think there's more we can do as a community as a school uh to create a safe loving space for our kids and and uh and for those who are marginalized in seeking um some adults that care um they need to know who the adults are that care uh there's got to be some
056sign of that thank you Adam magdalina Adam and magdalina Gibson my name is Adam [Music] Gibson you heard from my son on behalf of my my youngest uh kid uh they're both at high school I'm also an educator I'm here tonight to speak about the welcome we give our students uh and in particular those in the lgbtq community uh VCS teachers are professionals this year I don't remember reports of outright bigotry from teachers or staff towards lgbtq kids in our schools that's good uh but frankly that's a pretty low bar what kids get from their peers includes a lot of casual queer and transphobia not to mention casual racism in informal spaces but also in class environments some teachers seem to prefer to look the other way maybe not to investigate what they might have
057heard when something so outrageous happens that a student reports it some teachers seem quick to pass the buck to encourage students to file a report with administrators to make it someone else's problem other teachers seem inclined to provide more support more compassion to make sure that the behavior has stopped that the targeted student is doing okay and feels supported other teachers seem to feel a more particular passion for supporting the marginalized community of lgbtq students why not allow them to express that why not let kids know where they can find a supportive voice a listening ear a particular welcome the superintendent has talked about supporting lgbtq students but wanting to maintain a neutral classroom environment I don't know what that means but I'm not convinced you can support lgbtq students while prohibiting visible symbols of
058support a rainbow flag is a particular message of Welcome to marginalized students many community members and I'm pleased to see that more than 500 have signed the petition don't think this distracts from the educational environment this is a simple statement of Welcome a recognition of humanity of human rights to a group that is often a particular Target we want to support teachers who provide not just mere tolerance but who extend a welcome we ask that you let teachers provide that welcome you're Educators and administrators you know the statistics you've heard them tonight the lgbtq community has been demonized and marginalized by our society they are not safe we can do something about that we can let them know that they are precious just as they are if we don't want to voice that message ourselves
059we can at least get out of the way and let others do that important work we can do better valarezo Community Schools for the sake of our children please do better thank you thank you magdalina magdalina Gibson magdalina Gibson hi you heard from my brother earlier he read my statement I wasn't here I'd like to tell you a few things about my brother instead because he took me um that my brother is named Daniel Gibson he's a junior in colle high school VHS High School um and he's the straightest man I've ever met he loves his girlfriend so much um but he also has had to talk friends down from killing themselves and he's 17 and um he shouldn't have to do that we shouldn't have to do this he like this doesn't even affect
060him at all and yet he affects him so much I feel like um even as young as like fifth grade like I already was noticing people like was it just being very hostile about everything like I never had any Flags in my classroom I never had anything all I knew was that like boys in their back are talking about how they hate gay people and the teachers don't care so like whatever you know it's just I feel like just a thing like that isn't like it's not political it's like hey you're a human I care about you let's be humans together you know thank you moving on to page two uh this one starts with Ashley palum and then there's uh kind of a scribble with a d and then maybe an m in there
061I thought you were on the other one is there another person with DM as uh initials who signed in okay and there was no address or item you wish and then there's Jer eagle and then Simon shelling Ezra Burke and terara Morgan so Ashley yes Dr McCall has responded to emails stating that valo has consistently shown support for the lgbtq community Through actions and inclusive policies I am here to say that the action of removing a flag which reads everyone is welcome here does the opposite by removing this flag it sends the message that the lgbtq students are not fully accepted or valued in our schools this can contribute to a hostile climate for the lgbtq students and hinder their ability to thrive academically and socially per the Trevor projects reporting in 2022 45% of
062all lgbtq teens have considered suicide speaking as someone who attempted suicide as a teenager I strongly believe that if I had known even one teacher supported me it would have been and it would have made a significant difference in my mental health and well-being and could have provided the reassurance and acceptance I desire desperately needed and desired it might have helped navigate my identity with more confidence and resilience potentially preventing my actions I know that others face the same situation in fact we've had two students commit suicide in the past three years here in BVO alone we need to show our students that we care about them and accept them for who they are the pride flag in a social studies classroom and a psychology psychology teachers room hurts no one but its removal can
063cause a lot of damage Dr Mall inclusive policies include visible symbols such as Pride flags and if our school can allow don't tread on me flagged be on a shirt for our football team then the pride flag in a teacher's classroom should be allowed as well I have a petition here calling for the flag to be rehung in the teacher's classroom with over 500 signatures I know the person that caused the Ruckus can be loud but I can assure you we can and will be louder anyone claiming the D scribble signature okay Jerry uh eagle e e Eagle yes Cherry eagle live here in valo treat others as you would like to be treated if you live by and teach how to live by the Golden Rule with humility our children will learn to treat
064others with dignity and respect in place of secular symbols or Flags raise up a large Banner promoting the Golden Rule if major corporations can do it then we can do it it will pay dividends in the end we should all be very proud to celebrate our country's founding principles of inclusivity fought by men and women I'm a veteran myself in uniform many of whom gave their last full measure of Devotion to this country may I draw your attention to a simple little thing it's called a penny I don't know if you ever noticed on the back of that penny is the Lincoln Memorial above the lincol memorial is inscripted Urus Unum from many one how you can't get any more inclusive than that those simple words encapsulate a f fundamental principle of inclusivity inclusivity within
