001at this time excuse me this time I would like to call our meeting to order today is October the 11th Tuesday October the 11th um 2022 this is our regularly scheduled school board meeting and so certainly we want to welcome each and all of you here tonight we want to welcome you and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and be with us tonight and so at this time we're going to turn it over to Mr Cullum for our impact student recognition thank you Mr Acklin and members of the board tonight miss Heather Kendrick is going to help us honor our impact student for the district yes good evening everyone it is my great pleasure to introduce you to our October impact student Miss Amani Tate hi everyone today I'm
002in fourth grade and I go to Adam Ridge Elementary School I like to go outside and sometimes roller skates I want to one day write a little book about school or something probably about all my friends and how I was like in fourth grade or something I used to related to school and all the teachers too are really nice what is your favorite thing about school I teach you okay can you tell me about your teacher she's really loud and I like how energetic she is Armani Tate is absolutely amazing I I call her my rock star in my classroom um she's always doing what she needs to do and she's like my little teacher assistant helper she's respectful she is so hard working and she is one of those kids that you want in
003your classroom would you all please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all right take your picture all right one two three perfect thank you so much let's have one more round of applause please for Miss Amani Tate thank you board members of the audience uh before we proceed with our meeting if you would please join me in a moment of silence this past weekend we had a very tragic event in our community we'd like to lift up the Bartholomew family so please join me in a moment of silence this time thank you Mr Acklin at this time give you the consent agenda for consideration all
004right thank you Mr Cullum board at this time we have our consent agenda a lot of the different items that are on here we've already had an opportunity to go over I just want to make sure does anyone have any questions you know if there are no questions um I need a motion to approve the consent agenda a second all right all in favor say aye aye all right the eyes have it all right at this time we are at a point uh in our agenda where we're going to continue uh our Patron comments and so uh if I've said it once I'll say it again this board is always willing to listen and so when different concerns come up different issues come up we're willing to listen to our community and so that's that's
005what we're doing tonight and so with that being said um we're going to ask that our first Patron um Cal Polson I hope I had that I hope I pronounced her name right foreign thank you board thank you Mr McCollum and yes you pronounced my name correctly I'd like to do an opening statement and it starts with Governor K Ivy and the Alabama State Legislature are proactively creating legislation to stop the LGBT community from dismantling proper gender identities the enacted law SB 184 goes further Banning gender life altering surgeries on teens the bill would make it a felony for parents and medical professionals to provide gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers hormones and surgery to people 18 and under in the state of Alabama the presiding judge in the case Lyle C Burke on
006April 29 2022 he ruled that there would be no temporary injunction of the intended law at this time it became law on Mother's Day 2022. Governor ivy goes on to say and I quote we should especially protect our children let us all focus on helping them to properly develop into the adults God intended them to be currently there are 18 State legislatures considering similar laws conservative State lawmakers have introduced at least 238 anti-lgbt bills in 2022 alone the question is are they wrong in my prepared statement I would like to say that the LGBT community has suppressed the truth about God they seek to bring their judgment against everyone who does not agree with their gender values they do this in order to get you to support their self-centered lifestyles in scripture God's righteousness has
007been revealed and so has his Wrath they substitute the truth about God with a fantasy of their own imaginations God chose to reveal himself not only in nature but through the scriptures in Jesus Christ God has made certain facts about himself known instinctively they the LGBT knows the truth and they will have to endure the consequences of ignoring it to forget to thank God for all he is and all he has done reveals a dangerous self-centeredness the LGBT community is seeking Heroes among themselves who claim to be wise they seek the weak-minded of this world or the personal gainsayers such as lawyers psychologists family planners and others who support their perverse causes they call all who are not like them racist they who refuse to believe in God are utter fools today the few are
008trying to indoctrinate the parents and the many adolescents and teens with their selfish plans and decrees this is not just about bathroom usage it is about the future these are your children and babes in the eyes of God our children may be the last stronghold of Purity yet unblemished the LGBT minority are introducing the reality of their sexual impurity onto others this minor Community has been left to their own ruinous moral practices they are without God they are without his righteousness their end is utter destruction the lgbt's desire to produce another generation of like-minded [Music] um today it is about bathrooms tomorrow about sickening Lifestyle Changes the proof for this is found in Romans 1 verses 24 through 32. God gave them over to be a sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for
