Board Of Education Meeting October 3 2016

001If you're here for a civics class when it comes time, if you can't wait all the way to the end of the meeting, you can see any U-46 staff member here to get your paper signed. Mr. Heiderscheidt, other U-46 staffers that are here, they can sign. Mr. Allen back here. Please, don't feel like you have to wait around until 11.30. No, please. Can I get a sign now? No. At least an hour. How are you? Mr. Sanders. You're welcome. It is. It really is. It's just been like this. You should all be paid back for that. Just ask him. Excellent achievement for being named one of the best high schools in the world. Yeah, that's when we were getting last year's award this year. It's like Texas. You were here before that too. We are

002recognized by the United States views and it's one of the best in America. Thank you. Yeah, everybody gets a trophy. You got to see how awesome this pool is. I know. I'm going to go. I'm going to try and stop this. I was supposed to be there for the board and that problem all went away. I was in Miami. I was in California. I was in Florida. I haven't seen the sun in a while. It's been about a hundred weeks. A hundred weeks? It should be a hundred a day. I'm kind of a little proud of this. Are you still in charge of the sun? Well, I'm still in charge. You're in charge. Is there more in charge? No. Oh, she's a tax. She's Jordan Harris. She's... It's like when you call 14 and type

003people. Because she can fix it. Did you see the rest of them? Did you see the rest of them? Oh, you haven't seen them? It's not all the same. Really? Yes. Long, long, warmer. Long, long, warmer. Why are you crying? Perfect. So this is the second time we've heard of that. So we've just driven the travel. So this is the West End beach. Bikini something. I don't know. Bikini something. Last two of the year off last week we were in the area. Oh, we actually had a map played on our phone for a week. Which is the place that's in that show. Oh my gosh. Brian, you're going to do the... Test one, two. Just to... Yeah, sure. So we're trying to get Board Member Ward. She's participating via telephone tonight because she is traveling

004for business. The board has voted earlier to allow her to participate by phone. So while we're trying to do that, let me just make one more quick announcement, and that is that we have several students here tonight who are visiting from different civics classes. And so if you are a student here for a civics class upstairs, feel free to see a staff member at the point at which you need to leave the meeting, and they will sign off for you. Thank you. Board Member Ward, can you hear us? Okay. Okay, I would like to resume the... U-46 Board of Education meeting October 3rd, 2016. If everyone could please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty

005and justice for all. Thank you. The next item on the agenda is Accent on Achievement. Good evening, everyone. Tonight, as part of the Board of Education's Accent on Achievement, the Board recognizes Bartlett High School for being named to the U.S. News and World Report's Best High Schools list for 2016. Bartlett High School earned a silver medal, ranking 81st in the state of Illinois. The best high school list was developed using a college readiness index that considers data points such as performance on state required exams, the percentage of students passing at least one advanced placement exam, and graduation rate. Bartlett High School has a graduation rate of 87%, well above the necessary 68% to be eligible for the medal. Congratulations to Bartlett High School. Please join us, Principal Domaski. Congratulations, Bartlett High School. This is a

006certificate of achievement from the Board of Education of School District U-46, hereby recognized as Bartlett High School for being named the best high school by U.S. News and World Report, presented this third day of October 2016, signed Donna Smith, President, Board of Education, and Tony Sanders, Chief Executive Officer. This is special to me because my oldest daughter, or my only daughter, graduated from Bartlett in 2006, so congratulations. Thank you. Sure. I would love to give a speech. Thank you. Oh, and we dream big. No, I just want to thank you. And obviously it's my first year there. Is this actually working, this thing, so they can hear me in the TV land? Wonderful. But you know what, we use a lot of common sense with our goals. We're talking about we care about kids. We

007want to support all students when they struggle, whether it's emotionally or behaviorally. And you know what, we really want to make our students global citizens. And with our focus, we're really going to propel them to the next level. So hopefully gold next year. There you go. Thank you. Thank you. Next we're going to recognize National School Lunch Week which is October 10th to the 14th. We're offering a proclamation of appreciation to the representatives of the U-46 Food and Nutrition Services Department. Pardon me. And the union representatives, if they are here with us. The U-46 Food and Nutrition Services Department serves more than 4,000 breakfast meals and 20,000 lunches every day. They continue to encourage our students to eat healthy and to live healthy lifestyles. Congratulations and thank you. Oh, yeah. I'll read the proclamation. Proclamation

008of Appreciation, National School Lunch Week. Whereas, Food and Nutrition Services staff serve students and school systems throughout the year in many capacities that help students achieve their maximum potential by providing nutritious meals and promote proper growth and development. And whereas, the contributions of these talented and dedicated individuals are recognized in honor of National School Lunch Week, October 10th through 14th, 2016. And whereas, U46 Food and Nutrition Services staff not only lends their special skills and talents to the efficient operation of the school system, they also have played a significant role in the district's quest for continuous improvement. Now therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education recognizes its talented staff prior to National School Lunch Week, October 10th through 14th, 2016, and asks administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the community to join in recognizing

009and thanking these individuals for their dedication, efforts, and service on behalf of children and youth. presented this third day of October 2016, signed by Board President Donna Smith and Tony Sanders, Chief Executive Officer. So congratulations. Did you want to say something? Get fit with U-46 for 2016-17. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. And finally, we have also another... Sorry. Proclamation for National School Bus Safety Week, which is October 17th through the 21st. This proclamation of appreciation is being presented to the representatives of the U-46 Transportation Department. The U-46 Transportation Department safely transports nearly 26,000 children to and from 58 schools each day. U-46 drivers make nearly 1,500 daily bus stops and drive more than 26,000 miles. That's more than 4 million miles per year. Thank you for all you do. Congratulations.

010Congratulations, and I will read the proclamation. Proclamation of Appreciation National School Bus Safety Week. Whereas the U-46 Transportation Department serves nearly 26,000 students daily, transporting children to 58 in-district and 27 out-of-district. different sites each day. U-46 drivers make nearly 1,500 bus stops and drive more than 26,000 miles each day. Whereas the contributions of these talented and dedicated drivers, assistants, mechanics, and office staff are recognized in honor of National School Bus Safety Week, October 17th through the 21st, 2016. And whereas the U.S. Transportation staff not only leads their special skills and talents to the efficient operation of the school system, they also have played a significant role in the district's quest for continuous improvement. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Education recognizes its talented staff. prior to National School Bus Safety Week and

011asks administrators, teachers, students, parents, and the community to join in recognizing and thanking these individuals for their dedication, efforts, and service on behalf of our children and youth. Presented this third day of October 2016, signed by myself, Board President, and Chief Executive Officer Tony Sanders. Thank you. Yeah, unfortunately I don't have that memorized for you. However, on behalf of the U-46 Transportation Department, I thank you for the recognition and thank you for allowing us to serve the community and the students of U-46. Thank you. And please send our thanks to the drivers and the staff. Thank you. Next item on the agenda is comments from the audience. Good evening. We are now at the portion of the agenda where the board welcomes public comments from the audience. The protocol of this part of the meeting

012is for the board to receive input for consideration and not necessarily to answer questions or provide feedback as a group at this particular time. Persons who wish to speak must turn in a request to speak card. These cards will be accepted until the first speaker has completed speaking. When your name is called, please come to the presenter's table and speak into the microphone. Comments should be in good taste and demonstrate consideration for others. To ensure equal time for all speakers, each speaker is allotted up to three minutes. When the tone sounds, comments should be concluded as quickly as possible. And finally, presenters who wish to leave written material for the board can give them to me. In order to conserve time, we will call two speakers at a time. Both presenters should come to the

013table. Also, if you feel that a previous speaker has adequately addressed your topic, you may pass when your name has been called. The board keeps all requests to speak cards and will... respond to them accordingly. When you hear his name, please come to the presentation table and speak directly on the microphone. We hope that the people who speak will do so with respect and consideration to everyone. Each person will have three minutes to say a few words before the meeting. If you hear a signal, you will have to conclude your comment as soon as possible. Finally, those people who wish to leave written material for the meeting, please leave it with me. Okay, thank you. Again, I am going to ask that all speakers please keep your comments respectful, and I'm going to ask the

014audience to please remain respectful to the speakers. Thank you. We'll be calling speakers up two at a time and try to expedite the process a little bit. Our first speaker will be Craig Reeves, and if at the same time he comes forward, if Aaron Kelly can also step forward and have a seat. Hi, my name is Craig Reeves. I'm the maintenance guy over at Streamwood High School, and I mentioned last week about the locker rooms and restrooms and stuff like that. I figured I'd mention again this week. Our locker rooms are locked. When the kids are actually in gym, if they're in the gym, the locker rooms are locked and they are attended. There's a male attendant in the boys locker room, there's a female attendant in the girls locker room, and the locker rooms

015are locked. We have Dean's assistants that go around and other staff members that go around to the restrooms. Periodically, I would say just about every half hour. Those locker rooms don't have doors to them. So anybody can just walk in there, but so they check them out because kids being kids I mean I had to clean up a garbage can I was dumped into a toilet this week You know just one of those things they do during homecoming, I guess What makes me a little bit Concerned is that I'm hearing children being called circus freaks I'm hearing them being compared to two-headed frogs five-legged animals These are all God's children. Why are we talking about God's children like those saying, calling them circus freaks, abominations? I don't understand that. And what about the student and

016their family who is hearing everybody talk hatefully about what this person wants to do and this family wants to do along with the school board? I don't... quite understand why you don't understand what these people might be feeling or about the people who are maybe wanting to come out and do the same thing as this girl. They're looking thinking, well, you got people coming from out of town who hate us and they don't even know who the heck we are, you know, just because we're a little bit different. And Mr. Sanders, all I can say is, damn if you do and damn if you don't. You know, you're just doing your job, and I think you're doing a pretty good job at it. And I just want to conclude by saying that I support this.

017Our next speaker is Aaron Kelly. And if Kim on your rock could also step forward and be prepared to speak. Yes, Kelly. Hi, my name is Erin Kelly, and I am 12 years old, and I attend Tufts Middle School. And first of all, I would like to say this issue is getting super twisted. What you do not understand is that this is not a co-ed locker room. Everyone needs to figure that out. It is not a boy changing the girl's locker room or using the girl's bathroom. It is not a girl changing the boy's locker room or using the boy's bathroom. It shouldn't be like this. If they have been born in... girl and now have transitioned into a boy. They're a boy. They use the boys' locker room and the boys' bathroom because they're

018a boy, not a girl. They shouldn't have to identify as transgender unless they want to. They should identify as people. Like, I'm not going to say that transgender person over there. I'm going to say that boy over there or that girl over there or what they identify as. And frankly, I don't think it's any person's business which locker room they change in. Like to say, if I was born a boy and transitioned into a girl because that's what makes me happy and that's who I feel like I am, I should be able to change in the women's locker room and use the girls' bathroom. It is embarrassing that you are making them change in the locker room that they don't identify with. Like how embarrassing would it be if I would change in the boys'

019locker room because I am a girl, not a boy? That's how they feel. Raise your hand if you would be embarrassed if you had to change in the opposite sex locker room. And if you didn't raise your hand, just admit it because you would be embarrassed. This is what these kids deal with every day. Please, if you don't agree with me right away, just take my opinion into account and just think about it. You might change your mind. And just to end with the cherry on top, I might be 12, but I do have opinions. These words were not shoved into my mouth by my parents. I wrote them myself. If you're disgusted, a 12-year-old would say, say these things and have these opinions. But guess what? This is just the start. I don't have

020enough time to say it all. You will definitely see more of me in the future. This topic continues. And one last thing. What do you think these 12, 13, and 14-year-olds are doing in the locker room? We have five minutes to change. And not to mention... awful and untrue things are being said about our CEO that are completely unbelievable and disgusting to say about someone who is doing so much for your children and for our school and this is how you thank him? Unbelievable is all I can say. This whole thing is unbelievable. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our next public speaker is Kim Unbrook. And if Matthew Harrison can also come forward and be prepared. My name is Kim Onufrock. I'm a taxpayer living in the 46th school district and have school-aged children.

021First, I do want to thank Mr. Sanders for publicly publishing the Guidelines to Support Transgender Student document. This was very helpful to better understand the steps that the district takes in these situations. Second, it seems to me that the discussion about the bathroom and locker room issue has degraded on both sides into a polarization of people being lumped into one or two opposing camps, of people who have drawn lines in the sand regarding their own views of what is the right thing to do in this situation. I don't think either side is going to change the mind of the other by arguing about it in this forum. So this has caused each side to criticize and condemn the other, and it seems to have become a contest to see who will win and have made

022this into a battle rather than focusing on the issue itself. So let's remember the issue. On the one side, there are transgender students who need a safe place to use the restroom and change their clothes. On the other side, there are male and female students who would feel extremely uncomfortable to have someone of a gender other than their same biological sex sharing the restroom or locker room with them. And I think it is reasonable to say that students who would feel... unsafe in this scenario are not as concerned about potential violence from a transgender student but are very concerned about opening up the potential of violence from a student of the opposite sex who may someday be allowed into their bathroom or locker room. So that is the issue that we should be discussing. So

023what is the answer from both sides? All or nothing? Just, excuse me, must there be a winner? Must there be a loser? Why are we looking for a win when we should be looking for a solution to the issue? Regardless of one's own moral convictions, I understand that these are public schools and by their very definition must accommodate students and parents with a wide range of moral convictions. I've seen ribbons and promotion of the concept, all means all. This could certainly mean a lot of things. In this case, the bathroom and locker rooms, there doesn't seem to be option that we all agree upon. or that will make all comfortable. But if we all are truly concerned about the privacy and safety of all students, can we not find a solution that accommodates the privacy

024and safety needs of all students? Therefore, that is a solution that both accommodates transgender students and also protects the privacy of other students. So what I'm, again... look for is a third option of a gender-neutral restroom and locker room to be the solution for both sides of this issue. Listen to the response of a transgender student to the newly installed gender-neutral bathroom at a high school in Pennsylvania. When I walk into a space where there is a transgender, when there is a gender-neutral bathroom... I know that I can relax. I can use the bathroom when I need to, and I don't worry about my safety when I'm there. And I don't have to constantly monitor who else has left the room to make sure that I'm not going to run into anyone who might not

025like trans people. Excuse me. Could you conclude, please? So just looking for a solution for all students. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Matthew Harrison, and if Brad Pettit could also come forward and have a seat and be ready to speak. Mr. Harrison? Thank you, sir, for the time. Like I said, my name is Matt Harrison. I'm a resident in the U-46 district, and I'm also a taxpayer into this district. The decision to allow transgenders into locker rooms has not been made by U-46 alone in recent times. District 211 in Palatine made the same decision back in November. Since then, there are currently 50 lawsuits against that school, as you know. In lawsuits, as you know, people sometimes settle for monetary gain along with the correction of what they are suing