065our great nation this needs to be emphasized during school instruction the most inclusive and welcoming flag we can all be proud of is the United States flag all the other flags or symbols create a form of tribalism resulting in division among the population many flags promote the notion that the representative group is a oppressed that leads to the notion that another group through no fault of their own are the oppressors this buildup of tension may have unintended consequences recent history shows this buildup of division has proven fatal one only has to review the manifesto of the Nashville shooter that resulted in tragic death of school children and teachers I hope we can all reflect on that horrific act conducted by a mentally unstable individual to learn lessons perhaps if that individual was taught and lived
066by the Golden Rule such an incident would never have happened it all starts here I ask we put down our tribal Flags Embrace and love one another and be proud to be identified as an American it does not matter how you identify but the content of your C character is what counts and how we treat each other matters be proud that it is due to our country's founding principles that we can all stand here today and express our first amendment Free Speech rights tonight so please be humble andat treat and live each other by the Golden Rule thank you thank you Simon saw you back Ezra and then Tara good evening I am the chair of lgbtq Outreach of Porter County along with our allies and friends in the community we are here to speak
067about Mission and values specifically we would like to reflect on valo Community Schools Mission and values back to you decision decisions making the impacts students faculty and Community should be based on your four pillars in order to reflect how you conduct yourselves through your actions these pillars are be visible be positive communicate and follow through first we want to thank superintendent Dr McCall and Dr Aaron Hawkins and upholding the pillar of communication in the time that they gave to meet with us earlier this week there are Positive Solutions uh to that matter of maintaining message message of inclusion and acceptance in our schools that is leaving them there and examining why they are deemed disruption in the meantime consistency and fortitude from the top top down would help lgbtq plus students to feel heard seen
068and supported something we all want for our youth we ask that you also consider the pillar of visibility who exactly is allowed to be visible and how is that conveyed to the students given given the circum circumstances we are here to address today and response to the last pillar of follow through this is a vital is vital for Real Change actions speak louder than words we ask that okay thank you Ezra Burke resident of alzo uh students who identify as lgbtq plus face more Road box and obstacles to success in schools than that of many of their peers there are direct inclusive practices that have proven to counter some of these statistics visible signs of reinforcement that everyone is welcome here is a starting point for support when VCS administrators were asked directly there was
069no answer to the question of whether or not students could visibly identify any clearly marked safe spaces within the school such as their counselor's offices or the gay straight Alliance meeting room if these spaces aren't even marked with everyone is welcome here messaging then where are lgbtq students expect it to turn 72% of students Nationwide report no lgbtq Topics in any of their classes fact relevant and culturally connected curriculum increases student engagement this can be addressed by weaving history into a variety of cultural areas lgbtq characters could be introduced through literature recognizing the contributions of lgbtq plus people in many fields include poets politicians athletes activists students would then feel empowered by and connected to the material the broad in curriculum scope which can be connected directly to standards already taught give students not only
070the message that their history matters but that everyone is visible here in the classrooms we also know that when complaints are presented to administrators the first question asked about the item in question when it is presented is does it maintain to maintain a neutral classroom environment is it related to the curriculum if students were given the opportunity to learn history that is related to them then the answer would be yes it is related to the curriculum then the message would also be everyone is included here nearly all lgbtq students have heard the word gay using a negative word way at school and 68% of students hear the remarks frequently or often unfortunately but not surprisingly this type of language has been reported as being heard frequently in vzo schools including Ben Franklin Thomas Jefferson and
071vzo high school a cross-section of students are our own lgbtq youth group therapeutic support groups in town and local church youth groups all report hearing this language lgbtq students along with their friends and allies has said they not only have difficulty identifying staff members to report these two but also when the remarks are heard in hallways that they are not immediately addressed or called out by adults real consequences for harassing hurtful or derogatory message would send a much clearer message than knock it off or they were just kiding around documenting problems in order to address the problem headon is also critical otherwise it's easy to deny that there's a problem at all thank you Terra and then we'll be moving to uh page three after terara where we have uh alarz and then Don Miller
072hi I'm terara Morgan resident of valarezo and the chair of the education committee for uh lgbtq outrage of Porter County we the board of directors and community members of lgbtq Outreach of Porter County in keeping with our mission of promoting and affirming Community to lgbtq uh lgbtq plus youth stand in support of valarezo Community School teachers and faculty who work to create a safe Community within their classrooms the removal uh the removal of messages that convey inclusion and acceptance sends the wrong message to our youth it limits their ability to identify and seek allies within the school building when in need of support or safe listening ear bcs's mission is quote to empower students and staff to pursue personal Excellence while developing empathy integrity and perseverance end quote when displays of affirmation and safety are