009the endangering of their bodies with one another in Romans 1 26 because of this God gave them over to shameful lusts even their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural ones in Romans 1 27 it says in the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust one for another men committed shameful acts with other men and received in themselves a due penalty for their error God gave them over to a depraved mind so that they do what they should not be done they invent ways of doing evil but let me remind you that those who do such things deserve death the LGBT community not only continues to do these very things but also approves of those who practice them and let me end by saying that God loves
010everyone he even loves those of the LGBT community but he doesn't like their practices or their moral standards the penalty for that decision is spiritual death if you remain in that cycle of practice and it becomes a way of life does not become a way of life God will accept you and his whole love will be with you [Applause] okay thank you Mr Paulson at this time we're going to ask that um K Durham if you would please come forward it's a bit tall for me [Music] um I wasn't unaware that I wasn't going to be on stage so I had like handouts so I guess I'll deal with that afterwards um but good afternoon imk Durham a sophomore at Conway high school but more importantly I am a transgender student and this policy is
011not only targeting transgender students uh but this policy is targeting transgender kids the very nature of this policy is dehumanizing and discriminatory I would like to remind people who this policy is affecting and why I would like to bring into consideration mental health academic success and bringing and bring this into consideration since this policy will continue to create a transphobic environment academic success is to achieve good grades a good GPA a good SAT or act how would transphobia affect grades the two don't have any correlation with each other however what connects them is a student the student who tries their best to get good grades but their teacher uses the wrong pronouns which in turn causes public humiliation this causes distrust then the student doesn't learn because they're terrified a teacher who constantly disrespects them
012is going to make them feel uncomfortable and undermines the learning environment now most teachers at the school are amazing and I love and I'm grateful for all my teachers this year however the next problem when trying to achieve academic success is blowing I've personally dealt with bullies and it can ruin the classroom environment I've had to I've had to deal with people who say slurs within a class and believe me it does not want to make students learn it can not only cause a distraction but make those who who the score affects feel uncomfortable and thus them not participating in class this will negatively impact academic success for those who are more logical in their decision making let me share with you a few numbers after the last board meeting I lost I launched a
013petition 481 people signed the petition if 481 people signed my petition that is 24.25 of the school now when looking at it that may not be a whole lot but let's put this into perspective if we assume there are about 25 students per class that's that's one student per 19 classes a better chance or an ally at least one student who's been mocked at least one student who has silently dealt with the problem now if this statistic doesn't mean anything to you you might say well just use a single use or you might think it's not that big of a deal I mean how much could it hurt someone number one we need to address that a student and a parent would have to go and talk then get a signed paper from the counselor
014and here's why that's hard what if your parents not accepting what if your parents are too busy there are so many what-ifs I'm going to save time and I'm not going to list them all to provide some national statistics and Trigger warning for people for some people for suicide and mental illness according to the National Library of Medicine a government website States 82 percent of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40 percent attempt suicide with suicidality highest among transgender use sometimes let's apply that let's take 40 of our 481 who signed the petition and listen divided by two since half were non-trans 97 students is how many would have attempted suicide this issue is much more Beyond signing a paper and putting in the handbook it will continue you to perpetuate a transphobic environment
015and as someone who has dealt with suicidal thoughts and depression I would like to ask is it worth it is it worth it implementing this policy at the risk of students livelihood as history shows in the face of Oppression the first thing to happen is separation example look at the Jewish people and mentally owe people history has shown that that can happen every action has a consequence every decision you make affects someone do not let the decision hinder someone's education hinder someone's ability to live hinder their ability to be who they are thank you for those who sign my petition and thank you for allowing to speak and conveniently happy National Coming Out day [Applause] foreign also I have an email that I sent to all of you that has my petition on it so
016you can go and check the signatures [Applause] okay at this time we're going to ask that Miss Tammy Marsh if you would please come forward I made copies for all of you and like um the student said I'll just leave it right here my name is Tammy Marsh I taught school for 21 years 10 of which were here at my alma mater I'm a 1986 graduate of Conway Public Schools and both of my sons graduated here in 2015 and 2019. my love for being a Wampus cat is deep and true I've watched as not only our city has grown tremendously but also our school district I want Conway to remain one of the best school districts in the state I want our city to remain a top Contender for families looking to move here and