026for. That would mean that this district would possibly be losing vast amounts of funds necessary for the payment of teachers and programs available for the students. Also, if the privacy of all students must be reasonably accounted for, why would the majority be forced against their will and beliefs to accommodate the very few? young lady just said, if you're wanting to make accommodations for all, then for the transgender students, just please build them their own bathroom for their own privacy. And don't commit demolition upon the beliefs, morals, and ethics of the majority. Furthermore, when an election takes place, the person that's going to be running for position will cater to the ones of the majority so that he or she can get the most votes, not to the minority so that he or she will get

027the least votes. That doesn't really make common sense there. Now, In regard to the change of public comments, I request that you leave them the same way as they are now. I have to get up at 5 o'clock in the morning to get ready for work. I do not want to have to be here that late at night. I understand why you don't either. But respectfully, if you do not function well after 10 o'clock like the rest of us don't, then... You need to understand who really butters your bread, and the answer is the money from those of us who pay taxes into the district. This move is wrong in several reasons. One, by moving the public comments to the end, you're hoping people will leave so that you do not have to hear the

028public speak their opinion about certain matters, and that goes for both sides. Number two, you do not like to hear the truth of what God has to say from His Word. Number three, if you say that you do not function well after 10 o'clock and you want to push public comments until then, then that tells me that you will not be listening to what both sides has to say about any matter. And if you will not listen now, then you will not listen then, and both sides really needs to understand this. Those of you like this simply do not care about what the public has to say, regardless of what side they are on. What has happened to this school board is nothing but the love of money. $37 million is a lot of money

029to go to one school, or to a district. 1 Timothy 6, verse 10 says, For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. This matter is evil, and the idea to restrict public comment is borderline communism. Thank you all very much for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Brad Pettit. And after Mr. Pettit will be David Swarga, if Mr. Swarga could also step forward. I'd like to read to you about a famous man who evidently wanted to be a woman. He committed a crime and went to prison. I quote, in May 1996, Chicago television news anchor Bill Curtis received videotapes made at Stateville Prison in 1988 from an anonymous attorney. Showing them

030publicly for the first time before the Illinois State Legislature. Curtis pointed out explicit scenes of sex, drug use, and money being passed around by prisoners who seemingly had no fear of being caught. In the center was this man performing on another inmate, sharing a large quantity of cocaine with another inmate, parading in silk panties, sporting female-like breasts, allegedly grown using smuggled hormone treatments, and boasting, if they only knew how much fun I was having, they'd turn me loose. The Illinois legislature packed the auditorium to view the two-hour video, but stopped the screening when the film showed this man performing on another man. If you're my age or older, especially if you lived in Chicagoland in the 60s, you know the name Richard Speck. He murdered eight nurses in one night. If you keep co-gender washrooms,

031you will open the door to even more demonic activity. Thank you. Thank you. That's the teacher, Mr. Svarga. Following that will be Jason Walker, if Mr. Walker could also step up. Yes, my name is David Svarga. I do live in the U-46 district, and I'm a taxpayer. Last meeting, 53 people spoke. 43 spoke against transgenders using the restroom of their choice, while only two spoke for it. 29 of those 43 were in U-46, while only five of the 10 that were for it were in U-46. So evidently the majority wasn't heard. There are over 40,000 students in U-46. We're bending over backwards for one student that decided they needed special privileges in a bathroom. Now all this has ensued. Your decision could be influenced by the funds the government threatens to withhold from school districts

032who fail to comply. But I have here several articles from 11 states currently fighting and in several cases pending this issue will not lose their funds. The fact is our government is abusing and misinterpreting Title IX to fit their agenda, which you received a letter through the summer and are scared that maybe you'll lose your funding. But in time for me, I make my last point. Future colleagues said that recently there was a lawsuit in Pelotine in the school district, 211. 51 families rose up against this policy. I want to read an excerpt from that. It says right here, the religious liberty group Thomas More Society also is representing the plantists in the lawsuit, which seeks to keep the district, Pelotine, from enforcing the locker room agreement. restroom policy and to bar the Department of

033Education from taking action against the district. Plaintiffs also argue in the suit that the locker room agreement prevents students from practicing the modesty that their faith requires of them. Thomas More Society attorney, Jacqueline Floyd, called the policy a setback for women's rights. To impose such a rule on still developing teenage girls already struggling with puberty changes on their bodies and social pressures to look a certain way undermines their dignity and tells them that their rights don't matter. One student in particular in Peloton, there's been this big agenda that the bathrooms are safe because of monitors and such, and that transgenders are getting made fun of. Well, one student who was a female, not a transgender, opted to use the privacy stall that you say these policies will protect them, the privacy stall. She was called

034transphobic. homophobic, according to the lawsuit which stated that she now wears her gym clothes under her school clothes to avoid changing in the locker room. So whose voice really makes sense? Whose rights are you protecting? You're giving privileges to a few students and you're allowing actual females to force where they don't even want to use the actual locker room that they are intended to use. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jason Walker. And Cassie Deal will be up after Mr. Walker. I've been paying taxes to U46 for 18 years, but I'm concerned because we've had hundreds of people attend meetings like this the last couple times and talk about their concerns for this radical policy change concerning transgender students in restrooms and locker rooms. And this is a decision that will

035greatly affect our community and children. But this is what I'm concerned about. The only thing that I've heard so far from board members after these meetings is how can we shorten the time? Can we move it to the end of the meeting? They don't need three minutes. Maybe give them two minutes. How can we rush through this? There's been nothing about the actual topic that we brought before you discussed that we know. You are elected to serve the families of U-46 School District. You should have involved the families of U-46 in this decision. Like your own website for School District U-46 Board Policy Section 8.010 states, you say that the board respects families as important decision makers for their children's education. Later, further on in that same segment, it says that you want to try

036to involve parents and guardians in shared decision-making and establishing effective two-way communication with all parents and guardians respecting diversity and differing needs of all families. You say that on your website, and yet that didn't happen with this policy. Oh, but then we hear the real reason as to why this had to happen. It's federal law. We have to comply. Really? This is a law? Wait, you mean Title IX? from the 1972 law that Richard Nixon signed on June 23rd that was dealing with gender equality. It was dealing with girls and women having the same opportunities as boys and men in sports, education, and careers. In the 1972 law, there was no gender identity issue that was being dealt with. To take that law from 1972 and conveniently interpret and stretch this word in Title IX,

037sex, to include gender identity or internal sense of gender identity is wrong. This is exactly what the Obama administration, Department of Education, and Department of Justice have done in their Dear Colleague letter sent to schools. This letter says that it does not make any new laws, but it gives significant guidance. Significant guidance? I think a better word would be termed, this is a threat. If you don't comply with us on this, we're going to withhold your federal funding for your district. And what they can't accomplish by passing an actual law through the proper channels they're attempting to do through threatening our children's educations by not giving our district needed funding for school programs. This dear colleague letter is just a flowery way of saying, do what we want or else. Funny, that sounds to me

038like it's a strong form of harassment and bullying by our federal government. You know bullying? That thing that we never want kids to go through when they're in school? Definition of bullying, to use superior strength or influence to intimidate someone, typically to force him or her to do what one wants. I find it ironic how some of our school board members want students to vigorously stand against bullying in their schools, and rightfully so, yet they themselves don't have the guts to stand up against a federal bully who's trying to cram this agenda down their throats. I challenge and demand that this school board remove this transgender policy, stand against the Obama guidance letter, and fight for our kids. kids. Last time I checked, our kids belong to us, the parents, not the government. Thank you.

039Our next speaker is Cassie Deal and Dylan Portillo. We'll be speaking right after that if Mr. Portillo can step forward as well. I'm Cassie Deal. Thank you for allowing me to speak. I believe that some of us in this room are being hypocritical when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to begin this meeting. I think some need to change the words One Nation Under God to One Nation Under Ourselves, the Obama administration, and the liberal media agenda. If you truly believe that this nation is under God, then you would run this school according to God's word, and we wouldn't even need to be here. Moving on, though. A letter was written by one of the board members stating we could have done a better job communicating the change. I'm sorry, but the change was not communicated

040at all. The one person who did do a better job communicating the change is being crucified for it, and she deserves an apology. I'd like to talk about the guidelines established to support transgender students. First of all, if being transgender is completely normal and appropriate, why do guidelines need to be established at all? Looking at the section discrimination and harassment. It is the goal of the district pursuant to board policy, and here I quote the policy. To pursue equal educational and extracurricular opportunities for all students without regard to race, color, nationality, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, disability, etc., etc. This is taken from the equal educational opportunities policy. Let me go back to to pursue educational. and extracurricular opportunities for all students. My question is, since when does changing clothes in a locker room

041or going to the bathroom fall under the educational or extracurricular opportunity category? It doesn't. So this policy is not valid support for the decision that you made. The section students' privacy. The first sentence, all students have a right to privacy. We can stop there because we know that's being falsely stated. If you were concerned about the privacy of all students, you would have left things the way they were or come up with a different solution. Allowing a transgender student to use the locker rooms while the others are present has nothing to do with privacy. This has everything to do with $37 million government funding. Apparently, children went from being priceless to now having a price tag, and those with greater value receive the special privileges. For sake of time, let's move on to the last

042section, overnight school trips. It states that the district support committee will develop a plan to appropriately accommodate a transgender student on an overnight trip. If being transgender is normal and appropriate concerning bathrooms and locker rooms, why would you need to develop an appropriate plan during overnight trips? How will you keep the transgender student? from feeling discriminated when developing this appropriate plan and explain to them that they even need a plan. So all this comes down to the fact that money overpowers common sense and moral standards once again. I will not understand how anything would be worth supporting or as others have said celebrating a lifestyle that has a history of high rates in physical and sexual assaults, bullying, depression, and suicide as stated by a transgender student last Monday. Thank you. Thank you. Our next

043speaker is Dylan Portillo, and after that will be Mike Deal, if Mr. Deal could also step forward. Okay. I'm Dylan, and I'm currently a student here in the U-46. I go to one of your high schools, and I heard about the transgender policies and everything, and I feel like if you allow this to happen, my right of privacy and my right of privacy for my fellow students will be violated if you allow this. policy to go on following that will be Jake Robidoux I believe is correctly mr. deal my name is Michael deal I'm a taxpayer you 46 school district I'm a father of two as well I just want to read a couple statements that were pulled from the guidelines of the transgender student all students have the right to privacy Any student who

044has a need or desire to increase privacy, regardless of underlying reasons, should be provided with reasonable alternative arrangements. Generally, students should be permitted to participate in general, segregated, recreational, physical education class activities, sexual health education, clubs, school events, and non-competitive sports in accordance with the gender identified the students consistently asserted at school. Transgenders don't want equality. They want superiority and special privileges. Do you realize there are 50 lawsuits against school district 211, as some have already talked about? Also, 12 states have also stood against the law Obama made required transgenders in the bathroom, and they've been successful. Just a point I thought of. Just because something's new doesn't mean it's right. And the last thing is, why do we give up the privacy and safety to the majority of the privacy of the majority to

045the privacy and safety of a few? Thank you. Jake, how do you pronounce your last name again? Robido. Robido. Okay, I apologize for mispronouncing it before. After that will be Jim Cremines. We've heard some emotional arguments or statements based off of feeling. And one thing that I cringe about when I hear is when I'm told that the words no equal hate. As parents, have we ever told our children no before and still love them? I think the answer is yes. And we hear these emotional arguments and it's all about feeling and it's not based on fact or reality. And the reality is we tell our children no, sometimes it's the hardest to tell them that when we love them the most. And it's an important thing to tell them. That wasn't the point of what

046I wanted to say. Let me go on and say this. I understand that many of you feel pressure. uh... the pressure from our current administration's justice department and education department as they have decided to redefine some of these terms uh... they've redefined the term sexual orientation underneath title nine to include gender identity i don't think that's any secret and they would like for you to think as a school board that if you don't act upon uh... or agree to these new definitions then you're in danger of discrimination yourself and i just want to let you know that that there can be nothing that's farther from the truth in fact That joint letter that was already mentioned, that was sent in May as a joint effort between the Department of Justice and the Department of Education,

047called it only a significant guidance, once again, a significant guidance rather than actual law. And after consulting with an attorney, I've been advised that there's no legal requirement. for you as a school board to make this decision to allow students into the bathroom or locker room based on their gender identity as opposed to the biological sex. And listen, this is the common sense thing that we need to understand here. Anybody familiar with the legal system knows that it's not good practice, in fact it's very unwise, to make a controversial decision like this without being forced to do so by vote or court decision. Anytime you take a presumptuous action like this, you're opening yourself up to financial and legal liability. Liability that is not on you alone, but is on all of us as taxpayers.

048As a side note on this issue of liability, I'd like to know what instructions have been given to those that counsel these gender-confused children. Are they recommending hormonal treatments or that they have a sex change operation? Because malpractice insurance companies refuse to cover claims when counselors advocate treatments that are not established. And there are simply no long-term studies that show the true effects of giving these prepubescent children or even teenagers these hormonal treatments. So what are these counselors telling these children? Are we going to be on the hook for any lawsuits that are brought against them? I just struggle because I'm here tonight. Obviously, I oppose the decisions that's been made. I just want to know, is there anything that we can say? Is there any amount of outcry that can cause you to rethink

049the decision that's already been made? Is there anything that will cause you to take action to reverse this decision? Because if the answer is no... Then I'm wondering, are you more concerned about serving the parents and the community, or are you more worried about imposing your morals, or the lack thereof, onto our children? And listen, if you don't hear us now, you'll definitely hear us in April when the elections come along. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jim Crimmins, and Janet Perryman will be the speaker immediately following. Hi, my name is Jim Crimmins. I was born and raised in Elgin. Went to U46 schools all my life. For the last week or two, you've all heard Bible verses thrown at you. Sometimes it does good. When we're talking to liberal folks

050with a liberal agenda, I believe it does no good. I'm just going to switch gears a little bit. I found something that actually says it all. It's about common sense. How has the world's profits become so immense that assets on Wall Street turn dollars to cents? How can we buy? Now we can buy fake boobs or the perfect shaped nose. But where did the common sense go? Now we can't afford food or put gas in our cars. But NASA can take real good pictures of Mars. And as the credit card becomes a new standard for gold, where did the common sense go? Where did the common sense go? Has it all gone to hell? Lord only knows. Well, the sun still shines and the river still flows, but where did the common sense go? The

051celebrities posture themselves to agree, but their shallow sincerity reveals their schemes. They'll fly private jets till they warm up the globe. Well, where did the common sense go? I hope it's not too late to turn it around. but anything lost can always be found. Oh, the sun still shines and the river still flows, but where did the common sense go? Now the college professors are molding our youth with their far-fetched opinions so far from the truth. While the morals unravel, we search for our souls. Oh, where did the common sense go? Where did the common sense go? Has it all gone to hell? Lord only knows. As we search for the answers, the mystery unfolds. Where did the common sense go? Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Deanna Perryman. After Ms. Perryman will

052be Brian Kinney. I'd like to be referred to as Student Y. So I'd like to use my time to clarify some of the most prevalent misconceptions I've heard throughout the past two meetings I've attended. I'm a senior at Elgin High School and have been a student in U46 for 12 years. This means I have utilized the bathroom and locker rooms for many years. And I don't know how long it's been since some of you have used a locker room, but some things have changed. We no longer shower at all, whatsoever. And the large majority of females in the locker room change as quickly as possible and would rather die than take off more clothing than necessary. I find it rather odd that there is this perpetualization of a male fantasy of a girl's locker room.