073removed it also takes away the ability for students and staff to show empathy towards all students we ask that you acknowledge and recognize that not all of your students feel safe in your schools to review your policies and ensure that they allow for supportive and uncensored messaging we encourage you to double down on efforts at becoming a visibly inclusive and diverse school system rather than leaving is practice up to individual teachers who not only feel unsupported but uh excuse me but targeted in their inclusion practices we end with this reminder in Trevor Project's 2021 National study when asked what brings lgbtq plus youth uh students joy and strength their answers included having supportive and accepting friends affirming parents art and creative expression having a pet connections to other lgbtq plus people faith and spirituality seeing
074rainbow flags and stickers in public settings having educational opportunities and having lgbtq support in their schools thank you Al maras Don Miller Carolyn [Music] ffield [Music] hi um if I have mascara running down my face I'm so sorry um it's so nice to see my community come together and support each other um but I am here about the flag surprise so my name is tensia alz um previously Grace alz I am a student at VHS I came out 2 years ago before I was physically in the school building building um is is the best decision I've ever made um but it came with consequences for instance um one time I was called the esler in the hallway very directly by a kid I don't know I don't know how he knew I was gay um
075if he knew I was gay but it scared me [Music] um I can't speak for every queer kid I'm just one queer person but I would like to say um I'm sorry that our existence causes so much discomfort and confusion within the school system someone's existence should not cause such discomfort and confusion however your discomfort and confusion and La possible lack of understanding will not make us not exist we still exist we're the students that you have to teach teach we're your kids we're your kids friends we are going to exist whether there is a safe space for us or not it would just be better if there was um and I will say that the removal of the pride flag shows students that we will allow a lack of understanding I think what we
076could do is help teachers parents whoever understand the inclusion that could be brought into the school the diversity and the Beautiful parts of every of everything that makes everybody different um by taking down the pride flag it shows students that it is okay to not do the work in understanding each other and it shows students that it is okay to show your discomfort so and your confusion in the way of judgment um So yeah thank you Carolyn ffield after Don Miller and then Fran uh cross Melanie hitz would be after frandon good evening my school board members I hope my outfit isn't a distraction for my message ask yourself this would you be okay if the school started baptizing children we are here today because of valko school teacher hung a flag other than the
077American or Indiana state flag in her classroom according to an article teacher was asked to remove the unauthorized flag from her classroom I'm not sure the timeline but within days there was a post on Facebook stating she was forced to take this flag down because people want to silence her and others that are affiliate ated with the lgbtq community this isn't the case at all I'm sure you on the school board are aware of the Indiana State Constitution and the Indiana General Assembly codes if not I have provided uh the prouts I made copies for each of you um let's see we already had somebody kind of touch on the Indiana code 20-3052 um it does break down into 31 subsections I don't plan on going over over all 31 subsections however some of these
078more important ones I've highlighted such as Indiana code 20-30 d35 our national motto the national model of United States is in God we trust and number two an accurate representation of the United States flag and the Indiana flag there's also Indiana code influence that tend to promote and develop an upright and desirable citizenry so we have a secretary of education according to our Indiana State Constitution under education article 8 section 8 there shall be a state superintendent of public instructions whose method of SE uh selection tender duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law this law was amended uh November 7th 19 1972 and then again on November 6 1984 we just got one this year our very first one her name is Dr Katie Jenner she is um she leads the Indiana Department of
079Education and chairs the State Board of Education she has three pillars um three key pillars that she's focused on time student learning time time time okay well you know what I read off a couple of the Indiana state laws this is social influence that whatever this is a social influence the flag that will come in this class is does not need to be there Carolyn five field is up and if that's if that's the case we should be allowed toag well this is our flag if you're going pleas you're done okay I don't know how I will follow up that thank you is the security guard here please Carolyn Byfield Carolyn ffield Grand Cross Melanie hitz thank you don't know how I will follow up that show but I'll try um good evening um my
080name is Carolyn ffield a former VCS graduate from K through 12 um and now a student at Val braa University um I stand before you today with a heartfelt plea for you to reconsider your decision on a neutral School environment for your students the display of Pride Flags is not a political statement rather it embodies a commitment to fostering an environment of inclusivity understanding and acceptance in which your neutral School environment is now void via the valaro Community Schools website you can find your mission statement if I may um it is to empower students and staff to pursue personal Excellence while developing empathy integrity and perseverance valaro Community Schools has made a commitment to Excellence but that's not true is it vareo Community Schools has made a commitment to choose a neutral stance on important
081social issues uphold ignorance of the diversity of its student body and strike away the visibility representation and acceptance of students of marginalized groups this is echoed by your recent actions by the removal of a pride frag flag written with everyone is welcome here a clear embodiment of your mission statement a beacon of empathy acceptance and empowerment some may argue that schools should remain neutral spaces free from symbols that may be deemed political or controversial however supporting the lgbtq community is not a political stance rather a human rights stance um it's recognition the fundamental equality and dignity of every person regardless of sexual orientation gender identity or race by allowing Pride Flags in our schools we affirm our commitment to these principles to create an environment that's truly reflective of the values that you should be