017I'm well aware that this is due largely to the public school system that we have I was here last month and sat silently in the audience then read the news articles that came about as a result I want to make the record clear that what was reported about the board members and some of those articles was both untrue and completely biased some were merely an editorial article full of personal opinion that whipped up hate my years as a journalism student in this District taught me that reporting should be accurate and true and unbiased as a district we are sitting on the edge of a place from which we cannot return we must be mindful of the impact this policy decision will have on every decision to come in the future I pray for the board
018members and the District administration as well as the teachers in their classrooms we are suffering a national teacher shortage like we have never known and it is as crucial to our success as a global power as anything else can be it may in fact be the most critical factor of all teachers are our greatest resource for the future second only to our children the children who are to be directly impacted by your decision here are the ones that will lead our future when we are all old and gone we must model for them how to navigate not only responsible adulthood but also difficult and contentious situations such as this we cannot do that if we cannot be respectful of other perspectives many people who sit here tonight as well as those within our community at
019large believe that the board's proposed policy to accommodate students with gender concerns is the most appropriate resolution for all students it does not single students out it gives them options these policies will not force any students to use the bathroom or stay overnight in a situation that makes them uncomfortable they spoke last month and still speak out about not being singled out and excluded instead they seek inclusivity and acceptance what all children as well as adults seek when I taught I would always see such different personalities in my classrooms and in the hallways we have students with strong outgoing personalities of all different types they demand attention just by their presence I mean that in the most positive way I was that student if you know me you know that I'm that adult as well
020we just are who we are but the ones who always touched my hearts the ones I worried about within the walls of my classroom and school were the vanilla kids these are the ones who were not strong personalities and did not demand attention the ones who sat quietly in class the ones who did not get in trouble for talking too much thousands of these children are in our district schools these are the children we must consider as well these are the children that will be uncomfortable if these policies are not in place yet they won't say much even to their own parents it is not in their nature to be controversial however they will be directly affected if they cannot feel comfortable using the bathroom or going on an overnight school trip is it right
021for these students to feel excluded what accommodations do these students have they cannot go to another bathroom they would be singled out asking for a different overnight room situation if these policies are not passed who will police the bathroom in overnight situations our teachers as it stands aren't we already asking as much of them as is humanly possible our teachers are stretched so thin trying to get our children caught up from the far-reaching effects of two years of pandemic education teacher retention and teacher shortage is a real crisis and without these policies in place we're expecting them to also supervise bathroom and overnight situations situations that are not in the best interest of all students as a student at kamehame the very best U.S government and legal systems teacher taught us that our individual rights
022stop where another persons begin that is the Crux of this issue and I believe the board has a duty to be courageous for our children and pass the policies for the thousands of vanilla kids who won't speak out for all students of Conway Public Schools foreign [Applause] thank you Miss Marsh this time we will have Chris Thomason okay hello board members my name is Chris I am a resident I've been a resident of Conway for over 25 years now and we are you know a lot of people that have come up here and has spoke have made a lot of good points you know they've said good things about our schools which are true we are blessed with great teachers great uh Administration um I'm a parent of three kids I've got three children and
023all three of them from elementary to high school we have experienced Conway Public Schools and from the principals to the teachers to the custodians to the Food Service workers I mean every experience that we've had has been amazing and we are truly blessed to have what we have here at Conway schools and um I wanted to you know come here tonight before last month I'd never been to a school board meeting never have you know I'm sure a lot of people here haven't as as well but you know with this issue going on it's important obviously this affects everybody and it is contentious but I wanted to speak on behalf of my children and on behalf of what I believe and a lot of other fathers out there feel as well first of all thank
024you board members for proposing this and for hopefully voting on this tonight I can't imagine what the last month has been like for some of you that support this some of the things that you've heard and I just wanted to give you an encouragement tonight and and just know that yes you are doing the right thing it's a dad of three children thank you for what you're doing um you know I've heard a lot of people say that you know talking to them that maybe you know this is really not necessary there's not really much of this going on in Conway we like I just said we've got great teachers and principals and that kind of thing so why even do this the truth is the reason why is uh there's really three reasons um