053We are not scantily clad teens running around and wrestling each other. We are modest, self-respecting young women trying to change so that we don't fail gym. And this applies whether you are a member of the LGBT community or not. Secondly, I'd like to point out that it doesn't take someone to merely say they feel like a woman today or act like a transgendered person to gain access to a bathroom with the intent of assaulting someone. A sign on the door isn't going to stop a rapist from committing their heinous crime. And this outlandish imagery of a straight male impersonating a transgendered person to assault someone is not only irrelevant because anyone, transgender or not, can waltz into whatever bathroom they please, but it's just plain fear-mongering. I'd also like to refute a claim I'd heard

054at the first meeting I had attended. A woman stated that U-46 was going to do nothing for the victims of assault and were instead catering to the perpetrators. When I was eight years old, both my sisters were assaulted and then stalked for many years by a female who had lived in our neighborhood. Having her live so close basically ensured that her and my sisters would be attending high school together, and this made both my sisters and my whole family uncomfortable. After speaking to district officials, we were all granted access to attend Elgin High School in lieu of our home school so they could provide a better learning environment for all parties involved. The board members and district officials do care, and they do try their hardest to ensure all children are comfortable and able to

055learn. Lastly, I'd like to end this by reminding everyone that this policy is not new. It hasn't been changed. It hasn't been redrafted in any way. It has had the same wording and meaning since 2013. This anti-discrimination policy reads, the Board of Education will pursue equal educational and extracurricular opportunities for all students without regard to race, color, nationality, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, disability, status as homeless, order of protection status, actual or perceived marital or parental status, gender identity, pregnancy, and any other legally protectable category. So what does this mean? This means in the district of U-46, all truly means all. So thank you, CEO Sanders and the board members who support and enforce this policy for protecting the integrity of education for all and the diverse student body. Thank you. Thank you for

056the time. I appreciate the fact that people say all because all does mean all. Every single student, every single student should feel like they're safe. Not just transgender, straight. All does mean all. So when you say all, let's include all. That's what it means. Everybody should feel safe in their place. And just like the policy says, if they don't feel safe, they should be afforded special accommodations so they can feel safe. If that's what your policy says, we should follow the policy. I have been working in Elgin, volunteer work over 19 years, serving the families in Elgin for 19 years. Every single Sunday, every single Saturday, if they need it during the week, I've given thousands of dollars in the Elgin U-46 district. So I know the hearts of the families that I deal with.

057Every single family that I contacted with said they are not comfortable with your policy. We are not against the transgender people. We're not we're not against them. We're but we are for What everybody should feel safe. So if anybody feels like we're against them, we're really not against you We're against the policy that makes other people feel like they're being violated or put in an unsafe circumstance So please consider all Means all that's what it means. So if we're gonna say all let's do what the policy says Let's follow the policy that is stated is written in black and white everybody everybody everybody should feel safe. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Putnam. My name is Luke Putnam. I have lived in the U-46 district for 20 years. And the lack of transparency among the majority

058of this board is frankly appalling. And we are well aware that this issue concerning transgender students was pushed without knowledge of the parents or students of U-46. And this lack of honesty also extends to the role that the U-46 staff. play. A small minority of gender confused students have complained about bullying from fellow students as well as coaches and PE teachers. And yet the very argument used to support the allowance of transgender students in locker rooms and bathrooms is that the schools will have monitors in these bathrooms. And are these monitors not also school staff? So if they feel bullied by school staff, how can we also help them feel safe by using monitors? This argument is nothing but purposeful doublespeak employed to further an agenda. There is a lack of honesty also administratively. Under

059Title IX, the White House is suggesting significant guidance in this transgender issue, which will be awarded with a $37 million federal grant. And considering that there are 57 schools in the U-46 district, according to the U-46 website, each school would average about $650,000 apiece. Now, we understand that the $37 million would be apportioned based on enrollment. We understand that. But even $1 to $2 million. would not be a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. What about the lawsuits from the 51 parents in District 211? What about the 11 states that have brought lawsuits to court over this policy? Is U-46 prepared to spend $37 million in federal grants for the impending litigations? Furthermore, the school board's lack of honesty is an outright denial of the far-reaching effects of this policy that they will

060have in the future. In Germany, there's a group that chooses to identify as a non-human species, and several identify as cats. Previously, the argument was made that sex is a spectrum. So apparently, there are those also that feel that species is a spectrum as well. Is U-46 prepared to accommodate trans-species students? Would U-46 make them feel comfortable? Would litter boxes be available in locker rooms for cats, humans? After all, U-46 wouldn't want them to feel uncomfortable. And shame on any student who would feel uncomfortable around them or worse, call them confused or abnormal. Would U-46 make sweeping policies changes in favor of trans-species students? Where does this stop? This transgender policy is not redefining of gender, it is the undefining of gender. Under the guise of freedom and liberty, proponents of gender nonspecific policies are

061in all reality propagating and advocating for anarchy. This school board by virtue of the ballot are answerable to the public and you will hear us in April. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is Senator Kodar. Following Senator Kodar will be John Kirkwood. Well, good evening. Last time I came to speak to you guys, it was about suicide prevention because all of my students are precious and every single one of them is somebody's child. And I am really getting frustrated with people who continually deny the humanity of my students. This month... fittingly, is National Bully Prevention Month. Now, I heard earlier a definition of bullying, but they forgot the repeated part of that. But okay, research may not be the first thing on everybody's mind. But one of the things we have to talk about is

062that understanding is the first step to acceptance. And only with acceptance can there be recovery. I like that quote. It's from one of my favorite books. Another quote from that book says, I am what I am, and I'm not ashamed. Never be ashamed, my old dad used to say. There's some who will hold it against you, but they're not worth bothering with. Another quote from the same author, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. Last but not least, words. Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, the most inexhaustible form of magic we have. They are capable both of inflicting injury and of remedying it. Anybody want to guess the author? J.K. Rowling. Okay, that was Harry Potter. But it still

063applies to each and every one of us in this room and outside of this room. With that in mind, I would like to remind us all to be kind. Be kind to one another, please. Your words can cause injury or they can heal. Would you please, please be kind to one another? And students, please, do your business, flush, wash your hands, and get back to class. Thank you. Our next speaker is John Kirkwood. Follow Mr. Kirkwood with David Osselin. My name is John Kirkwood. I am not... Living in the U-46 district, although I am an Illinois taxpayer and father of three, I'd like to thank the board for hearing us tonight. A number of people have already expressed and shared my disappointment with the transparency of the board and the way they've handled this decision.

064So I'm going to forego any of those comments. But I would like to ask some questions. I know you can't answer them now, but I don't think they've been cleared up in the guidelines that you've distributed. So hopefully you'll make these answers available to some and to me in writing. Question one, does the administration require staff and faculty to use opposite sex pronouns when referring to gender dysphoric students and or colleagues? If so, will there be some kind of reprimand or punishment if the staff or faculty refuse? Question 2. Does the administration require students to use opposite sex pronouns when referring to gender dysphoric peers and or faculty? If so, will there be some kind of reprimand or punishment if a student refuses? Number 3. How will the school board and administration respond if gender

065dysphoric students and their parents assert that privacy changing stalls and supervision are unjustly discriminatory? Number 4. Is it the opinion of the current board that the issue has been settled and will not be reopened for consideration? Have you taken into consideration that if this issue isn't treated with due process in the boardroom, that some may seek it in the courtroom? Number five, given the testimony on both sides of this issue, that a gender dysphoric student, or transgender identifying, if you prefer, is undergoing acute levels of anxiety, social upheaval, emotional disorders, ranging from self-harm to suicide, and that many who identify as transgender in their minority shake off this confusion in adulthood, is it not the better part of wisdom to take a neutral, not celebratory approach? Number six, a neutral approach would include making accommodations

066for a particular student and not compromising the privacy, integrity, even the dignity of an entire student body. So how and why was this avenue never explored? Given the unilateral way in which this decision was thrust on U-46, wouldn't it be wise to debate and consider the most common sense alternative that was never apparently considered? Number seven, in your guidelines to protect a transgender student, you make the very unscientific statement that an individual's biological sex is quote-unquote assigned at birth. Who assigns this designation? Is it your contention that parental chromosomes and DNA, anatomy, biology are to be completely ignored over against a child's current emotional state? Will that change in your textbooks? Will you be releasing guidelines for the treatment of Judeo-Christian staff, faculty, and students? Is safety, dignity, and individual rights for individuals of faith

067or even atheists who believe that science would preclude them from following transgender mandates somehow not to be accommodating? Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is David Oswood. Following him will be Joel Swarga. Ladies and gentlemen, over the last few weeks, there have been many people here expressing their opinion on the transgender bathroom and locker room issue for and against. They felt their need to express their opinion on the decision that was made without their knowledge or consent. This decision now touches the lives of over 40,000 children in U-46 on an everyday basis. This is an extremely important issue and the board needs to hear what we the people have to say. However, at the end of last meeting, instead of respectfully taking into account what these individuals had to say, all the board president

068could think to do was comment that our voices need to be limited or silenced. Is this Stalin's Kremlin where the law of dictator cannot be challenged or where the voice of opposition cannot be tolerated or heard? If you feel I am overstating, then you are probably the person I am speaking to. Follow the logical end of such a thought process where your first impulse is to squelch the input of the citizen who does not agree. I find it troubling and outright insulting that the members of this board would consider abusing the power that has been given them in such a manner. You say you have better things to do with your time. May I remind the board that these people who have spoken also have families, jobs, and other important things to do with their

069time on a weeknight. Yet a matter of this importance brings them here to speak. May I remind the board that not you, but the taxpayers are the ones who pay the bills. May I remind the board that you are elected members of this board, put in place by the voters, such as those before you now. us here and those who have been here speaking in earlier days. You are the elected and we the people are the ones who put you in that place. If you do not have the time to listen to the people of whom you're supposed to be serving, then I suggest you resign and I will appeal to the voters to make sure that you do not retain your office at the next election. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sure there will

070be tariff rights. Mr. Kirkwood brought forth some good points in his questions. I think he was getting us to understand that this is really just the tip of the iceberg as far as what can unravel when we start going down this road. It doesn't start and stop with bathrooms, and that's what he was making clear in these questions to get us to think about the Pandora's box that will open up. It's really the tip of the iceberg, and I want to ask the board, have you sat down and thought about this? Of course you have. This is something that is the topic of the day, but really, have you considered where this will take? the policy that you're putting in place here, where it could take us. Let me give you one example. Now we

071can have guys that want to, now they're girls, you know, they want to transition or whatever you call it, and they bring a note to school, and now they're referred to as a she. So now they can be involved in the girls' sports and all that other stuff that goes along with it. Same thing the other way. The girls can be involved in the guys' sports because now they're pretending that they're a guy. Have you considered when a girl wants to join the guy's swim team? You state in your guidelines that you can't dictate what the dress code is based on gender. So you have no right to refuse a girl who wants to pretend she's a guy and be on the guy's swim team, whether or not what she has to wear. Is she

072going to wear what the guy's wear to swim? It's a question that you're going to have to face if somebody decides they want to transition and go that way. I'm just bringing the tip of the iceberg is where you're headed. This is one scenario out of thousands. So you open that up. Now you're going to make all these students have to put up with the garbage that can ensue. And we're not talking about bathrooms. This is where it starts. I'm saying where this thing will lead. We can look at other cases in other countries and other states and where this stuff is already headed, but the final chapter is not written yet. You can't change your gender. You can only be a gender impersonator. No amount of makeup, surgery, or hormone doping can change your

073DNA or your cells. Let's call this policy what it is. It's bound to political correctness. Let's call it what it is. It's Obama holding $37 million hostage in a dictator-style attempt to manipulate this board to do his bidding. It's a blatant disregard for science, biology, facts, rational thinking, privacy, and common sense under the guise of tolerance and safety, of which the policy is neither. Let's call it really what it is instead of hiding behind the tolerance platform because it's not tolerant. It is not private. It is not safe for everyone. We need to really consider and rethink this and not just put up with the people that are coming to express their opinion and express their concerns because they're valid concerns. The definition of prejudice is prejudging before you have all the facts and arguments.

074And I feel that some have prejudged just because people speak a Bible verse or they have faith. They prejudge. They won't listen to valid, common sense arguments just because somebody has a Bible with them. You're the one guilty of prejudice. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Tara Pryde. Our next speaker will be Carlos Chacon. My name is Kara Fry. I'm the proud parent of a U-46 middle schooler. I've sat through the last two meetings, and my heart breaks for the hate and judgment of others that I feel has filled this room. I go home from these meetings feeling broken. And then I think, what a privilege it is that I can take a few days and work through my anger and get on with my life, that this is not my life 24-7, where

075people compare me to frogs, unicorns, perverts, and criminals just for being who I am. At the past two meetings, like student Y, I've heard many false statements, and I'd like to go on the record with some facts of the current situation. The policy is not new, nor was it done in secret. The changes were voted on after discussion at the April 22nd, 2013 Board of Education meeting and were approved unanimously. The kids are not seeing each other naked. There are no showers in middle school. In high school, showers are only used after swimming and bathing suits are worn. The bathrooms and locker rooms are not co-ed. There is not a random mix of boys and girls in these facilities. No one can claim to be transgender just to sneak a peek into the opposite locker

076room. There is a lengthy process students need to go through in order to verify that they do, in fact, live as the gender with which they state they identify. Access is not granted on a whim. Access policies are not a safety risk. There is no factual evidence to support that assertion. The behaviors mentioned, such as stalking, harassment, voyeurism, violence, and assault, are not encouraged or legalized by these policies and are more often acts of violence that are perpetrated against trans people. Those behaviors are still against the law for everyone, everywhere. The American College of Pediatricians, cited by some as an authority on this matter, is a small, socially conservative advocacy group and should not be confused with large-scale, widely respected professional associations like the American Academy of Pediatrics. Access policies do not violate privacy. The

077student is changing in a private stall with a supervising adult immediately available. Anyone who feels uncomfortable is encouraged to advise the school and they will also be accommodated. Access policies do not violate religious freedom. As with any non-discrimination protection, no one is required to change their beliefs or their religious practice. You are still free to think this is all completely wrong. However, you do have to allow people who think believe and live differently from you to also exercise their rights. In closing, neither Mr. Sanders nor our board nor our schools have violated anyone's privacy, safety or rights. What they have done is support our diverse student population with reason, compassion, wisdom and legally implemented non-discrimination policies. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Carlos Chacon and I'm an Illinois taxpayer and I currently serve as

078a teacher and teen counselor and work in the capacity of social worker in a private school in Bartlett. And I would like to come and say a few comments and express our concern and disappointment about these new laws and these new things that changes that are happening now in our society, in our culture, in this country. And in my background, I work often with Hispanic American community, with Latinos, and you have many Latinos in your school. And many of these children are a lot of times. Sometimes I think they're innocent minded and they come from a kind of a background that has family values. And they come home expressing to the parents, so the parents express to us a large concern and just, so I want to express that to you, a concern in the