082aspiring to uphold The Pride Flag represents a tangible celebration of diversity within our school communities and is a visual Testament to the idea that our educational institutions Embrace and appreciate the unique identities and experiences of every student and your staff members in a world outside of school Halls individuals face prejudice and discrimination based on their sexual orientation and general identity our schools should serve as sanctuaries of acceptance instead of neutrality while FL Pride flags do not inherently make the environment safe themselves it's the ability for students lgbtq or not to know that they're safe and who they can talk to in an emergency without losing resources and safety the discomfort that you may feel in acknowledging these consequences such as the 40% of lgbtq Youth contemplating suicide due to feeling unaccepted in ostra sdes cannot
083be compared to the potential harm inflicted upon the very students that you're supposed to be protecting does that sound like a commitment to Excellence to you so I ask you to do this I urge you to confront the Stark reality the Stark reality is that both all of the amazing opportunities for safety discussion acceptance diversity and inclusion for both marginalized students and staff are gone your commitment to a cowardly neutral School environment seemingly sought after any cost risk compromising the well-being of your own students it's imperative that you sit in this discomfort and recognize the potential harm inflicted to Foster an environment that prioritizes the welfare and inclusivity of all of its students and [Music] staff Fran uh then after Fran we'll have Melanie and then we go with Tim Trussell Smith uh Deb Porter
084uh Caitlyn Jed jski uh Peggy Taylor uh Jessica Jepson then Jim jebson hi I'm Fran crass I am neither a member of the lgbtq plus Community nor a parent of a student but I have numerous friends children of friends as well as family members who identify as lgbtq plus and many grew up feeling that they were not welcome not just in their schools but in this world maybe not even their own family so I come here as an ally for them because though they wanted to speak tonight many are afraid of the repercussions of this community how sad is that but I guess we never really outgrow our high school cast system do we once a bully always a bully once a victim always a victim and if adults need allies and school board meetings
085aren't allies an absolute must in a school itself a place where children are routinely bullied by other children maybe even bullied by adults maybe School needs to be a safe place because the these children are bullied by their own parents just because they don't fit into some outdated definition of what being a girl or boy means but a child being bullied anywhere for any reason needs someone to protect them and if it can't be the Principal or the coach or the parent or the school board then let it be someone anyone tonight it's me and I'm happy to see so many others so on behalf of those too bullied and frightened to speak here tonight I'm here to ask why on Earth you would force a teacher to remove a symbol that says nothing more
086than you are welcome that says I am an ally I'm not here demanding that all teachers hang a rainbow flag just asking that you not make caring teachers remove them because removal sends a terrible message to children who are at risk at risk of not just shame and humiliation but physical harm by others maybe even by their own hands and I know it's an it's a lot to ask but why not take an extra step and inform staff and teachers that should they choose to hang a welcoming flag that it would not just be tolerated but celebrated I ask on behalf of not just my lgbtq plus friends but I ask for myself because when I see that flag it tells me all are welcome all are cared for I know that the Administration has
087a desire to maintain a neutral classroom environment but I'll leave you with these words from Nobel Prize winner and Survivor la visel we must always take sides neutrality helps the oppressor never the victim silence encourages the Tormentor never they're tormented so please take aide be allies Melanie my name is Melanie hitz and I speak speak on behalf of Northwest Indiana National Organization for Women and its lgbtq plus committee rainbow now I am a Jewish lesbian woman living in Vel Paras with my wife I'm here because I know all too well from my own personal experience that what we do to any marginal Community we do to all of us every student deserves to be safe in school but the reality is they are not today when we see a growing rise of intolerance we must
088all stand together and provide a safe harbor in all public spaces especially in our schools it is the responsibility of our Institutes of learning to teach inclusion and acceptance and not to acques to the bigotry of our past whether it is racism sexism agism homophobia or transphobia it is the same discriminatory Behavior to to a variety of vulnerable groups we must allow students to have their Flags so they are able to find their allies though the flag will not stop a bullet or a fist it will show them the students where to find where they can find protection in Safe Harbor every student deserves this not just some students but all students every student student deserves to know that they are welcome here and that they will be protected when others would bully harass or
089otherwise do them harm simply because they are different Indiana now Northwest Indian now in Northwest Indiana now and rainbow now is one voice calls upon this board to return this teachers's pride flag to its rightful place in the classroom while the board adopts an affirming affirming policy that states unequivocally that we are truly all welcome here C Smith de Porter will be after Tim and then [Music] Caitlyn good evening my name is Tim trussle Smith I'm the pastor at First Christian Church on Glendale Boulevard here in val perzo an open and affirming Church in the Disciples of Christ denomination but I'm come to you today uh to preach and I apologize if I put on my preacher's voice a bit I speak on behalf of Faith leaders from several congregations in Northwest Indiana all of
090the congregations we represent have ties to Val perzo and more importantly care about the well-being of students and family served by valarezo Community Schools all of us affirm the inherent dignity and goodness of the lgbtq Plus members of our community we affirm their dignity and goodness because of our faiths and not in spite of it we come before you this evening as an act of faithfulness to our Traditions as Northwest Indiana Faith leaders we call on the school board Dr mall and others in positions of leadership within VCS to First reconsider and then repent of these actions you have hurt your own students Dr McCall claims these decisions were made to help students learn but they actually teach a very different lesson they are learning that the well-being of lgbtq plus students is less important