025you know you look around and you see what's going on it's coming right we've got to draw a line in the sand and we've got to say okay are we for this or against this is this something that we're going to allow or not and I've got two daughters and I you know the idea of uh a boy coming into the restroom with my daughter just doesn't sit well as a dad I I understand what that um you know I I can appreciate what what kids are struggling with like the the kid that spoke up here I I applaud them for Having the courage to come up here and speak to you that takes a lot of guts to do what they did um and and I appreciate them voicing their opinion um but I
026hope that they understand that I don't want a boy in the bathroom with my daughter I don't um so anyway I just wanted to give you guys encouragement I hope that you guys make the choice to approve these proposals and my true hope is also that um you know it's my understanding that there is no other school in Arkansas that has policies like this um so if we pass this tonight Conway schools will be the very first school in Arkansas to have policies like this and it's because we've never needed them you know up until recently we've never needed something like this um and just we're on a slippery slope right now guys uh and just to show that let me take you back in time way way back to 2008 just 14 years ago
027there was a presidential election going on then and the Democratic nominations got whittled down to two people Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton everybody kind of knows them as you know representing the the left wing of the political aisle you know they're very supportive of LGBT issues that sort of thing but what you may not know many people don't realize is that both of them both Barack and Hillary were very vocally supportive on many occasions of uh traditional marriage they both said that marriage is a union between one man and one woman a sacred Union between one man and one woman and they vocally opposed gay marriage that was just 14 years ago and here I am as a dad standing up here 14 years later saying please don't let boys come use the bathroom with
028my daughters what are we going to be talking about 14 years from now if we don't take a stand now so I encourage you to to please vote for these and I appreciate y'all doing that and my hope is that other schools will see what Conway has done they'll get courage as well and that we'll see this continue to go and people will take a stand for what is right and for what is true thank you thank you Mr Thomason at this time we're going to ask that Dwayne Miner if you would please come to the podium hello my name is Dwayne Miner I'm the pastor of Victory Baptist Church here in Conway I want to thank the school board for allowing me to speak tonight and and also thank them for putting forward these
029proposals at the last board meeting there was a question asked that I pondered for a significant amount of time the question was why now it was said from the stage and also out in the auditorium with others that I spoke with that question when answered helps us to see what that we are not just discussing where someone should urinate or be allowed to stay on overnight trips and I hope to be able to focus attention on the big picture as we discuss the issues the turmoil and education and what has been seen here in Conway is part of a change this is happening now because two incompatible views of the world are going to battle and education is at the center of this the site the society we live in was built by people who
030viewed the world as having an order and meaning that we were required to as human beings to discover and conform ourselves to within that meaning in order we seek to understand how the world operates and to do greater and greater things here in America our understanding of humanity has been handed down to us from Christianity that's not to say everything that the West has done or Christian America has done is Christian but that the view of the world that undergirds us comes from Christian ideals and that understanding is simple that God created human beings and gave them dignity by creating them in His image he created men and women and he outlined how we are to come together for Humanity to flourish and this ethic was embraced by founders of this country even those that
031were not Believers and this led to the many great blessings that we live in today simply put the order of the world and how best to live in it is fixed and we are to conform to it and by doing so we will be well ordered we're prepared to flourish as adults and this view of society that we have built upon has led to the flourishing we have today the other side views the world is malleable it must be the individual defines meaning in all the world is to be conformed to this individual for instance what we discussed today if a person feels within their self that they need to use the restroom of the opposite gender to be happy then all the world is to conform to their feelings The View our society was
032built upon simply saw education as passing the Baton down from one generation to the next people were taught to flourish within the bounds that the Lord had said over the world this is the only reasonable way to educate children and the only reasonable way to organize a school district and the view that is opposed to this the new way will destroy the foundations our society was built upon and that has led to prosperity Learners Laboratories and pornography for pupils are educational matters regulations and rules teach something to everyone within the district if a restroom policy states that biological males can use the restroom of their choice based on their innermost feelings that it teaches pupils that the order of the world is not fixed and is to be conformed to their whims it attempts to