079Hispanic American community and a great disturbance about this, about transgender and about sexual identity confusion in young people. And I heard some comments about, you know, the business of other people. But if I have a teenage daughter who's 12 years old in a bathroom by herself, I think that it is my business. If she's a minor, who else goes in there and who else is allowed to go in there? So I think that as a parent, as a concerned parent, it is my business to see and to know what is going on. So this is disappointing. There are a few things that have already been said by many people who have spoken, you know, where it seems like these are laws and policies to accommodate the few, you know, and to forsake the many. I

080believe we're forsaking in this country many foundational principles that make up our culture, our society, our identity. So this is confusion. And when we have cloudy identity, our direction... will be cloudy as well. Where are we going? So see, the concern is it may not seem like a big deal right now. It might just be something so small. But the concern is that's how it starts. That's how degeneration starts. It starts like something small, and then it becomes bigger and bigger, and it grows. And so that's the concern. That is our concern. It becomes something bigger that before you know it, we're going to be finding ourselves in this country in totally the wrong direction. And so that's why we are speaking out, perhaps emotionally, and perhaps we have passion about this. And so that's

081where we're coming from. I think this corrupts our culture. It brings confusion. It brings more confusion to more children. The United States should be an example. I have traveled in my background. I have traveled to 10 countries. And you know what I hear from other countries is that they follow the United States. Whatever the United States does, most of the Latino countries, they fall in line and imitate and copy. And so I just wanted to bring that to your attention. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Josh Gorda. And if Deborah Bishop could also step forward and be prepared to speak. Thank you for having to speak tonight once again I appreciate the the freedom that you've given us to express our views and our opinions and I Sincerely am glad that we have

082this amount of time to express those views and Mr. Sanders, I respect your position, and I imagine that being able to be elected into that position by these board members, you have some know-how of what you're doing. You have some ability that others do not, and I appreciate the job you do. Now, the guidelines that were put out, I have some... concerns about them. Under the section of protocol, students need a safe and supportive school environment to progress academically and socially. That was already mentioned. Students need a safe and supportive school environment. And I'm all for that. I'm not for harassing some students. I'm not for that at all. But at the same time, if people are calling for equality, Why are we giving them superiority? Why are we giving them special privileges to be

083able to get to the principal at moment's request and to get a special support group just for them? I don't see that given to anyone of faith, as we see. Also, all students have a right to privacy. Once again, I agree with that. And with the bathroom monitors, as they say, the bathroom monitors will help the safety of these transgender students going from a guy to a girl, bathroom, whatever it may be. These monitors, they haven't stopped the bullying now. Are there monitors in place now? I assume there are. And if there are, why have they not done anything about the bullying in the locker rooms? Why has that not been said? How are monitors going to stop the bullying in this new bathroom it could go to if they haven't in the previous bathroom?

084Just something I'd bring to your attention as well. Let's see here. Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, should be provided with reasonable alternative arrangements. So a teenager of faith, which there's many here tonight, if they feel harassed by anyone in their restroom, will they be given special care in their own private bathroom? They've expressed their concerns of their own privacy. I ask that they be given special privilege. And I also talked about the committee plan to appropriately accommodate any transgender students. I don't even need to explain appropriate here because there is no appropriate in today's society, apparently. All right. Another thing to bring to attention, the opposition of the majority to this policy. We are a democracy, are we not? And we have elected you

085to your position. to make policies and we are trusting you. We're trusting you with our own morals and our own standards and I'm asking that you do not violate those to push an agenda. Common sense that was mentioned a lot common sense approach. Oh boy. I want to go there and I'm out of time But please listen to the majority and what are you doing to resolve future lawsuits? Future bullying if you will these transgender or straight students and please keep the future in mind what you have to put up with My name is Debbie Bishop and I live in the U-46 district and have for about 12 years. Someone has mentioned that research is not on everyone's mind. Let's talk about research. The simplest thing DNA can tell you is whether you are a

086boy or a girl. If you have a Y and X chromosome, you're a boy. If you have a pair of Xs, you are a girl. The FBI and the police use DNA to identify male and female. If there's a murder or a bombing, if the police can identify genetic material, they can tell if they're looking for a male or a female suspect. Parents can now, at seven weeks past conception, can use a fetal DNA test to find out whether they're going to have a boy or whether they're going to have a girl. So it seems to me like we're not questioning whether boys or girls. We're questioning feelings. If I feel like I want to be the mayor of Elgin tomorrow and show up at his door, or if I feel I want to be

087a school board member and show up at your door to take your place, what are you going to say? You're going to say, no, of course not. You can't do that. There are rules. You can't live your life by feelings. You must live your life by principle. And if scientists, FBI agents, and police can identify a boy and a girl, I certainly could hope that we could identify a boy and a girl. And I know it's hard for you now. I know people are pushing you and everybody's clamoring for your attention. But now is a time for you to stand on principle. And I hope you do that. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker, Mr. Hauser, following him, will be Enid Scott. Thank you, members of the board, for these few minutes of your

088attention. I'm Grady Hauser. I'm a business owner. I'm a homeowner. I'm a taxpayer in U46. Tonight, I'd like to address my comments directly to Mr. Sanders, CEO. Mr. Sanders, I'd like to speak to you just for a few minutes as another business executive, one to another. I don't know you. I assume you're a very competent executive. You have an MBA and about 20 years of experience prior to coming to U46. And as such, you're a steward of the parents and the taxpayers here that put you here in U-46. But with the decision that you've made, and particularly because it was made so secretively, you've turned us into the poster child for this issue. And I will tell you from a business standpoint, it's no good for property values, and it brings us significant legal risk.

089You've already been told this by other constituents tonight. I don't know if you think that the federal guidance letter, we'll call it that, that was given has you over a barrel or not, but I'm going to tell you, they're not going to withhold federal money from the second largest school district in Illinois if you don't toe the line on this thing until it plays itself out in the courts. And speaking of the courts, that's my main point. Surely you're already aware of the legal case pending in Palatine 211. I know you are. 51 families have sued in federal court over this very issue, and the case is now pending. Now, what I wonder if you do know is who's behind them. Thomas Moore and the Alliance Defending Freedom is defending the families, and their capabilities

090and their track record is significant. They'll take this all the way to the Supreme Court with capable representation, if indeed that's how far it goes. So by your actions, I've got to ask you, Are you just begging for a lawsuit here in U-46? And if you are, what possible good would it do? It would cost the taxpayers untold dollars, and it would accomplish no good, because this is going to play itself out in the courts anyway. This issue is going to play itself out, as I said, in the courts. We all know that. But until it does, It would be completely defensible for you and the members of this board to retract your decision and say, let's let the courts have its say, because in America, that's how things get played out. But if you

091don't, and by the way, I must add from the weeks previously and tonight, you clearly realize you do not have your constituency behind you on this. It's not even close. And yet you're standing alone and you're going to put us at risk for legal action. Please don't do it. Thank you. Next speaker is Ms. Scott and following that will be Courtney Monroe. Mrs. Scott. Good night, everyone. I count it a privilege to be here tonight to say something about this issue. I am not an educator or anything like that, but it seems to me that the people in this place do not believe in God. And they're saying that because people are opposed to what they have in view, they hate them. they're cursing them. I don't see where the curse coming, I don't see

092where the hate coming. People are giving their opinions on what is right and what is wrong. Everybody when they get a child they know what that child is. They know if it is a boy or if it is a girl. How come? When the child meet eight or nine or ten or what, they're confused about who they are and you got to find a special bathroom for them because they don't feel like who they are. They want some lashes between the sense and the nonsense. A good looking can set them right and let them understand who they are. This is foolishness. That big people. Lean into children's mindset, children's wishes. And if these children were the majority of children, it would have been something. What is going to happen? Aren't you going to say something

093or do something about this decision that you have made? You have a lot of people in trouble already. So please. Thank you. Our next speaker is Courtney Monroe. And if Louise Canalenda could also come forward and be prepared. Ms. Monroe. Hello, my name is Courtney Monroe, and I'm studying to be an elementary school teacher. Also, I just wanted to say I apologize for people who do call other people names. I was a waitress at Steak and Shake and worked with many transgender LGBT people and served some of you in this room. Actually, you don't remember, but I have an avid memory, and I never said anything to you. Anyways, we the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote

094the general welfare. Dominos affect one another. When you hit one, it knocks the other one, which knocks the other one, which knocks the other one. When you allow transgender, which means noting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond to that person's biological sex assigned at birth, if you cater to them, you also will have to cater to another group. This is called gender fluid, which are those who identify... not being male or female, and it changes every day or even every few hours. So if you identify, they're saying that, okay, they're a boy, and they have to go through all this paperwork. Okay, what about someone who's gender fluid and who say, oh, okay, I feel like I'm a boy right now, or a couple hours later I feel like a

095girl. I have a Pinterest account, and there's a lot about that, and there's graphs and everything explained, and I don't. personally understand it, but how are you going to cater to that? Because once you create, cater to one, you have to cater to this one, and the next one, and the next one, just like a domino. If you are all tired now, I am so sorry. But just as dominoes, you've knocked one over and opened a door. We the people ask you to have a backbone the good Lord gave all of us, and truly promote the general welfare. Please make the right decision, and hear the people. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Luis Gonalenda. Following him will be Joshua Gonalenda. Good evening members of the board. Thank you for allowing me to

096voice my opinion this evening. I spoke here last meeting and have come again to add to what was already said. I'm a resident and a taxpayer in the district U-46. Last meeting, I was disappointed to hear that some members of the board even considered changing the comments procedures. I'm a retired military veteran. I volunteered to serve our country. There were times that we had to work prolonged hours, even sleepless nights, to accomplish our duty. We did not have air conditioning like we have right now, padded chairs, and a safe environment. When we came in here this evening, I even saw police security outside, so I feel very secure in here. But out there in the front, we did not pack up and go home because it was inconvenient for us. We stood, finished our work

097of protecting our country. I don't think it is asking too much of you to listen to reason, to listen to comments from the community. who have supposed to have, that you are supposed to be serving. It was, and also to change the time to discourage those who are concerned, both pro and con against the well-being of the children because the meeting took longer than usual. I know the federal government is holding hostage funds to the school district unless this agenda was implemented. I ask that you reverse this agenda for not only for the good of our present generation right now, but also for the future. Again, I thank you for lending me your ears. Please do that which is right and not that which is convenient but wrong and against the word of God. Thank

098you. Thank you. Joshua, you'll be our next speaker. Following that will be John T. Mann. Okay, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to voice my opinion here. And I just want to start out by saying that I'm a guy and I have no doubt about that. And I have a younger brother and a younger sister. And if I see, it ticks me off that we're even discussing this problem with transgender. And it's just something that shouldn't even be. This country was founded on the Bible. And after God, the people that came over from England, they came over so they could have. So they could worship God in their own way, and this isn't helping worship God by... By changing his his what he had and what he was plan was and so

099I just want to say that um if if I see any Person any guy that walk into the bathroom after my sister. I'm going in there, and I'm gonna get I'm gonna I'm gonna kick him out of there, and he's not gonna do it I'm gonna make sure that he does not touch my sister, and I'm just I just want to let you know that this is not right this is not right and according to the Bible, according to God. And just one more thing. Someone once said that God said it, I believe it, that makes it so. And that person didn't exactly have that quote right. God said it, that makes it so, whether or not you believe it. There's so many people that are here that are speaking against this policy, this agenda

100that you have passed. And the majority, what we go for, When we're voting someone in we go for the majority we don't go for the minority this thing was passed in the it was passed in secrecy and I didn't just hear to say that I I'm not for it This man you'll be our next speaker followed by Jasmine Hi, my name is John T and I'm 12 years old and I'm a student here in u46. I go to Larson middle school I'm uncomfortable with this new bathroom and locker room policy. How would you feel if a boy walked into your locker room? Would you be afraid? Would you be scared? I know I would be, and I believe my privacy matters. Thank you. Thank you. Jasmine Mann is our next speaker. Following that will be

101Janine Mann. Hello, my name is Jasmine and I'm from Elgin High School and I have transgender friends or bisexual friends. I'm not against them at all. But my privacy is really important to me, and I dislike the bathroom and locker room policy. It makes me feel scared when a transgender student walks in a locker room with me, not knowing what that person is capable for doing. We do have five minutes to get ready for gym, but that doesn't mean anything. A girl wouldn't want a guy to walk in a locker room and watch them get undressed for gym, but still, it would be awkward. Like I said, I'm not against them all, but people... would want their own privacy. Thank you. Thank you. And next speaker is Janine Mann. Following Ms. Mann will be Jeffrey

102Brown. You can go ahead and proceed. Hi, my name is Janine Mann. I go to Elgin High School. How I feel about this is uncomfortable. Seeing I wouldn't feel comfortable walking into a locker room seeing a transgender on the other side getting dressed in front of us or going into the bathroom stall and seeing a transgender walk in there using the bathroom. The second reason why I dislike this is because we talk to the teachers on how we feel and they said they will talk to their parents but I don't think they will do that because they are more they think more about their job and about how much they earn. They don't even care about telling their parents that seeing a child transgender like being in the hallways doing inappropriate things to the same

103gender which is uncomfortable to me to stand in a line for lunch for six minutes seeing that happen in front of me and it loses my appetite. Another thing how I feel is that Yes, I know teachers care about their students. I know they care about their career and the best for the students. But if you actually cared about the students, why don't you go up to the parents? Why don't you call them and talk to them and say, oh, your child is involved in doing drugs or drinking. I caught today during school two students. They were drinking. They mixed alcohol with their juice and drinking in front of me. Teachers, I don't think they tell their parents because the only thing they do is punish the students in school by telling them, oh, you

104have to clean the gym or, oh, you have to do this. They're afraid of getting in trouble with the parents or seeing the parents come up to them because they're telling that their students seeing the same gender kissing in front of students that are trying to work. They're afraid to lose their job or lose their money. And I feel uncomfortable being around them, seeing it every single day, having to go through it every day. I also feel uncomfortable going into the locker rooms and there's And there's a guy changing in there as well because two of my sisters, they've been molested by my grandfather. And seeing that go on, seeing a guy in the locker room changing makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know what's going to happen

105with the students if they see that go on. So in conclusion, I just want to say that how come teachers or staff members can't talk to the parents on how... what their child is doing. Their child is being in danger, but the teachers don't really care. They just care about their career. If you care about the students, why don't you show it? Thank you. The next speaker is Jeffrey Brown. And following that, Mr. Brown, will be Steve Schwart. We the people of the United States in order to form a perfect union establish justice ensure domestic tranquility Provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves in our posterity to ordain and establish this Constitution for United States of America It says quite clearly we the people and

106I was raised believing in an America. That's by the people, we the people, it's for the people. We don't have a government that is on some faraway mountain and is going to tell us how to do what we do. That we have the intelligence and the capability to govern ourselves and to elect board members such yourselves to lead our nation or in this instance, this school, as we the people wish it to be done so. I was not asked to vote. I live in U-46. I was not asked concerning this. It was, as far as I know, it was done in complete secrecy. I was not informed. And I've been keeping, for lack of a better term, tally. Five people were for that have spoken so far today. Five people were for this decision that