091than the offense some take at their existence you have effectively told the lgbtq plus people who walk through the hallways of our schools to get back in the closet the existence of lesbian trans non-binary gay asexual people and a host of others with a wealth of beautiful god-created identities does not diminish the beauty of straight identity at all it is not neutral to say that one person's flourishing must cease because it annoys or distracts somebody else else the prophet Micah who is honored in the scripture shared by Jewish and Christians Jews and Christians relates God's instruction he has told you oh mortal what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice love kindness and walk humbly with your God there is no justice in privileging the discomfort of some
092over the actual safety and well-being of others there is neither love nor kindness in telling your lgbtq plus students get back in the closet there is no humility in claiming that some must hide for the sake of others learning we stand before you today and call on you to repent and walk humbly as those who guide the education of our children we call on you to do justice to show kindness by the following welcoming identity symbols in our schools which affirm people without actually hurting or denigrating others naming that there are lgbtq plus students and staff within the VCS celebrate who they are and tell them how you will keep them safe from bullying or other forms of harm which they experience because they've told us they have Beyond just allowing a gay straight Alliance
093to exist apologizing for the harm these recent actions have caused and ask how you can make it right but most of all by listening to your lgbtq plus students staff and their families it's time I apologize didn't hear the 30 seconds thank you thank [Applause] you and then Kaitlyn and then after Caitlyn will be Peggy Taylor my name is Deb Porter and I'm the president of the P flag valarezo and I feel compelled to address you on the issue of Pride removal of Pride Flags P flag however is the oldest National Organization 50 years old founded on the principle of creating a place for family and members of lgbtq plus Community to gather to find support and encouragement today P flag continues their work expanding their mission of inclusiveness to provide education support and advocacy
094for families allies and members of the lgbtq community our main goal is very simple to create a caring just and affirming world for lgbtq people and those who love them recently glisten did a survey of 2,000 high school lgbtq students and found that 80% of them reported experiencing bullying or microaggressions directed at them daily in their school imagine what that must feel like to attend school in a place where you are every day shown that you are not welcome and imagine what a relief it must be to walk into a classroom and see a symbol of acceptance for that bullied student that student who experiences those microaggressions who feels unwelcome unseen unaccepted that flag is a visible sign that this teacher is an ally and this classroom is a safe place and I will tell
095you that my son while he was a student at VHS that is his experience finally for that student someone sees accepts and welcomes them and what is the effect the president of the American Medical Association himself a member of the lgbtq community reported at the P FL convention that our lgbtq students youth are 74% more risk of practicing self harm which could lead to attempts to self-terminate the presence of just one significant person or place of acceptance lowers that risk by as much as 40% for many lgbtq youth school is one place where they can find that Acceptance in the form of a teacher a guidance counselor or another respected adult removing this symbol of solidarity also removes the accessibility of that person in that student's life thereby putting our students at risk and here's
096what hurts my heart when I see a child's arms and legs march with scars from cutting to give physical manifestation to the internal pain that they feel from rejection what I find that just breaks my heart is adults who advocate for policies that further Drive our children into spiraling mental health decline by marginalizing them what breaks my heart is when my P flag phone rings and I talk to somebody and talk them away from the edge of the abyss of suicide or Worse talk to a family who has just had the the most depressing thing that ever could happen to them here we are with all of this going on in our world and here we are talking about a colored piece of fabric hanging in a classroom thank [Music] you Kaitlyn and Peggy and
097Jessica and Jim good evening my name is Caitlyn yanovski and I'm the director of Youth Ministries at Christ Lutheran Church in B pzo while in this role a huge part of it has been working with the deepening our welcome team at our church this team has worked over the span of the past two years to intentionally think through ways our church can be a more welcoming space for all recently we voted to approve a welcome statement for our church and through that statement we express that all are welcome as our deepening our welcome team formulated crafted and revised this statement one component of this process was having forums to receive input and perspectives from The Wider community at one of these forums one of my friends a member of the lgbtq plus Community who had
098not been to our church before attended this forum and saw the drafted welcome statement afterwards she came up to me and expressed the Deep gratitude and appreciation she had for that statement emphasizing that it was the first time she had felt sincerely welcomed by a church at another point in this process as I was conversing with a different friend about how the statement process was going she told me how she had heard countless stories of how when churches fail to intentionally State their welcome when there's no visible sign of support and affirmation those individuals do not feel safe or welcomed at that church and hence do not even walk through the doors the reason I share this with you all is to highlight the importance that signs of affirmation hold for showing our support and