033chip away at the order of the world and will not lead to the flourishing of our society or our city where we reject that order that the Lord has placed in the world we run headlong into a brick wall for instance in a Loudoun County High School students were allowed to use the restroom that they felt deep inside was the one for them and there a male was found guilty of sexually assaulting a female in a women's restroom allegedly he claimed to be gender fluid and court documents showed that he was wearing a skirt when the assault took place received wisdom from those that have gone before us never would have allowed for this sort of thing to take place because we once understood that the Universe was ordered a certain way and we made
034decisions based upon that rather than fighting against it the same thing can be seen in any number of issues that schools must deal with now pornographic books and libraries were mentioned in the last meeting and are up on the docket today when these books are allowed in a district their presence teaches that the contents within them are good right and beautiful it seeks to tear down what has been what has brought flourishing to our city and our society the pronoun discussion is another part of this must the whole world been to the feelings of the individual or must the individual be taught that there's a standard that exists outside of them that they are to conform to simply put the new way is a rejection of the old it is a way of tearing down
035the foundations of our societal well-being I am for the changes proposed by the school board but this is an argument for much more than that it's an argument for bringing students up in Conway based on the wisdom of the ages that has been passed down to us so we have a choice you have a choice and it is a choice between building upon the stable Foundation to the past that helps students to live within the God's created order and flourish or to attempt to lead the district and the students that are educated here into chaos thank you Mr Miner at this time we want to ask Ali welkey thank you ever since I heard that two books were being challenged at Conway Junior High I've been writing this response in my head I put it
036down on paper along with a few other thoughts in hopes that I can communicate what I've learned over the years about books and what they mean to people I have a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in English literature the Masters is from UCA here in Conway I've lived in this community for 20 years now and I have a son at the high school and a daughter at the junior high I'm proud to have gotten my library card at the Faulkner County Library the same month I moved here my family and I have checked out and read hundreds of books in the ensuing two decades I recently requested the two books in quite in question check them out and spent a weekend reading them both the fiction book in question Felix ever after
037is a very typical young adult book in that it deals with a teen character's relationship with friends parents teachers and romantic interests Felix had already transitioned to live as a boy before the story started although he is still exploring his feelings about his gender and place in the world his mom has left his father and has left Felix too and his father is still coming to terms with raising the sun he has instead of the daughter he thought he had Felix has a drafts folder in his email in which he pours out his heart and notes to his mom that he never sins as the first one he sent after she left went unanswered Felix spends a lot of time with his best friend Ezra and they eventually become more than friends after they both
038have failed relationships with others including a boy who traumatizes Felix by putting up pictures of him before his transition the teens in the book used some substances and make some bad decisions there is a bit of sexual content but these kids also take hard looks at the world in their place in it they have hopes and dreams for the future and heartbreaks too Felix eventually deletes all those email drafts to his mother and show kindness and Humanity toward one another I was glad to have walked in Felix's shoes through the story and I found myself thinking about him and his journey long after I closed the book the non-fiction book beyond magenta transgender teens speak out offers first-person accounts from six transgender teens whose experiences vary from being in inclusive and welcoming families and environments
039to navigating foster care and predatory abusive adults it looks very frankly at the struggles families go through and trying to understand a teen who is questioning their birth gender and deciding to make a transition to live the life they believe is theirs as with Felix I found myself thinking about these kids for a long time after reading their accounts and wishing the road they were on could contain fewer sharp stones and unexpected turns frankly it is hard to see the proposed Banning of these particular books that deal with transgender issues alongside the proposed policies that police were non-gender conforming kids can go to the bathroom as anything other than an attack on these kids these vulnerable kids who instead desperately need our support and understanding instead of banning books or others like these books or
040others like them I would instead recommend people take the time to read them and talk to the teens in their lives about them the purpose of art of all kinds is to give us Windows into the thoughts and experiences of others as we get only one life but literature allows us to walk in other shoes for a while after taking that walk through books such as these how can we condemn people for seeking the person they truly are the life they want to live all of us benefit by learning more about others Journeys I trust Librarians professionals with years of training on finding Resources with value to students to build collections on their shelves that will take readers on Journeys toward empathy and understanding these two books belong on the shelves for kids who see