107you folks made. Two people, I wasn't really sure where they stood. And 22, I would be the 23rd, do not approve. Do not like your decision. Do not like what this board has made. I believe in America. I believe that we have a voice and that our voice as American citizens matter. And I don't pretend to know your jobs. I don't pretend to understand the intense pressure that you're obviously under. I don't understand. I'm not going to sit here and condemn you and blast you or whatever. I disagree. And I believe, and if somehow I'm wrong, show me. But I believe a gentleman earlier said that in the past meetings, the statistics were pretty much the same. The people are not for this decision. So I would ask you folks, and these three girls that

108just came forward showed that pretty clearly. The decision you made was not according to what we, the people, wished it to be so. So again, I'm not here to curse or name call or whatever people have been saying we've been doing. But I just like to state that I'm against the decision you made. And so are most, the majority of the people. And we are a government. by the people or what we're supposed to be. So I respectfully ask that you take back this decision you made. I don't understand how all the court processes goes, but how can you make this decision against the wishes of the people? Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker will be Steve Swerga. Following Mr. Swerga will be Sheila Cortez. My name is Steve Swerga. I've been an Elgin

109resident for 18 years. We've put $53,000 into the U-46 coffers from our property taxes. This is the first time that I've had opportunity to ask for anything in return, and that's just a few minutes of your time. And I've been working with addicts in different programs for the last 30 years, and I've learned a few things about them. I am current director of an addictions program here in Elgin. And I would like folks to know that just because someone is against what the school board is pursuing as a program for the school here, it doesn't mean that we are uncompassionate for people that need help. We have compassion for people that have needs. We work with crackheads. We work with drunks. I've been called to homes to pick up a bong and pick up a

110crack pipe more than one time. I've poured alcohol down drains in households. We work with folks. We want to help them. And we work with people with a criminal background. We work with transgender people in our addictions program, even of recent days. We work with AIDS victims. I've held crack cocaine babies in my arms at the hospital where one of them is HIV positive, one is not. Both of them are screaming for the first six months of their life because they're addicted to crack cocaine because their mama was addicted. We've worked with these folks. We want to help. We do help people. What doesn't help people that have addictions or that have emotional issues is enabling. Enabling people doesn't help them. Enabling people just puts them more at risk. If you see someone panhandling out

111on the street when you leave here tonight and you give money to that drunk on the corner, that isn't compassion. That's enabling. And you're aiding and abetting his dying and early death from cirrhosis of the liver. We've been doing this a while, and we know what helps and what hurts people. Calling something other than what it is doesn't help. If you condone and encourage people to continue in a destructive lifestyle, you do promote more of it. And if you continue as a board to follow the wishes of a presidential director, you might find yourselves... experiencing a mass exodus of students out of your school district. You heard three of my boys speak tonight. None of them went to school. They were here in the district but in a private school. And you might see that

112mass exodus where it does start costing U-46 a lot of money as people leave and that state and federal money is no longer available because of the numbers of students that have departed from the public school system into private and charter schools. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Can we just take a moment to check to make sure? Jeanette? Okay, we heard a noise, so we thought we lost you. All right, our next. Okay, thanks. Miguel says it's not going to work on the landline. And we'll keep working on it, too, I guess. Our next speaker is Sheila Cortez. Following Sheila will be Olivia Chavez. I hope I said that correctly. Thank you. Good evening for allowing me to have the opportunity to speak. I am a U-46. resident second generation my granddaughter will

113make the fourth generation in u46 i'm currently enrolled at ecc following steve swerga is a very hard act to follow he's a very modest man he is also an author i have read his book on child rearing and it is a blessing to me his six children have also been a blessing to me they surpass me in wisdom and humility by far and modesty as well. His son and many other people today, Jason Walker, Cassie Deal, Jake Robito, Luke Putnam, Joel Swarga, and Enid Scott eloquent in speech and I am not, but they all make the same points that I care to address tonight that I oppose anything that represents gender dysphoria and gender confusion and the degeneration of our children in general. It's not the proper thing that we should be doing. It's in

114my opinion, it's completely wrong. I know what bullying is like. I had parents that were internationally married 40 some years ago, and my mom's college professors told her not to allow us to speak Spanish or to train us in another language when we were growing up. I had five brothers, so I was bullied a lot. I also experienced gender dysphoria. I thought it would be cool to be like my brothers, got more attention from dad, all that kind of stuff. And then, you know, as all females do, we develop and things changed. And yeah, I could beat the boys in arm wrestling in school and things, but eventually they outgrew me because men are stronger and I'm a little bit more young. emotional as most females tend to be a little bit more emotional. I'm

115glad that I chose the right path. I'm glad because I have a beautiful son. I have a beautiful daughter and I have a beautiful granddaughter and there's no confusion with them. They all know where they come from and it doesn't matter what you cut off or so on or pills that you take to change your hormones. You are either born a male or a female in God's eyes. And I thank God for my salvation. I have been in the addictions program for 12 years for substance abuse and other issues that I have growing up struggling with my own persona to say and how I feel because I always wanted to do what I felt was right when I felt it was right. And I'm glad for people that stand up for truth and righteousness. And

116in closing, I'll say this. If you trust Jesus Christ into your heart, you will all have your eyes opened and see the truth. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Our next speaker is Olivia. Olivia? Okay. Then moving on, we'll have Audrey Pettit. If Audrey Pettit could step forward. And also, Mr. Rick Newton, please. Thank you board members for your time. My name is Audrey Pettit. I go to a small private school in Elgin. I'm also totally against transgender students going into the bathroom or locker room to which they identify with. Some people for it have said that the PE teacher is in there and no one else would be taken advantage of. But you cannot rely on one PE teacher to prevent that from happening. In the Toronto University of Toronto, Canada, a man

117was caught holding his cell phone over shower stalls and videoing ladies showering. Another incident happened in Virginia when a man was caught peeping on and filming two women and a five-year-old girl using the restroom. By the way, the man received entrance to the ladies' room by dressing as a woman. Even if you do have someone in the locker room, it can still happen. Think about the stories I just told. Each lady or girl was someone's daughter. Imagine how they feel. I'm sure some of you, if not all of you, are married and may even have a daughter. How would you feel if the next story about this had your daughter's name all over it? In Genesis 1.27, it says, So God created man in his own image, and the image of God created he him.

118Male and female created he them. Board members, I think you should seriously reconsider the policy that you are trying to push. We have rights to our own opinions and beliefs, and they should not just simply be pushed aside. when it will affect us and others around us. And if someone is being so concerned about how the transgender will feel if you don't allow them to use the bathroom they identify with, you should be more concerned about the safety of the students. People talk about bullying and how awful it is, and it is very awful. But take in consideration if any pictures or videos would... Would to be taken in the bathroom or locker room and gone vile think of how embarrassed and humiliated that person would be if you're really concerned about the students and

119you have the students best interest in mind then you won't pass this policy Thank you Newton will be Deborah Smith if Deborah's face could also step forward Good evening. I'm Rick Newton. I'm a district resident from Wayne While my comments tonight stem from the recent issue with transgender policy, my concerns have to do with some district processes that have been ignored, broken, and or abused. The first is about the preface to the public comments, at least up until tonight, which states, quote, comments cannot address individuals, otherwise they may be called out of order. Apparently, the operative word there is may, since an employee of the district has been allowed to defy that rule blatantly at two successive meetings. And you as a board said nothing. Is that what you call adhering to process, or is

120it simply there to use at your pleasure? Your silence spoke volumes. Once again, in Azor Will's Animal Farm commentary on totalitarianism stated, it would appear that, quote, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. This employee's public attacks on private citizens and repeated insults to a reporter are made simply because they hold different values and beliefs from those of this employee. And why do you say nothing? Most likely it's because you share the same intolerance for anyone who has the audacity to disagree with your policies and decisions. While this employee feigned contempt for the reporter's writing style, do you honestly believe he would have taken that approach if he agreed with the article? And just like the board's liberal majority, this employee chooses to advance the practices of Saul Alinsky, the leftist

121radical, whose 12th rule for radicals is pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. God forbid this board should have the courage and desire to hold, encourage, and tolerate open exchanges of ideas. The next concern also deals with public comments as a process. The reflexive, predictable reaction of this board last week to place the burden of blame on the public and their comments for making the meeting too lengthy. In the words of some board members, the public comments delayed the supposed quote-unquote work of the board to the late hours of the evening and some indicated it interrupted their sleeping habits. As if to say that listening to and giving consideration to concerns of the public is not part of their quote unquote work. My question to you would be if any of you

122gave consideration to the possibility that it was the errant handling of the transgender issue by this administration and the liberal majority of the board that knowingly ignored the concerns of the public that precipitated this uproar and the ensuing public comments in the first place. Instead, your blind allegiance to your ideological biases leads you to seek a change to the public comment policy to penalize and to some degree to silence the public. Is this your idea of what it means to be public servants? The last process concerns district communications. I addressed this issue a couple years ago when it was apparent that the lack of communication process and specific strategy for communicating a new rating system exacerbated a very clumsy rollout of a major policy change, and I'm almost done. Whether it was a personal or

123organizational communication that is being prepared, it cannot be handled via afterthought or simply shooting from the hip upon delivery. Companies in the private sector understand the importance of having a formal communication process and strategy, for they have shareholders and customers whom they seek to satisfy. Though the district is a public sector body, it would certainly be inappropriate if they believed that they also have an obligation to meet the needs of the district's parents and taxpayers. Thank you. Our next speaker is Deborah Smith. Mrs. Smith will be Jerry Cortez. I might read pretty fast because I didn't time this, but my goal is to speak the truth in love, but if it isn't the truth, it's not love. I hope that you respect my opinion and I respect your sincere opinion. What brings me here is,

124for the second time, even though I didn't speak the first time, is my love of middle school students. When I went to school and when I was in... And where I went to school, and it was a public school, it was called junior high. I sat down and I thought about it, and I thought about 13 or 14 extra new unique stresses that I had when I hit the age of junior high, stresses that I didn't have in childhood. Who knows how I would have fared if I had had one more stress at that age, and that is the risk of violation of my privacy. I would probably go into a panic. I would probably be trying to figure out ways that I could change clothes in ultra-private, such as in a bathroom stall, but

125I'm sure that other girls would be thinking the same thing. And then the added pressure of the bell ringing and you have to be changed in time to go to your next class. This is a scary scenario, which I was imagining and envisioning, but has the potential of occurring right here, right now. I don't believe that most of the adults anywhere who implement this kind of policy against developing children or with developing children would subject themselves to these same circumstances? How many adult men would want a person who does not identify with their biological sex as a woman walking into a public bathroom that they are in? How many adult women who are a part of... Passing these kinds of policies would want a person who does not identify with their biological sex as a

126man sharing a public restroom with them. I admit this would be a little easier because women's restrooms have private stalls and they are adults. Now for the biology portion of my original topic, which was locker room privacy and biology. When a sperm from a man meets an egg from a woman, whether that be in a womb or in a test tube, a human being is conceived. The egg has a chromosome of an X. The sperm has a chromosome of either an X or a Y. If it is a Y, the human being is a male. If the sperm's chromosome is an X, the human being is a female. After this, from my understanding, every single cell of a human being's body is always and forever either XY or XX. In addition, in the womb, the

127developing human being, depending on if they are a male or a female, either... does or does not undergo a chemical wash in their brains so that they forever think either as a male or a female. That is why there are books such as Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus, which talk about the differences in thinking styles between men and women. Lastly, I do want to say that I love you all, board members and administration. Still, whether or not you agree with me or disagree with me, I love you all here and anyone who ever listens to a recording of this. I love everyone, no matter what you identify with. I love all of you all students. God loves you, and I love you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Jerry Cortez. Following

128Mr. Cortez will be David Marsh. Hi, my name is Jerry Cortez, and I am 11 years old. And I am for my privacy, and I do not hate anyone. Thank you. Our next speaker is David Marsh. Following Mr. Marsh will be Isaac Essendrop. Thank you. I have a head cold, so bear with me if I sound like I'm out of breath, because I am. My name is David Marsh. I am a former Marine who served six years. I have a man who paid well over $50,000 in taxes in King County, and I'm also a Christian who attends a Bible-based church once, sometimes twice a week. All that said and done, I'm not qualified to judge. anyone claiming to be transgender or dictate what private stall they use. Lastly, I have four ladies in my family

129in four different schools in U-46 and not once have I feared or have they feared for their safety due to transgender students. Tony Sanders, at the end of the day, I want you to know there are a lot of people who support you. I'm one of them, my family supports you, and I thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Isaac Essendrop. Mr. Essendrop will be via Essendrop. Hello, my name is Isaac Essendrop. I am a 15-year-old, and I attend Northwest Bible Baptist Church. I don't think that we should allow transgenders to use the bathroom of their choice because it totally violates the privacy of everyone else in that bathroom. As I stated in the last meeting, the Bible clearly states that we were created male and female. There's no, I want to change, I

130want to be this, you're male or you're female. You can't change that. That's not something that you have a choice about. I personally am very happy with the way God has made me, and I am proud to be a male. I don't want to change that. I want to keep it that way. And this policy does not only let transgenders use the bathroom of their choice, but it also allows for perverts to go into the bathroom and do what they want in there. And that has already happened inside Target, as news has shown. I personally, as a man, am concerned for the safety of my six sisters. I will protect my sisters at all costs and go as far to say that I would die for them. How am I supposed to ensure their safety

131when a man walks into the same restroom as them? Am I supposed to follow them into the bathroom to make sure they are safe? This is not just an issue of privacy, but is an issue of safety. I ask you to consider the privacy and safety for my six sisters. Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Leah Esselstyn. Following Leah will be David Hallberg. Hello, my name is Leah Straff. I'm 16 and a senior in high school. I could give you many Bible scriptures on what I believe on this, but many others have done so. So I'll just tell you how I feel. I was taught as a young girl to always be aware of my surroundings and be safe. Whenever I walk out to the car, I have my keys in my hand,

132you know, ready to punch someone if someone attacks me. I try to be as safe as possible. And I know that if ever I walked into a bathroom and there was someone who was obviously originally a boy and is transgender and he's using the same bathroom as I was, I would be scared. I'd just feel vulnerable. There are other, but besides what I feel, there are instances where my sisters at UCC, they were being stalked. The guys weren't transgender, but one of them followed them into the ladies' restroom. And this will just open a door, a loophole for people who do do that. And I'm not saying that transgender people would do stuff like that, but it's just the tip of the iceberg, like others have said. And like physics says, all things tend to

133decay, and where will the line be drawn? Thank you. Thank you. My name is David Hallberg, a 16-year Elgin resident and former student of Larkin High School. I would like to speak in reference to the recent transgender locker room debacle. I apologize for not being able to make it to the previous two board meetings, but I would like to voice my thoughts on this issue tonight. I have followed the public comments from the previous board meetings on YouTube.com and also have read Mr. Sanders' weekly message from this past Thursday. It seems to be in vogue to correct people. on their use of personal pronouns these days. He, she, him, her, etc. And I would like to call attention to a personal pronoun mistake in Mr. Sanders' weekly message from Thursday. Mr. Sanders wrote, we could

134have done a better job in communicating the change. However, we is the wrong pronoun. It should have been I. taking personal responsibility. In fact, I will commend Mrs. Ward for doing the job of communicating the change, and I'll rebuke Mr. Sanders for his lack of leadership and not taking personal responsibility concerning this issue. Mr. Sanders also published the guidelines that U46 has established to support transgender students in an effort to alleviate the fears of many community members, and I regret to say that after viewing these guidelines, my fears have only been exacerbated. I fear. Because this policy is designed to deal with gender confused children on a case-by-case basis, Mrs. Ward only alerted us to one case of this. Have there been others? In the future, will the parents and the students affected by this

135be notified? I fear because it was stated that the district is committed to proactively address the needs and concerns of transgender and gender expansive students. Can the district also be committed to proactively address the needs of students who do not agree with changing in a locker room with a gender-confused student? I fear because the guidelines included a glossary of terms that must be accepted before these policies make any sense. Unfortunately, I and many residents in this district don't buy the terms or the definitions given in the guidelines. We haven't drunk the Kool-Aid yet. I fear because the CEO of U-46 is the sole authority in appointing the district support committee, Mr. Sanders. The CEO of U-46 has violated the public trust and is appointing the district support committee gives no relief to my fears. I

136fear because this gender confusion extends well beyond a changing area in a locker room to areas I had not considered before, to include gender confused men playing women's contact sports and especially gender confused students and their sleeping arrangements during overnight school trips. To say the least, these guidelines are vague and very troubling. And lastly, I would like to discuss the board's comments to limit public comments during the board meetings. If your only response to the public comments during the last two board meetings is concerning how late it is, then I suggest one of two things. One, you might try listening and acting on behalf of the public interest. Or two, get a cup of coffee because, baby, we're going to be a while. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Following Kaylee will be Nancy Blondin.