099inclusion of the lgbtq plus Community if my friend had not seen that statement in print she would out not have experienced a church that finally felt authentically welcoming if churches did not have Flags posted outside of their space how many fewer people would feel comfortable enough walking through those Church doors these signs of affirmation do far more than it may seem at surface level these signs make it known that all youth all individuals are welcome in the classroom when we tear down these signs remove these flags the message we are sending our youth is one entirely opposite of safety inclusion and support we cannot assume that our youth ENT in the classroom feel supported and safe that is something that must be built up it is not always there to begin with however when we
100remove these flags we are deconstructing this trust this support rather than building it up in the way that we as allies should be as members of the community as teachers as administrators one of our main goals should be supporting the youth and preparing them for what is in store next however when youth entering the class room have to conceal parts of who they are and feel that they cannot be holistically and authentically themselves We are failing them through these flags and signs of affirmation we are encouraging every person in the classroom that they can be exactly who they are it is when an individual can fully be present as who they are that the classroom setting becomes one where youth can explore who they are now and who they are growing to become thank you
101Peggy Taylor Peggy [Applause] Taylor pgy I just want to start out and say that um I do not promote encourage or accept that anybody goes ahead and does anything harmful to any other human being that is unacceptable we need to be able at least be uh accepting of one another as far as intolerance and that that's where we need to really be and that's what really the school needs to be teaching his children is tolerance you may not necessarily agree with someone's opinion way they're dressed how they look but that does not give you the right to go ahead and take all the matters in your own hand or degrade them or bring them down that is not in that is [Applause] inappropriate as far as what I have come up with what to say
102tonight to the school board is that schools as far as I'm concerned only need three flags United States flag the state flag and the school flag that should be inclusive enough for all of our students and those flags should speak that that is what those flags stand for is the inclusiveness flying those flags alone show Unity not division flying the lgbtq flag could very well set a president for segregating and bringing them out to where people are going to go ahead and point fingers by doing so it will point out a minority not a majority therefore there is no Unity schools are meant for learning reading math history and science by bringing this issue to the attention of our most impressionable of students such as grade school it only brings confusion they're very impressionable there
103was no confusion when a child was born and the doctor looks down and says you've had a boy or you've had a girl it's obvious to the doctor you may be able to change a person's outward appearance but when it comes down to forensic science the bones tell story you cannot change the bones because when a body is then they look at the bones and they can tell whether that is a male or a female cannot change it the courts have ruled in favor of an in a Justice I was quiet with all you okay the real diagnosis for these people is this gender identity crisis they need mental help in order to stop all of this wanting to commit suicide and they should be treated as such what choice do someone makes an adult
104in the business between themselves and God but to try and teach you to impressionable children and cause is wrong thank [Applause] you um Jessica and Jim um a common thing I hear here tonight is suicide mental health and many of these talks and the feeling of needing to be safe sounds like we need more therapists inside of the school instead of flags those therapists can be anybody's safe space can we look into that if we hang a pride flag can we hang all other flags flags have different meanings to different people a trump flag very divisive I'm sure in this room could have good meaning to some people and could have bad meaning to others and we don't know that based on the individual and the household they're coming from we are sending our children
105to learn not to know other sexual orientation stop sexualizing our children is it a teacher's job to know one's sexual orientation they are paid to teach not to be a therapist again maybe we need to look at getting more therapists for everybody LBG Q they need to stop forcing their beliefs down everybody's throats lbq represents only about 3% of that population are we willing to upset the entire school over a pride flag strong men make for easy times and easy times make weak men clearly where is our society heading thank you for following the state law and four velaro school policies that were VI violated by this flag being hung thank you for helping make this one class a safe learning environment where my daughter can grow and learn and begin to collaborate and exercise
106exercise her IEP plan with her teacher she did not feel welcome and hopefully it will begin to change thank [Applause] you [Music] Jim life healing sunlight nature Serenity spirit in the 60s the original pride flag that's what it stood for the one that was taken down was driven by a man Daniel quazar who had a uh fund on Kickstarter raised $25,000 $2,826 but to force more subdivisions of groups that respond by violent and hateful acts this flag is not an inclusive one regardless of what words you put on this flag was designed for profit and separation it does not cover everyone it covers a minority of students and for that reason it is inappropriate the flag of the United States the flag of the state of Indiana and our school flag every time I hear
107every night we are velpo not we are anything else we are velpo let's actually be velpo if that's what we're supposed to do then let's actually do it that should include everybody then everybody if you are velpo then you are Velo period yes this classroom in particular my daughter with an IEP um which list social anxiety her knowing the creation of this flag and where it came from made it so that she was unable to get any of her support in that class the only class she was struggling in we had to call a meeting and when we did we found out not only was it not intended but the flag was once it was explained where it came from the person with the flag was very resentful for the fact that it was up
108because she didn't know she wanted to take it down and she didn't want any of us here tonight that's what she said in that meeting she said I don't want people coming to the board for or against this I just wanted to be over I had no idea I'm sorry if I had known that I was doing something that was harmful to a kid I would never have done it so all of you that are here she didn't even want it in the first place labels create separation this label specifically clearly created a lot and it doesn't need to we are velpo let's be velpo thank you public comment all right like [Music] a comment yeah I will I will just I I'll uh just say a few words uh before the board has their