041themselves and their own experiences in the subject matter and for kids who don't but who might come to understand what another kid is going through I'm completely comfortable with both of my kids having access to these books in their school libraries and a lot of fellow parents I know feel the same way along with trusting Librarians I also trust teachers to do what they're trained to do give students the knowledge they need to navigate life kids need to know Real History warts and all of the country they live in which includes topics like slavery and the many struggles over the years for civil rights for all kinds of people we need readers and critical thinkers now more than ever my kids both started kindergarten and Conway schools and my son is now in his senior
042year through the years I've always believed that the administrators and Educators and staff have their best interests at heart and I want to continue to believe that which is why I'm here today thank you thank you [Applause] all right thank you Miss Wilkie um at this time we'll have Miss Janice Lehman [Applause] good evening my name is Janice Layman and my pronouns are she her hers I'm in my 31st 35th year as an educator and administrator I am a cisgender heterosexual Ally I was at the last school board meeting and it was apparent to me that many on the board were not familiar with terms associated with the lgbtq plus Community I know there are several Advocates allies and members of the lgbtq community in this room who would welcome the opportunity to share their
043knowledge and experience with experiences with you at some point if you are interested in regards to policy 4.20 use of bathrooms affected by gender I want to share some statistics with you these come from the Journal of adolescent Health volume 68 Issue 6 Pages 1142-1147 published on December 4th 2020. using data from a quantitative cross-sectional survey of transgender non-binary youth ages 13 to 24 years they examine the association between experiencing bathroom discrimination and depressive mood seriously considering suicide and attempting suicide 58 of transgender non-binary youth reported being prevented or discouraged from using a bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity among the transgender non-binary youth who experience bathroom discrimination 85 percent reported depressive mood and 60 percent seriously considered suicide one in three transgender non-binary youths who experienced bathroom discrimination reported a past year suicide
044attempt with one in five reporting multiple suicide attempts these findings suggest that preventing transgender non-binary youths from accessing appropriate bathrooms is associated with harmful mental health indicators addressing the suicide disparities for Trump transgender non-binary youths requires structural change policies and procedures need to be in place to ensure that all use have equal access to appropriate bathrooms and by the way before we found out before this meeting that there is no single sex bathroom non-gender bathroom in this building so anybody that needed to use that in this building would not be allowed to because there's not one so they would have to go out of the building across to another building somebody would have to open the door that's not equal access I know if the policies proposed tonight are approved you won't stop here my
045concern in real fear is where these policies will lead next and how much harm that you will do to lgbtq students their families and friends and School Employees who care about them and by the way someone beat me to it but today is National Coming Out day and I want to let our lgbtq lgbtq plus youth know that you are seen you are worthy and you're loved thank you Miss Lehman um next on our Patron comments list is Miss Cindy Webb wish you could cure a cure shortness but you know okay I'm just referring to the microphone here my name is Cindy Webb I am a lifelong resident of Conway I am also a business owner here in Conway and I also like Tammy Marsh graduated from Conway High School in 1990 well our gears
046are a little bit different not much but anyway first of all let me say thank you every single one of you on the board for taking time and sacrificing so much time of yours to let me speak to let everyone else speak this is been so hard on each and every one of you I know it has to have been so thank you and I have to say coming from a family of Educators I know how much pressure teachers and administrators are under they have so much more on their backs other than or is expected of them other than their job description and that's I've never thought that was fair I mean my mom's job didn't end until 10 o'clock at night sometimes and for what they make that's not fair and I have to
047say of course I absolutely support your policies I think that it's extremely important that aren't we keep our kids safe no matter what and I made a comment after last month's meeting on the Log Cabin Democrats article and someone replied and said you're afraid of something that's imaginary and it was meant to be derogatory but I have to say I can imagine a lot but it is the thing that I can't imagine that scares me the most and that is what we're putting ourselves up against if we don't pass this policy so something to think about there another thing that I was told earlier today and I happen to know is true our current President Biden has announced that if you're a transgender woman which means you were born a man you are required to
048register for the draft when you turn 18 years old trans men are excluded what does that say about our current sitting president's View on this topic I think it speaks for itself and I have to address this Dr Naylor brought it up at the end of the last meeting no one had addressed the books and we had some pictures or excerpts that were passed around and I have researched them a little bit I kind of felt bad that I was going to be actually arrested by the FBI by looking finding out about child pornography and what what is and isn't legal but the two books genderqueer and weight what are just child pornography as it is defined by the current laws especially the first one genderqueer I don't think that's in Conway Public Schools library