137Hello, my name is Kaylee Moore. I am 19 years old and I have lived in the U-46 school district for the past 17 years. I'd like to say that I'm extremely opposed to the decision that was secretively made to allow transgender students to use the bathroom and locker room of their choice. Let me start out by saying that I do not hate transgender students. I know many of you may think that Christians hate transgenders, but that is far from true. I believe that is wrong. I do not agree with the lifestyle, but I do not hate the person. In a statement made by the American College of Pediatricians, it says, Conditioning children into believing a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and helpful is child abuse. Child abuse is

138defined as cruelty inflicted on a child, including mental abuse or physical harm, and can also result from neglect. Neglecting to teach your child the difference between male and female and between right and wrong is child abuse. The reason we have transgenders in our schools is because their leadership does not love them enough or have enough backbone to tell them that they should be proud of the way God made them. Every parent and adult wants children to feel loved and to be proud of what they can do. But by helping children, encouraging them to change who they really are is doing the opposite of this. You're showing them that they're not good enough the way they were born. This is child abuse. The reason transgenders want people to accept them is because they do not accept

139themselves. And the guidelines to support transgender students, it states that all students have a right to privacy. I am a nanny, and the other day I was talking to my nanny boy, and this transgender issue came up in our conversation. And he said, Ms. Cayley, I don't feel comfortable going to the bathrooms at school because I'm scared that someone of the opposite gender is going to walk in. He wasn't saying this in a way of hate towards them or in a bullying fashion But rather he was fearful for his own safety and privacy Every day after work when I pick him up he runs upstairs to the bathroom Because he didn't go all day at school because he was scared for his privacy I ask you are you willing to sacrifice the rights and privacy

140of the majority for the small minority? You can clearly see in the past two meetings that there are four more people opposed to your decision than are for it. In District 211, there are many, or there are about 50 lawsuits against the school because of the transgender locker room issue. Are you willing to deal with the lawsuits that will come from your decision? Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker is Nancy Blondin. After that will be Christy Corley. If Christy could step forward. Hi, my name is Nancy Blondin. I'm from Bartlett. I have three kids in the district. First of all, I have rewritten my speech about six times tonight, so forgive me if I turn pages. I wanted to say that for whoever is keeping score, I am here to show support for U46 and

141Tony Sanders. I just wanted to say I truly believe these people here in front of us have our students' best interests at heart. I've spoken up here before, and while at that time I disagreed with what was before us, I always felt, and still do, that I was listened to and that any changes that needed to be made were considered and implemented. I was going to speak about a couple of things. I was going to talk about some weird science facts. Clownfish, wrasses, moray eels, gobies, and other fish species are known to change sex, including their reproductive functions. A school of clownfish is always built into a hierarchy with a female fish at the top. And when she dies, the most dominant male changes sex and takes her place. Interesting concept. Just wanted to throw

142that out there. Something maybe you haven't thought about. I also wanted to point out I wasn't asked about this bathroom policy. I wasn't asked about appropriate punishments for students. I wasn't asked about behavior interventions. I wasn't asked about the color for the new kindergarten classrooms. Am I upset about that? No. If I have a conflict with something that you have brought forth, I will bring it to you as a concern. I will not come and barrage the district and threat lawsuits. That's a threat. I also wanted to say that I also believe fear has driven many people to come here. I dare go to the extreme of comparing this situation to when there were other acts of discrimination. Has anyone ever here heard stories of when a woman was not allowed a seat on a

143bus? Has anyone ever heard about people who have been made to wear a Star of David? The majority in those cases was also driven by fear. We now know there was nothing to be afraid of. These people were actually treated unjustly. Like it or not, the LGBT community is not planning on going away, nor should they. Our school district needs to address them appropriately. Thank you. And I stand with you, feeling that you have. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, my name is Christy Corral, and I'm a college student here in the Elgin area. There's been much said on the transgender bathroom issue, but obviously not enough since the board refuses to acknowledge the cry of those who still hold to traditional and biblical values. You're willing to change the restroom policy to accommodate one child.

144The cry of many is to protect the children, and I agree. The argument of those defending transgenders is that being a transgender does not make them a sexual predator, and that very well may be. Please take what I'm about to say into consideration. You say that you care about each child individually, and that's why you are taking such fast action in this decision. Perhaps 99% of transgender people would present no harm to our children. But what if there was one? What if one child was sexually abused because of this decision that you're allowing to pass through? Not the majority, but one. What if one day the coach or overseer of the locker rooms was not there? What if one day the cameras had a glitch and you didn't catch it? What if that is the

145day that one transgender person decides to harm one child? Would you consider changing this policy to protect the innocence and purity of one child? So far, you haven't listened to the majority, so I'm asking you to make a decision for the minority, for that one child who may be affected by this decision. Do you really care so much about each child to make the tough decision to protect just that one? 1 Thessalonians 5.22 says, abstain from all appearance of evil. This means not only to stay away from... evil that you can see, but also to avoid where you know evil will make an appearance. If you choose to ignore the child who will be harmed, and believe me, over time it will happen, you are not only allowing but inviting that evil to manifest itself

146in our schools. And by the way, not having co-ed bathrooms and locker rooms is not only for my safety, but it's also for the safety of transgenders. This, you know, I would assume this would be the case in most families, but if my father saw a person with the biological makeup of a boy walking into the same restroom as me, I would fear for the safety of that person, and I believe many would agree. Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is David Ryburn. Following Mr. Ryburn will be Enoch Essendrome. Hello, my name is David Ryburn, and I would like to address, first of all, very quickly something that was mentioned earlier. Like Christy said, the likelihood of an incident with the bathroom situation may be very minuscule with the precautions that may be in

147place. I'm not 100% sure on how accurate those claims were, but they could be. But at the same time, like Christy said, what happens when that one person... gets abused? What happens when that one person, the adult, the leader, is not there? What happens? Then what? And this idea about it's not going to happen because there are precautions in the way. They're perverts trying to get into someone else's bathroom. They're going to go to any lengths they need to go through to get what they want. That's how they think. They get what they want no matter the cost. Moving on. Where does this stop? We're talking about transgender movement and whether or not to let them into the same bathroom. Well, where does that stop? It brings me back to the idea about if you

148put a frog into a frying pan or some kind of dish on a stove and you turn the heat up ever so slightly, the frog's not going to notice. And there might not be any repercussions for it at the first time. But you get that heat high enough and it's going to kill that frog. And this trend that we're setting, this movement of just letting things slide, letting little things that may not seem that bad is going to end up leading to catastrophic events. A great friend of mine told me that repetition is the key to learning. You've heard it from so many different people tonight that are that have been against this you've heard it from very professional businessmen and women You've heard this from students. You've heard this from parents. You've heard this

149from just regular people. We're all saying the same thing This is wrong. This is wrong on so many different levels from different aspects from those categories and These confused adolescents are going to grow up one day. They're going to become leaders of certain aspects of life. What kind of decisions are they going to make when they can't even decide what gender they are? And the adults of this school, the ones that have matured, the ones that do know what they're talking about, they're compensating for these people that don't know. And I don't understand that. And again, repetition is the key of learning. And so if you're not going to hear us here, you will hear from us again in April with the election. And that's not a threat. That's a promise. Thank you. Our final

150speaker tonight is Nina. I almost want to sit in silence for three minutes so we can all marinate in the shellacking that this policy has taken tonight. I'll talk nonetheless. We are catering to those who are obsessed and infatuated with an inaccurate view of themselves. These people, this has been said time and time again, they've been born and when they're born, they say, it's a boy, it's a girl. So I just want to ask, did God make the mistake or did natural selection make the mistake when they were born with the wrong body parts? No, it's really just confusion and we're just going to continue catering to these people. We should not grant legitimacy or protection to an illegitimate minority group by granting them their own bathroom or by letting them use the bathroom that

151is not prescribed to them by birth. We should be trying to help these people to get better, not enable them. We are for help. We are not for hate. We are not for slaughtering people. I mean, they're doing that in Muslim countries today. They slaughter people who are different. They do that. We don't do that here in America. This is America. There's freedom, and we're for helping people. And that's what these people need. They need help, not access to the wrong bathroom. Thank you. Okay, other business? Board member update? Does anyone? Okay. Hang on, Jeanette. We're trying to get so everyone can hear you. Okay. Let's try it. So the guidelines are drafted at the cabinet level. Mr. Rodriguez took the lead. We did involve, of course, external law firm and some other, I'm not

152sure what other groups were granted by Mr. Rodriguez, but we can get additional details for you, Mrs. Ward. Like other procedures that we put in place at the administrative level, the board policy was what we were trying to align a procedure to. And in the past, we've not brought forward procedures to the board other than for informational purposes. And we will consider the field trip issue and see if we need to revise the guidelines for it. Thank you. Does anyone else? Sorry, does anyone else have board update? Sue? I've got a couple of board updates. Let me, even though it's only been a week since our last meeting, I did want to... Mentioned the you 46 Expo career Expo that was held on on Saturday last Saturday and We probably had about a thousand people

153attend I would guess I want to thank CAC and the ace of alignment for I can never stand collaborative for education Thank you for sponsoring this and for the local companies Sherman Hospital City of Elgin the Elgin fire department Elgin police who all came out to give our students some idea of different professional careers that they could look into. I also want to thank our staff and teachers who were there, who provided information on courses and options in high schools. There was an awful lot of hands-on things for the kids to look at. And I particularly want to thank our students who were there, our high school, mostly high school. There were some middle school students there. They were giving demonstration of the work they've done, whether it was welding, art, Project Lead the Way,

154kids from Bartlett had this robot that was throwing balls into a basket. kids, the culinary students from Elgin High School were giving demonstrations. They had examples of all the work they've done. And what really struck me was how important these CTE, these career and technical education courses are for some of our students. I was talking to one young man from Elgin High who's in the culinary arts program. He's a senior. He plans to continue in culinary arts and wants to go into management. But he said this was obviously his niche. He just praised his teacher. He loved the program. He was so into what he was doing. And I wish we had that same excitement with all of our high school kids with what they're doing in high school. I also attended the Illinois State

155Board of Education Listening Tour for Every Student Succeeds Act. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, this is a replacement for the No Child Left Behind. I'm still not an expert by any means on this act, and I think the state of Illinois is trying to figure out what it's going to do exactly. I do have concerns that this is starting to look a lot like a warm-over of No Child Left Behind. We're still testing every kid in grades three through eight every year. There are talks of goals and measures, but again, the state isn't real specific at this point on what they are and how we're going to measure. Finally, I want to apologize to Veronica because I know you've come up with this idea before I did this, but

156Veronica has come up with the idea of visiting the Gay Straight Alliance Clubs at the high schools. And I actually had gone to the Elgin High School one last week because of a friend with the advisor. And I really enjoyed meeting with these kids and getting to meet them and talk to them and see what their issues and concerns are. So I look forward to not only meeting GSA's... club members from other high schools, but I would like to visit other high school clubs and welcome any invitations. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Sue, and I do look forward to those meetings, setting them up, and I'm really excited about it. I do want to make some comments. These are just some notes that I took tonight listening to all the speakers. I didn't

157plan to speak on this, but I feel compelled to speak. One of the points I would like to make is that I consider myself a person of faith. I may not carry my Bible with me. I may not quote scripture. I could quote scripture if I tried. I could pull some Leviticus out and counter some of the other scripture that I've heard, and I choose not to do that, especially in this role. But I feel it important to state that I don't... I don't consider my faith to be equal or to be represented by what I've heard tonight. I consider myself pretty moderate and pretty open and welcoming and I don't judge and everyone is on their journey and I appreciate the people who come here on their journey, but I feel like I'm hearing

158the same people week after week. I feel like it's a narrow ideology. I know that I will offend some folks, but when it comes to my role on the board and the decisions that I make, I use my morals that I learned. You know, I learned them from my parents and my faith, and that's not to discount yours or anyone else's, but... That's what I base my opinions on, and I'm an elected official. Yes, come April, you can decide to reelect me or not. And that is where your power lies. And I look forward to that discussion. I look forward to that debate, if it's this issue or many others. But I serve in this capacity because I was elected, and I use my faith personally and my experiences to make my decisions. I will

159not. condone name-calling. I will not equate our students as being evil or the many other adjectives that we've heard tonight only because someone else's ideology. Makes them believe that I won't condone that I will defend our students. I will protect our students That's what we do up here I support Tony Sanders and he is following board policy the guidelines were developed by staff because that's what they do This is the job that they do we hire them They're professionals and they work based on our policy that we set as a board So if we want to change our policy you get elected you get on the board and you work toward that That's what we do I've had my own issues. I work towards those kind of changes. If you feel strongly, run. Get the

160paperwork, get on the ballot, and run in April if you want to change the policies of this district. I have a couple more points. There were several inflammatory statements tonight that were very concerning to me, especially from students. Now some might be... sensationalized a bit. We don't know that. There may be, there's a lot of truth to things, you know, even when they're sensationalized. So I'm sure that Mr. Sanders will be following up with those students from, I think it was Larkin and Elgin High School, who made some claims that, you know, that their teachers weren't supporting them or not allowing them to feel safe. I want all students to know that this policy supports them and their ability to feel safe. So any student out there listening or watching, if you don't feel safe,