109comments uh I would like to really thank everyone for coming out uh to the meeting tonight uh for really overall civil discourse um you know emotions can run High uh the the moment can ride high with emotion sometimes but overall it was a civil discourse I've seen worse um and I appreciate that that our community can come together and talk about this in a public meeting and I thank you for sharing not only your perspectives but your stories as well uh on both sides of the issue um you know through that I hope you see the lens that we use when we're determining uh some of the factors that go into creating spaces that support all of our students as well with their individual needs you know and we will not stop the conversation tonight
110um you know Simon referenced our meeting the other day and and I I said the same thing that when that meeting concluded didn't stop the conversation and we will continue because I care about all of our kids and anyone who's known me in my 25 year career in Valpo will tell you the same thing I care about kids all kids work hard for them and as our community evolves the school is a reflection of our community our knowledge or skills or supports or strategies or structures evolve as well our kids live in a complex world and we want to make sure that they can succeed in that complex world together moving forward is where we as a community have power and I really love our community I didn't clue that that that was a little
111I was a little early okay like 10 more seconds and then play it we can share a laugh together too and that's okay you know we'll speak now in hard words speak later in hard words as well but let's not lose sight that we are in this together and there's no place I'd rather be and no one I'd rather be with than the people in this room working at it as long as we keep kids first all kids and move forward together I really do appreciate everyone coming out tonight so thank [Applause] you so I I Echo uh Jim's comments and appreciate you all coming out tonight and you know these are difficult conversations uh and um we all tend to live in silos don't we you know we have our uh familiar um Echo
112Chambers and uh we live we live in a world that that has become increasingly divisive uh the national political rhetoric uh the national media uh algorithms uh they tend to um reinforce our own Echo Chambers and so um we need to fight to get out of our Echo Chambers and to connect and to understand the lives of our neighbors and those who uh who we don't know well and this this this has been an opportunity to do this and it reminds me what we went through 2016 and uh and I think these conversations and these these comments certainly have taken root with Dr McCall and the board here uh but I would like to in light of the fact that we live in a world uh that that tends to tends to focus on the
113things that divide us and not on the things that unite us I think it's important also to realize how much we have in common I mean um and I made a list of a few of those regarding the schools and I thought you know we have a we have a great school system I mean it it and we are uh we're winning Awards our students are excelling there's always room for improvement but I think in in a great school system is really important for the entire Community for the Ed for the teachers for the students for the Educators and um and I think we can celebrate that all always room for improvement but uh but we we have strong teachers and a very capable Administration we want our schools to be a safe and supportive
114environment for learning for everyone and the needs can vary we understand that I think as a result of the conversations tonight the needs are better understood but I I'm I'm confident of of our Educators and and our Administration that they want that too and I think for the most part it is there there are room for improvement for sure but for the most part I think our students are feeling safe and they are learning well you know we live in a pluralistic society we we have people who believe different things and that's okay we need to be tolerant of of All Views um and and I think I think tonight has been a good exercise in that but people do have differing views on topics like sexuality and gender in our community and those views
115need to be respected we can have differences of opinion but respect one another we can have differences of opinion and love one another okay and and that's and that's that's the goal um and I think you know we none of us want our schools to be a Battleground for political religious and social issues uh we want it to be a place where everybody feels valued uh everybody um feels welcome and everybody uh is educated uh in an excellent way and again I think we're doing that fairly well uh always room for improvement but I do appreciate the efforts of our Educators administrators I think and I want to explain sort of how I approach this as a board member because I I think I owe that to you as a board member as board members
116our role is to provide oversight and support for the administration Educators and the students here and so in this case I used a three-prong analysis to provide oversight for this particular decision in this particular situation first is the policy that we've used that that Dr Mcall used that uh regarding uh this issue is it legal uh and I believe it is legal second is the policy at issue fair and effective um and I've reviewed the policy with Dr McCall and it's the policy they've used for years I I do feel it's fair and effective uh and finally was the implementation or the application of that policy in this particular given scenario reasonable as a board we do not micromanage the administration and the teachers we but we for them a certain degree of deference in
117impl implementing policy as long as the decision is reasonable it should stand if even if I or another person on the board might come to a different decision and in this case I feel that the that the principal's decision was reasonable under the circumstances it's a tough call and frankly if the other and I I don't I don't say this to say to as a cop out but I but in that in that in that reasonable degree of difference that think we afford the board I think a decision either way would have been reasonable okay so and Dr Mcall knows my personal feelings on this and I felt that you you you have the right to do that but um I have great I have great respect and admiration for the administration and we have