049but I know it has been in one of the public schools library in Arkansas it depicts two young people under the age of 18. in Acts that are not supposed to be performed by children and then not just children I shouldn't say that and then basically we're reading about it we're looking at it we're not allowed to do that we shouldn't we shouldn't encourage kids to do that and we certainly shouldn't be watching it and encouraging adults to watch with us so I I feel like you know when you turn 18 go do what you want to do wherever it is that you do but right now every minor child is required by law to be in school and it is our job to protect those minor children from anything whether it is violence or
050just someone grooming them to be something that they're not so I thank y'all for letting me speak thank you Miss Webb before our last speaker comes before senator Jason Raper comes I just want to say that after Senator rapert comes we're going to uh at that point give our board an opportunity to make comments or they may have some questions or something like that and so um at this time we're going to ask that Senator Jason rapert if you would please come sir thank you for having me here tonight I appreciate your service and to be respectful of the time I'm going to keep my comments to written comments tonight you're voting on Truth not just policy I'm here tonight to support the Conway School Board taking responsible and appropriate action by supporting the two
051pro proposed policies before you my wife and I actually moved to Conway Arkansas in 1990. we've been a part of this community for 32 years we built our entire lives here we raised our children here built our business here we attended church here served on the board of the Conway Chamber of Commerce many boards volunteered in many organizations and my wife taught at Ida Burns Elementary right here for the Conway School District I've been elected four different times to serve in the Arkansas state senate since 2010 and in 2012 my entire Senate District was redrawn and since that time I've represented the entire city of Conway Arkansas now for over a decade I have represented this city worked on many city and school related issues during my time here and I was elected by the
052majority of the people that have also elected each of you who serve on the school board I believe I have a very good understanding of who our community is and what they support the overwhelming majority of people in Conway Faulkner County and the state of Arkansas still believe the settled science that has been without question for thousands of years frankly since the beginning of time itself God made males and females and we appreciate and recognize the differences between the two Sexes and the overwhelming majority of people in this community support the Conway School District adhering to those facts in your policies your rules and your regulations we cannot ignore the horror stories one has been mentioned that I have in my comments that we've heard about related to the transgender political movement namely I think
053of the situation in Virginia where a student who claimed he was a girl sexually assaulted a student at a school there he assaulted the girl after entering a girl's bathroom facility wearing a skirt that horrible incident became national news when the father of the girl who was assaulted confronted the school board members demanding accountability for the fact that the school board put his daughter In Harm's Way unnecessarily what you're doing here tonight will hopefully prevent the same Horror Story from occurring right here in Conway Public Schools by passing these two common sense policies you are doing what is right and standing up for the truth America is indeed a free country people have a right to their opinions and beliefs but all of us are also free to reject the lies being spread about sex
054and gender so we can protect our young students from those who seek to force their ideas and opinions and beliefs on everyone else our state legislature has taken a stand to protect our young people by passing legislation preventing minor children from being mutilated by sex change surgery and drug therapy meant to morph young boys to appear as girls and vice versa there is so much that I could say to you here tonight but I leave you all with the words of a very well-respected doctor and scientist who took a stand based upon scientific fact Dr Paul McHugh the distinguished service professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and former psychiatrist and chief for John Hopkins Hospital who studied transgenders people for 40 years said it is a scientific fact that transgendered men and do not
055become women nor do transgendered women become men all such people he explained in an article he wrote become feminized men or masculinized women counterfeits or impersonators of the sex with which they identify his words not mine he said it is scientifically impossible to change a man into a woman or a woman into a man all people are doing through this misguided transgender therapy is creating a masculinized female or a feminized male this is why the horror story in Virginia happened and this is why you have the ability tonight to be the adults in the room the leaders in our community and do the right thing by protecting our students from a situation that could haunt them for the rest of their lives if a small percentage of parents or students demand to say we're all
056wrong and they're right they're free to their own opinions but their opinions do not change facts just because people get loud and demand we support their opinion does not change the truth or the facts God made males and females in the Conway School Board is doing the right thing here tonight and I want to say on this coming out day that God loved every one of these kids more than anybody else here even before they were formed in the womb [Applause] foreign [Applause] thank you Senator Rayford at this time I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of our patrons who came up before the board and presented not only tonight but even last month September um we've been getting all of your emails all of your emails all of your phone calls