161if you feel like your teacher is not doing what you need to support you and your safety, then you go to the next person. It could be your counselor. It could be the principal or your parents, of course, to contact the school. But if you don't feel comfortable there, you contact a person you feel comfortable with in this district. You can call me. My contact information is online. We have all our contact information online. Please, please come to us if you feel like you are not being supported. I think I covered it all. Oh, and also, last but not least, I really am against corporal punishment, and I was a little disturbed about hearing about lashes tonight, so that's all I need to say about that. Thank you. I just had a couple comments as

162well. First of all, I applaud everyone who came up here and spoke, especially for the last three weeks. We've heard a lot of opinions, and more importantly, we heard from a lot of people, which is great. I suspect there are a lot of people that haven't come out here and spoken, so we have to be cognizant of that as well. There are a lot of people out there that have a lot of opinions, so we just need to listen a lot more. I especially want to applaud the teens, the youth that came out here. I am always impacted more by what they have to say because while they're novices in this game, their opinions matter because they're why we're all here. So I think what I agree with Veronica, too, the board has got to

163be approached by this, not only in this venue, but by... calls or emails. We do read them. We do respond to some of them. And we try to do what's right for the community, not for any one of the seven of us. So I think that's important to understand as well. And finally, not finally, but the process and the voice. The process has to be understood. It has to be respected. And it has to be announced to the community because clearly that has not been, at least from my perspective, done as well as we could. I think even Mr. Sanders had said that at one point. And I think that we can do things better. So I want to be very responsive and open to that, that we will do things better by hearing more

164voices. And to that extent, I wanted to also tonight announce our next town hall meeting. On behalf of Sue Kerr and myself, we will be meeting October 26th at Streamwood Park District. And I just want to say that while we encourage all public comments, whatever you have to say, we want to address it as two board members, not as a board. I'll always remind you of that. But we will respond to it. We will talk about it. We will have a dialogue about all that you have to say. But we would like to encourage people to come out and look at the alternative of different school settings, what we can do to promote different ideas. That doesn't mean it's going to get done next year or next decade. But I think, again, just like this

165issue, we need to hear from you and what people think for the betterment of all the students and where their careers might lie. Thank you. October 26th at 7 o'clock. It will be in Streetwood Park District. I haven't worked out all the details, but that is firm right now. Are there any other updates? Tony? I have one. First of all, Ms. Nolan, please be assured I also took notes on the students who spoke and jotted down some notes that we'll follow up with those schools on, especially about alcohol being consumed within the school setting. So that certainly will be one we'll follow up on. I also want to just reiterate again for the public the process that this went through. When we first got the request, We've only had one student request access to a

166locker room or the restroom of that student's gender identity. One student in one school across 53 different schools. At the time that the request came in, we did not have guidelines in place. We had a board policy that said we don't discriminate, but we did not have set guidelines. So this was our first really developing a process to meet the needs of one specific student. Our goal was to get the student back in school as quickly as possible. I think we made the right decision. I still stand by that decision. But again, we did not have guidelines we could share with the public. This one student in one school had shared his or her decision already with the other students in the school, with the teachers in the school. The school's been very accepting, very

167open. So we created the guidelines. We issued the guidelines. They are now public guidelines. Could we have communicated better? Absolutely. I've never known an issue that couldn't be communicated better. And to the gentleman who spoke earlier on the I versus we issue, he's correct. I should have used the term I. I should have communicated better. But at the time, our goal was to get one student taken care of back in school and studying. Thank you. Veronica, thanks for kind of opening the door because I've struggled in my role as a school board member of a public school district, understanding that it's publicly funded, how to communicate my faith beliefs. And I will just say this. I am a Christian. I've been one for a long time. And I struggle to even use the word Christian

168and almost prefer Christ follower because that word Christian... has some ugly connotations behind it as been demonstrated here for the last few weeks. I just have to say that I haven't seen my faith represented here in the last few weeks. I also want to say that there are a lot of mis-facts, a lot of wrong facts. So when you're basing your opinion on facts that are known to be wrong, your opinion is just that. It's your opinion, and it's easy to discount because your facts are wrong. Third, as a member of an oppressed and marginalized group, I will not support ever the marginalization and oppression of another minority group. A lot of, over the last few weeks, a lot of the reasons I've heard to discriminate against transgender students sound an awful lot like how

169the reasons that were used to keep people who look like me out of public spaces as well, out of bathrooms, out of hotel rooms. It's why I walked into a gas station when I was 10 years old and saw a water fountain that had a sign over it that said for coloreds and a much better, cleaner one that said for whites only. And a lot of the reasons I've heard about discriminating against transgender sound a lot like the reasons that were used to discriminate against me. That is ugly. it is hateful, it is wrong, it is wrong in God's eyes, and you can, I'll just say that I'm not persuaded by the Christians who have come before me with the hate and the vileness, and yes, I'm calling it hate, not because you disagree with

170me. I'm perfectly okay with being disagreed with. I'm calling it that because you've bullied and you've used God's word to bully people. And yes, God is just. He's love, but he's also just. But he did not leave you in charge. And this school is not a Christian school. I mean, it is not a Christian school. This is not a Christian school district. And I don't care how much you want to turn it into that, it is not a Christian school district. All seven of us are elected, and we don't cut our heads off when we take these roles. We bring with us all of our past experiences, our belief systems, our values, our morals. We try to ascertain what the community wants. But I have said this, and I'm okay with saying it tonight because

171I've said it, this is now my sixth year on the board, and I've said it all six years. I don't govern and make my decisions based on what any, because of what you said. Because of what you said, there are 30 other people saying something different. And you can claim to have majority status, but what you don't know is the other people that I talk to. You don't know who has emailed me. You don't know who has Facebooked me. You don't know who has called me. You don't know how many people have stopped me in the grocery store. You don't know how many people. have reached out to me otherwise that say the exact opposite that many of you have come here saying and all things in between which is why no elected official can

172just do it's easy when you're not an elected official to talk about doing what the people want but the people are diverse and the people want lots of different things and they often are polar opposite of each other so I'm going to be clear You did not elect me to do what you say. You elected me to use my God-given talents and skills to use good judgment, a reasoned approach, to evaluate and weigh the facts, to talk to administration, and to make a reasoned decision. And as Veronica said, The beauty of this whole thing is come April of 2019, you can decide I didn't use good judgment and you can vote me out. But until then, what you can't do is tell me what I'm going to do in this role. Thank you. Yeah, I'm

173going to take a little bit different of a tact. I would like to thank everybody who came out. I think it is very important that we continue to hear the community on this issue. I think many people who spoke tonight brought up some very valid concerns. One of my main concerns with regards to this issue specifically is privacy and transparency and making sure that every single parent knows what their rights are. I would really like to see us, and I know CEO Sanders indicated that obviously we will make accommodations for people who don't feel... who for any variety of reason, whether it's they're self-conscious, whether it's they're shy or that they don't feel comfortable that there is a member of the opposite biological sex in their locker room, we will make accommodations for that student.

174And what I would really like to see is our school district, and I think many of the parents and students and taxpayers and many of the other people. community leaders who spoke tonight would really like to make sure that each one of our parents and all of our students know that they have these rights and their rights are to accommodation and their rights are to privacy. That's what I would like to see going forward and I would like to see it communicated very very very good with our I'd like to see it communicated efficiently to our parents and our community members. And I think that's where it's kind of been lost recently over the past month. And I'm so glad and you know CEO Sanders did take the personal responsibility tonight. I thought that was

175a very good thing. But going forward, I would like to see us communicate with our parents and our community and our students that they have these rights, and the rights are to privacy and accommodation for any variety of reasons. And I don't know how we do that. And I think that's where I'm going to put my trust, and I'm going to put my trust the best I possibly can into our administration and make sure that we hold them accountable, because that's why I'm here, is to make sure that... that we do hold administration accountable for communication and I think that they've learned from some of the mistakes and going forward we can communicate better and I look forward to that and hopefully we can have that conversation. Any other comments? Eric, do you have anything?

176So to start I'd like to say that from what I've seen in my years of high school, middle school and elementary school here in the district I've never met someone who was ever close-minded. I think that our generations and generations to come are probably the most open-minded kids that we've ever had. And I don't think that should be seen as something negative. When we say students should be afraid because perverts could be going into their bathrooms, typically we picture a grown man. who has the power to do some harm to some kids. But in all reality and the way us students see it, they're just like us. If they're trans, they do their best to look the opposite sex. So in all reality, I most of the time don't recognize a transgender student. And to

177think that they want to be able to change in a locker room or use a bathroom they identify with. because that's who they believe they are, and that makes them happy, then by all means, I don't have a problem with that. And most students don't. Students I've spoken to, students I've asked, they're surprised that this wasn't already happening. They're surprised there weren't already guidelines set out for transgender students who want to go beyond the next step of changing their sex to be able to use locker rooms, use bathrooms that they identify with. They don't think it's a big deal. There are so many other things to worry about. In gym class, most kids, they're in, they don't do anything, and they're out. In the locker rooms, I'm a P leader. I have a class of

17840 freshmen. It's a handful. But those kids, they, you know, freshman kids are more naive. They don't recognize that it's just gym class. All they have to do is participate and get a good grade. They go in their locker rooms, they change, and they're out. And it's not a lot of time. I don't think that having transgender students being accommodated, having a stall to change in with an adult, honestly, I think for students, they think that's more than enough for us. And for students who are concerned, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be. They should express their concern. Students don't want to silence anyone else. But these transgender students are us. They are the district, just like we are. Their voices are equal. They should feel like they have people to go to, people who

179care about them. And as a board, as a district, as a community, we need to show them that we do care, we want them to be equal, and there's nothing else we can say about that. Personally, the LGBT community that I've known, they're one of the most nicest communities I've come to grow up with. They've never... have ever thought about causing harm to other students. They're just trying their best to fit in. They're just trying their best to find out who they are. And we're not one to say who they are and who aren't. I'm more than sure that they're not confused. They know who they were born as. And most of these kids, they grow up wanting the different things, the different toys, different clothes, and they show these signs early on. And their

180parents, they love them just as much as their other children, and they should. So these students... We need to care for them just like everyone else and I want to make sure those students are cared for. Thank you Are there any other board members who would like to speak? Okay, next agenda item is conjecture agenda. Mr. Sanders. I also noted that actually Typically we have this. Oh, that's for the rock Okay. On the consent agenda, we have personnel report and workers' compensation cases, minutes of the board meeting September 12, 2016, a proposal for multi-tiered systems of support, level of literacy intervention, and a contract for plan operations for security maintenance agreement for security systems. Are there any items that any board member would like removed from the consent agenda? Hearing none, could I have a

181motion to approve the consent agenda of October 3, 2016? So moved. Seconded. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Mr. Pistole? Yes. Ms. O'Neill-Ost? Yes. Mr. Holt? Yes. Ms. Kerr? Yes. Ms. Dolan? Yes. Mrs. Ward? Madam President? Yes. So approved 7-6. Discussion action, Mr. Sanders. Under discussion action, our first item are itemized bills for October 3rd, 2016. Administration recommends approval of the list of bills in the amount of $3,573,528.43. Dr. King, is there any questions the board might have? Okay, could I have a motion to approve itemized bills October 3rd, 2016 in the amount of... $3,573,528.43. So moved. Second. Veronica. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Ms. O'Neill-Ellis? Yes. Mr. Holt? Yes. Ms. Kerr? Yes. Ms. Nolan? Yes. Mrs. Ward? Yes. Mr. Costello? Yes. Madam President? Yes. 7-0. Okay, the next item on the agenda is the public

182participation at board meetings. I guess I will start out by saying that Sue and I kind of decided that this was the best scenario or best lost for a word. The best way to have public comment and have some type of balance between the public comment and the agenda. If there's less than 20 public comments, there's no change whatsoever. If there's five public comments that are not agenda items, they go at the beginning, three minutes, done. If there's over 20 public comment cards, they would be divided between agenda items and non-agenda items. We would reduce the time from three minutes to two minutes. and the agenda items would be during the first public comment section. The non-agenda items would be during the second public comment section. Are there any questions? I just have one comment.

183Oh, I'm sorry. I think it's 20 or more. Right or no if there are more than 20 speakers, so I would say that means that 20 would be normal public comment 21 would bring it to The agenda non agenda items I I guess I have one clarification if we have say 23 speakers Three of them are agenda items 20 or not would we just have three at the beginning or we have Three plus 17 and then move the rest to the end no it would just be agenda items because that goes back to and the reason so you and I talk about this if we have Boundaries let's say boundaries or some big issue where we have 50 speakers, and we are voting on this we want those 50 speakers before We vote on the

184agendas so If we keep it between agenda items and non-agenda items, then we have the ability to hear the speakers before we vote. But if we had, I'm so sorry, I just want to ask a question with what you just said. So if we had 50 speakers on a particular topic, would you get them in in the beginning in that section? If they were related to an agenda item, yes. So then the 20 limit doesn't apply? No, the 20, the only thing that would change is instead of three minutes, they would get two. Got it. Anything over 20 minutes, the limit would change from three minutes to two minutes. And the two, public comment sections one would be agenda items and one would be for general comments at first i was was considering some of

185the things we've discussed before but now i'm opposed fundamentally to shortchanging this type of discussion i understand that this is non-agenda related what we've discussed here tonight But I think it's imperative to have not only agenda items, which you described, in case there is a vote tonight, but also what does the public speak? What does the public think to get as much visibility as we possibly can? Because we are only seven people. And I think it's imperative that we hear from the people in this room and any avenue possible to hear from the people that can't either make it or for whatever reason can't show up and voice their opinions. So if this were to come up, I will definitely be opposed to it. Okay, well, I guess I totally agree with you, and I

186don't think there's any limiting of them being able to voice their opinion because they still are going to be able to voice their opinion. And especially if we would... I want to remember what you said. You said something about hearing their opinion, especially if we were going to vote on it that night. And that is addressed in here because if it is an agenda item, they will speak before we vote. If it comes up as a topic, it's not going to be on the agenda, so we're not going to vote. Did I say that clearly? No. I think that's a good reflection. It's just that, and I think many speakers tonight addressed that as well, and that they feel like that if they're not heard in the context of an agenda, which we put them

187up front for that very reason, is to listen to everybody regardless. There might be other ways around that, including rescheduling the latter business section of the meeting. We touched upon this too. But the most important thing in my mind especially would be just to listen to them and get a flavor. And I understand that you have discussed this and I concur with it, but I think we just have to understand that the board's business, the district's business, while very important, is only legitimized to the extent that we can offer the voters a voice in that process and not an after fact, which is if we push them to the end of it or we say you've got two minutes, I think that does not add the legitimacy that I would be looking for in a