118awesome teachers and so um and this is a continuing conversation so I want to thank you all I've learned a lot tonight and uh and I feel uh it's been a good conversation well I definitely uh appreciate all the comments that came forth uh this evening um it's difficult uh to sit here uh and to really choose a side you know um what I really as I listen to every person's comment like I take notes all the time and really taking in everyone's comments I I wish there was a way that um if we didn't have you know cuz I heard you know the piece about the United States flag and I everyone probably in this room is aware of how people felt about me when I became a part of this board it's a
119part of feeling like you belong it's it's a difference when something is written you know and people say it I want to feel like I belong and often times even sitting here I'm the only black on this board I'm the only woman on this board and often times I feel alone these gentlemen are really kind to me and I say it all the time but I don't often feel that they can fully relate to me you know there are some things that I mean they I I'll give it to them they try um they do they do this one this one handles me a lot we go we go we we exchange words quite often but I really do appreciate them uh I wish there I wish every teacher made every child feel like they
120were welcome and I just the thought I'm grateful like my children didn't have to go through this like they were athletic you know so they were able to pull from Beyond what would be bullying territory and I hope that they weren't bullies um I couldn't even fathom like my children being in that position where they had to fight for themselves period but we all know and I've share my stories of what really my daughter experienced my son has but he's really quiet um in those expressions because he doesn't want to tell me everything that happens for fear of how I may respond um and I have to calm myself down a lot uh but but I really wish there were signs throughout the building that just read everyone is welcome and that it wasn't just
121a word but it was an action that happened you know does it have to be a flag does it have to be any anything other than people really feeling like they're welcome do our children feel safe anywhere because I would really be upset if these babies didn't have a place to go and not feel comfortable are teachers really speaking up or are we just walking around the hallway thinking it's just teenage plue it's not because words are hurtful I don't care what anybody says that's saying we used to say sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me yes they do they do hurt and and that's a saying that we all need to stop saying because words really do hurt if we really are and I'm a chanter of the
122we are Vall I am but it has taken me some work to feel like I belong in this community it has taken would I be as accepted in this community if I didn't sit in this role I struggle before this role I struggle in this role but so if if that really is a thing that we chant and we really chanted on the on the courts the fields and you know in sports but my hope is that we really are and what does we are valo really mean does that mean because we talk about this community growing and constantly changing it is growing and it is constantly changing there will be more people who look like me there will be more lgbtq uh Plus in this community there will be more of us so what
123happens and how do we make everyone feel welcome because I want you to think about yourself when you're in stores and you see people who are different from you I want you to regulate your thoughts I want you to think if am I really making this person feel welcome or did I clutch my purse or did I turn up my nose or whatever that may be I want us all to evaluate ourselves and how we respond to things and situations that is to that over all over everything that I heard tonight is by far the best thing that I feel we all can do because if we were really honest with ourselves there are areas of people that make us feel uncomfortable I know there are and I just really hope that this community continues
124to look and continue to evaluate self- evaluation to me means everything and until we are real with ourselves and the things that we are encountering we will never come to a place where we are fully agree with anything I don't agree with my husband on a lot of things that's true um but I'm still married to him and we're still in the same household and we still have 23 plus years to go but my hope is that we really could come together and that our children feel safe wherever and I my uncle was was was prideful and I loved everything about him and I miss him dearly because he passed away from HIV a but let me say this I embraced him as I embrac everyone and that is my hope that will get to
125that point where everyone feels like they belong including me regardless of the flags that are important to be in a building every flag doesn't always make me feel like I belong but yet I still keep fighting I think I heard that just just really being strong I really hope this situation strengthens the Comm Community the student and the teacher and I really believe people should have a right to feel and be who they need to be and be accepted wherever they are regardless of what they look like in this community thank you guys how you C that I do have something that they don't have though I'm the ugliest sport member so I have that over everybody else guys life a team sport life of team sport these are your teammates if Bill Marshall had
126this passion last week he had a won he a one love your neighbor and love covers a multitude of sins you can look past a little bit of when you get to know somebody and love them they're not so bad to you so wonder that thank you so much I I do want to say also with uh uh oh go ahead I'm sorry um just wanted again I'll keep my comments brief there's been a lot said and and said very well so thank to thank you to my board members and Dr Mcall for your comments but I just want to again thank each and every one of you for coming uh we're up here that's part of our job is to listen to what you have to say to us on this topic and I
127respect you for coming to share your views and I do take your comments seriously so thank you I know we need to have more conversation on this topic and I do hope that we can get to a place where everyone does feel welcome it's a safe environment everyone can Excel and get prepared for your next phase in in life as as students here and yes there's things we can do better but again thank you for coming and I appreciate um your time here tonight one last plug seeing Erica and then Kurt uh Beauty and the be E Yeah is playing at Alo High School uh it's the drama for the fall this weekend Saturday has uh a Mata 2 p.m. and then 7 o' uh Sunday 2 p.m. so please go support our kids uh
128Tak in the show all right that concludes the board me meeting drive safe be safe on the way home thank you I