188public comment. Okay, and I still believe that this does address that because it is only over 20 speakers, and I think it addresses all those things. And I guess I want to make a point, too, that although our audience has thinned out, we do have people left here. And whether people want to believe it or not, some do tune in. for the work of the board. And by putting public comment against 60 speakers in the beginning, are you not postponing what they want to see? So all I'm asking for here is a balance. I am not asking for anyone to be silenced. I am not asking... for anyone to be more important than each other. I'm looking for a balance between the comments and the work that makes sense and gives people that ability to

189voice their opinion. And I will stay here until 1 in the morning if that's what it takes. And all of us will. And all the administrators will. And everybody else will. But it's the balance between we have people every board meeting. Watching in here and they're not here for the public comment. They're here for me So that's what I'm looking for the balance on Madam president question Yes, Jeanette I was a committee not formed to discuss this change in policy as we've done with the closed recordings issue There seems to be a bit of a rush here Do you want to rephrase it or would you like me to repeat it, Jeanette? I just didn't understand. I just that she's wondering why a committee was informed to discuss this and to vet out thoroughly amongst

190the seven of us as we form this possible action item. Because it's not a policy. It's just a change in the guidelines. And in reality, like I said last week, At the conference, I found out I can, as board president, not me personally, but whoever is board president, can make that judgment call on a weekly basis. And a lot of boards do it that way. Change the time limit, you know, to accommodate public comment. That's the difference in it. It's not becoming a policy. It's only guidelines. Yes. Go ahead, Jeanette. It is becoming. If you're going to change how you do things, that's the very definition of a change in policy. It's a change of process, a change of procedure. And I have a statement. Cody can go first. Thank you. Madam President, I would

191like to, just for the public record, if maybe either yourself or the Vice President wanted to go over why we're looking at this policy change, well, not procedure change right now. Like what what prompted this to come forward I? think because Because we have had this um we've had a lot of public comments and it brought it to light that maybe we should have done this a long time ago. I don't know. I don't know. I know that our work was being put off. What prompted me to think of it, our work was being put off. And I don't see that that's going to change. Well, we had some other meetings earlier this year in which we had a massive amount of public comment, and some of them even lasted two meetings. So I'm just

192trying to get at the bottom and the core of why we're discussing this. Maybe that was part of it because it's a continuing thing. And maybe it's just that. I thought, what can we do to balance this? And started working on it. I don't know. It has nothing to do with trying to silence these people. It has nothing to do with trying to, you know, it's not about this issue. It's not about this group of people that have come out. Maybe it's because last year I went to the board conference and thought, oh, we don't have to do things this way. And heard different, you know, it's all a part of it, Cody. Why did I bring it out now? I don't know. Because we need some type of balance between the two. But can

193you see how the public perception on this is, you know, we're bringing this forward now after. what, eight hours, ten hours of public comment on a very important subject that many people in the community have came out to speak on. That still can speak. Well, they can and they can't because what do you say to the young family with children at home or the person who has to work the next morning who has to sit through what could be, and we've had lengthy business portions of our meetings. Now they have to sit through it to address the board on something that they believe is important. But what do you say? But they're not, they won't, some of them might not even stay to the end or they can't stay to the end. So we could.

194be hindering public comment. But what do you say to the people who are here for, to Donna's point, that are here for the, not for public comment, that are here for the other work of the district, and they maybe can't stay to the end. It's, why are the people who showed up for public comment, first of all, let me just go on record that the board is not constituted to hear public comments. The board is constituted to do the public work, and as a part of doing the public work. We are required to listen to public comments. I don't have a problem with that I'll stay here till 1 o'clock in the morning, too But we still have work to do and I don't think that Public speakers are any more important than people who

195just came to hear the business or want to watch the business Livestream on YouTube. There's not one constituent. That's any More important than another constituent well I my point to that would be these board meetings are recorded So they can come back and watch it at a later date however Are you done mr.. Costello? watching the game. I got disconnected. Okay. But I would say that these people can go back and at least watch the meetings as opposed to some of the people who may or may not be able to address the board on a day that they have came out to the board meeting. We're hindering their ability to do so when we could still go back and watch any board meeting because they are recorded for... public's convenience and I understand that too

196Cody but again it's the balance and I'm going to go back and I'll throw the other thing they could also email us if they can't there's I read every email I get. I sit here attentively listening to public comment for however long it takes. I am going to do my job as a board member. And if they want to communicate me, there are several ways of communicating with me. So again, I'm going to go to what Tracy said. How do you choose? And that's exactly why I'm suggesting this, because it seems to put a balance between All of it. And we can try it for a while. Cody, if it hinders any. Madam President, you know, the emails, they can email us, definitely. I'm always open for somebody to email me, and I'm usually very

197responsive and very quick to responding to it. But the issue is a lot of people want to be on public record. And they want to be able to have their voices heard in a public forum as opposed to an email, which somebody would have to file a FOIA request. So, you know, it's not the ability to address us per se, but be on public record. And if we hinder that, which I think we could theoretically with many of the people who can't stay until the end of a board meeting, I think that's bad governance. Okay. I'm not sure what else to say. I put this out there. I'm trying for a balance between the two. And I agree. It's a balance that's important because we've been, the last few meetings, we have not had a

198huge amount of work session business, but that's not always the case. In coming meetings, for example, we'll be looking at a charter school proposal. And if we have public comment, as we've had, the last few meetings we'll be looking at it starting about 10 or 10.30. I'm not sure that, and the charter school proposal is an important thing for the district to look at. And I think it's unfair for the people doing the presentation to say, who also may have children, come in at 10 or 10.30 to do your proposal. So no no one wants to cut off public comment and like Donna and everyone else I'll be here till 1 or 2 in the morning listen to people speak I do answer emails, and I welcome people getting in touch with us You know

199maybe we need to have More town halls or something. I don't know or Especially you know if we have a really hot topic we use one of our Monday meetings and just open it up for public comment But I think we do need balance because I think there are things we look at that people do come out to the meeting to see. And, you know, whether it's new curriculum we're looking at or... As I said the charter school budget issues etc. I think that's Something that people want to know more about and some of them come to this board Meeting to see it because quite frankly sometimes you can't see as much at home on the YouTube video You may not see everything as well Okay, I guess I'm ready go ahead To me, the

200fact is that the majority of the board didn't want to limit public comment until the majority of the public disagreed with. I vehemently disagree with this proposed course of action, and I'm going to actively oppose it. I think it flies in the face of transparency and good government and the public has every reason to be upset and we need to listen to them. We say that we want community engagement, but when the community engages, we are now sending the message that we don't want to hear it. If we had been more transparent and valued and open dialogue to come to a mutually agreed upon practice, we wouldn't have such a large showing of opposition. As a board, we've made our bed by ignoring the concerns of members of the public who fund this district, and

201now we need to lie in it by listening to them no matter how long it takes. So if we're going to take a vote on this, I'm going to vote no. Okay. I find these guidelines to be balanced. Don't agree that limits anyone in any way because like we've said over and over again We will stay as long as it takes all it does is Manage the flow of the comments so that those comments that relate to the agenda items can be heard before those agenda items are voted on and all others you know can be put after that board business so that we're balancing the activities we receive lots of comments from community members who are upset by the length and the delay of these last few meetings. Yes, you can say that it

202was all, you know, because it was against the majority of the board, that's why we took this decision, but I disagree with that. This could be any issue that takes hours. You know, I may be more pro-charter and those comments are going to take hours. I still would like these guidelines. I still think that these are important. I agree with Sue. It's exactly what I was thinking of is we can always call a special hearing at any time when we think that there's going to be an exorbitant amount of comment because we want those comments. We want to stay here and hear them. I'm all for town halls. I've been proposing them for years. I've been saying we should hold them on a regular basis. In fact, I will remind everyone that I would be

203happy to come out to any group at any time to have a conversation. I'm always going to make myself available. I do not want to limit comment in any way. I don't think these limit. I simply think that they guide the process and the flow of the meeting so that everyone can be heard and everyone, you know, we hear it from both sides. So I think everyone, almost everyone has spoken on this. I'd like to move that we vote on accepting these guidelines and we can change them in the later. We can have another vote later to change them if we need to. Okay, could I add one other thing? Just because the time limit will be reduced from three minutes to two minutes. I'll probably still be voting against it, but maybe we could

204just say three minutes period. Because a lot of the public speakers here tonight probably practiced for three minutes. And cutting them... by 33 percent may be a burden to some people. So that's my only amendment, but I'll probably still be voting against it. Okay. All right. Should I read it in? Madam, I would recommend you read it. Okay. The guidelines for public comment. The board welcomes public comment at all of its meetings. Public comment is normally limited to three minutes per speaker. A request to speak card must be filled out and turned in before the first speaker finishes speaking. Requests to speak cards will be put in the order they are received. In cases where there are more than 20 speakers, the following procedures will be followed. Time limit will be reduced from three minutes

205to two minutes. Public comment relating to items on the board's agenda for that evening, consent agenda, discussion action, and work session will be heard in the first public comment section at the beginning of the meeting. Public comments not related to items on the board's agenda will be heard in the second public comment section. Could I have a motion to approve the guidelines for public comment? So moved. Tracy. Roll call, please. Mr. Holt? No. Ms. Kerr? Yes. Ms. Noland? Yes. Mrs. Ward? No. Ms. O'Neill-Ellis? Yes. Madam President? Yes. Mr. Costello? No. DI7. Thank you. Okay, the next item on the agenda, other business, employee matters. Mr. Sanders. Under other business, we have a notice to remedy for teacher B. Administration recommends approval of the notice to remedy for teacher B. Could I have a motion to

206approve the notice to remedy teacher B? So moved. Seconded. Any discussion? yeah I'm just gonna just for public for the public's benefit I'm gonna be voting present on this because of personal conflict okay roll call please this Kurt yes miss Nolan yes mrs. Ward yeah mr. Costello yes miss O'Neill Ellis yes mr. Holt present madam president yes six what approved and other business individual student. Under the business individual student matters, we have student A before the Board of Education. The administration recommends the board expel student A for two semesters. While serving the expulsion, student A will have the opportunity to enroll in an alternative education program. Okay, could I have a motion to approve administration's recommendation to expel student A for two semesters? The remainder of this school year, 16-17, while serving the expulsion, student

207A will have the opportunity to enroll in an alternative education program. So moved. Second. Any discussion? Roll call, please. Ms. Noland? Yes. Ms. Ward? Yes. Mr. Costello? Yes. Ms. O'Neill-Ellis? Yes. Mr. Holt? Yes. Ms. Kerr? Yes. Madam President? Yes. 7-1 approved. Okay. Other business, CAC? It was 0. Good evening. Melissa Owens, chairperson of the CAC. On September 27th, the Specialized Student Services Committee had a program on Eureka math accommodations for special needs students. The committee would like to thank the staff members who presented that program. They had a lot of opportunity to actually get hands-on work on accommodations within the math problems. And then as they were going through those accommodations, that raised a whole bunch of other questions. So from what I understand, I wasn't present at the session, but from what I understand,

208it was a very engaging, very... A lot of work was done and working through these problems and getting parents and staff to kind of work together to see how those accommodations actually benefit children. So the Special Education Committee or the Specialized, I keep on saying Special Education Committee because that's what it was when I was there. But the Specialized Student Services Committee would really like to thank the staff that helped them through that. Their next session is October 25th at Gale Borden Library. The Streamwood Behavioral will be presenting on helping kids through holiday stress. And so they want to keep making sure that they get that word out there. And then I just want to note that we had a lot of CAC support at the expo on Saturday, which was a great thing to

209see. The idea of this expo was born a couple years ago from the curriculum committee, and it's kind of amazing to see how much that has grown in the last two years. The amount of staff and the amount of what was especially exciting to see were all the students working at the booths. I brought my 12-year-old to the fair and it's for him to go up to a booth where a teacher is talking is a little bit different than him going to a booth where there's a student that will grab him and say, hey, look at this. And it's a really engaging way to get our younger students involved in what lies ahead for them in their curriculum path. And I thought it really, really did a good job, all the students that were presenting.

210I know that the curriculum committee had a homework assignment to go to the expo and to check it out and report back on their findings. So I'm looking forward to hear about that. But I know that from the community input that I've gotten both at the expo and then afterwards, everybody seemed to have really positive, really favorable comments about it. So again, I want to thank all of the staff that were involved, all the volunteers that were involved. We had a lot of volunteers from CAC. We had a lot of volunteers from other parent groups and communities within the district. So I want to thank everybody for that and I congratulate the... Was that feedback from... Okay. That was weird because I thought I heard an echo. I just want to congratulate the district on

211a fantastic event on Saturday. Any questions? I have a quick question. I was sad to miss the Eureka Math Specialized Student Services program. And I'm wondering if there was any, is there any outcome from that that can be shared? Was there? I had asked that if we're going to try to get. the original presentation that the staff members gave so that I can get that up on the CAC website. Unfortunately, because it's kind of a working session to go through those accommodations, there isn't really a way to. We didn't videotape the session, so that would have been the best way to do it, but I will try to get the original presentation up on the website. Thanks. You're welcome. Any other questions? Thank you. Next item on the agenda, work session. Under work session, our

212first contract is for curriculum and instruction with Elgin Community College. Here to present, Ricky Sparks, Director of Business Services at Trish's Road, Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Mr. Sparks. Good evening. Our first proposal this evening is for curriculum and instruction, professional development, facility rental. The administration recommends the Board of Education approve the contract in the amount of $29,766. And submitted by Elgin Community College for facility rental and support to accommodate our 2,500 teachers during our January 5th and 6th 2017 district collaboration days. This expense should be charged to the Title I and Title II grant funds. This cost is included in the budget for the 2016-17 school year. Are there any questions? Okay. Thank you. Our next is a contract for specialized student services central area interpreter referral services. Mr. Sparks. Our final proposal this

213season for specialized student services central area. Interpreter Referral Services. The administration recommends the Board of Education improve the contract in amount of $254,029 as submitted by Central Area Interpreter Referral Services. This expenditure is charged to the Education Fund. This cost is included in the 2016-17 school year budget. And Dr. Latrice Satterwhite has also joined the Director of Specialized Student Services. To answer any questions, the Board may hand them over. Are there any questions? How many students does this contract support? The increase of the services are due to the number of students we have that are being mainstreamed. So they are requiring to have their own one-on-one interpreter. So that increases a 3.5. And then the other positions are replacements of individuals that have retired. But I could send you the exact number of students. I

214need to clarify. I was, oh. So the number of students is what I was looking for. Is that what you're going to be able to give me? Yes, I can see the exact total number, but I was just sharing with the entry sites. Any other questions? Sue? Do we get any reimbursement from either the state or the federal government since this is a mandated program? I mean, any of the special ed funds, for example. The sign language interpreters, we can get a $3,500 reimbursement. Per interpreter. Any other questions? OK, thank you. No. I'm waiting between Jeanette and myself. Thank you. Between the computer and the phone to hear better. OK. OK, the last item on the agenda, adjournment. Can I have a motion to adjourn? So moved. Second. Roll call, please. Mrs. Ward? Yeah. Mr.

215Costello? Yes. Ms. Cedillo-Hollis? Yes. Ms. Perlholz? Yes. Ms. Ger? Yes. Ms. Dolan? Yes. Madam President? Yes. Good night.