057we've we've we've gotten every single one of them and so um this is a sensitive topic has been a very sensitive topic it's been a very passionate debate discussion and so at this time we're going to give the board an opportunity to make every whatever comments that you all have I want to give you a chance to to say what's on your heart okay so uh Miss Hodges I guess I'll just let you go first if that's okay I really don't have anything further to say than I said last week and I appreciate everybody that came and spoke tonight everybody that came and spoke last night and you know at this point the only thing I know to say is that I as well as this board care about every single student in this school
058district every single one of them and we are trying really hard to accommodate all of them and I say that from the bottom of my heart thank you now go Andre sure okay um I don't have a whole lot to say about this issue but I think we can all agree the bathrooms and bedrooms are personal and private spaces and I do agree with Miss Hargis that all children have a right to feel safe and comfortable in our schools and you know just because we disagree with someone we've got to learn as a society is that doesn't mean we don't care about one another we absolutely care about one another in fact I I wanted to say Kade you are absolutely welcome at Conway Public High School and if you're ever bullied or you're ever
059mistreated you come get us and we'll address it that's not our intentions with this policy the policy is just to accommodate everyone and I know that some people won't agree when I vote for this policy but that truly is our intent we're really trying to make everyone feel comfortable for example we don't allow adults to go into our elementary school bathrooms we certainly don't allow adults to stay nights overnight with our children and that's not to say that all adults are pedophiles it's simply just to say that kids might not feel comfortable with someone twice their size you know and so so that's really my heart in this is I appreciate everyone's comments I really do and I'm really um soaking and absorbing all this but on some of these on some of these comments
060that were made I just simply agree to disagree and that's that's all I have to say thank you Mr Leach Burg yeah um I just got a quick comment here so I spent uh an entire month or more doing what we said we would do it's a read so it went through considering everything I spoke to members of the community individually all kinds of things and one of the things I kept hearing over and over is suicide rate and that's just tragic regardless of what we're talking about here but one of the things I kept running into is that the suicide rate of transgender individuals is more than just restroom usage 82 percent of transgender individuals regardless of restroom usage have considered suicide and over 40 percent have actually attempted it this is a much
061larger issue than what we're talking about here so I just I wanted to say that and I wanted to let everyone know that this has been something that's taken up a lot of our time because it has been a consideration on All Points so it's not just a hey we're coming in here trying to do this thing it's a consideration for accommodation for everyone so that's all I have thank you foreign for Dr Naylor uh yes I just went first off again to thank everybody that came and spoke I appreciate all the emails most of them were very sincere they were not um bullying they were not pushy they were just stating their ideas and what they thought about these policies and hey I appreciate that I appreciate we all the students that have been
062here I appreciate all the teachers that have been here it's a public meeting and I I really appreciate you guys we have ex-board members here I appreciate them we have people from the city the public I appreciate Mr Beckett Mr column because they've worked a lot over the last month and the rest of our Administration you know they've touched on all this this is a touchy subject you know do I think we had a student last month whose both Mom and Dad presented up here do I truly worry about him uh uh or that student in the bathroom no but but we we represent all students here so we have to look at all students we can't look at one or two we represent everybody um so this is a tough decision it's it's been
063you know the last month I feel like the board has done a really good job of looking into this and taking every side and we've had some a lot of discussion about this correct Miss track yeah and uh you know it's just time for us to vote on the policy I did want to ask Mr column uh because I've gotten a lot of emails about it what are we what is our current what are we currently doing at the high school the last few years with this as far as the non-policy as far as restrooms yes sir my understanding has been for the past several years they've been able to make accommodations for the students to use either it's could be a staff restroom at times or it could be a single use what they
064call a single-use restroom for these students so they've been accommodating for the last over five six years to my knowledge so I've gotten several questions on that yes for the Publix um and again I think that's all I've got to say and again I appreciate all of Conway whether I agree with you or you agree with me or you don't agree with me I do appreciate you being involved in our school district a lot of us have grown up here we Bleed Blue and we love this District all right thank you um I really don't have a lot to add uh to this particular topic I'm just going to say this and and and hear what I'm saying this board is represented by zones okay we didn't put ourselves up here you put us up
065here okay so so listen to what I'm gonna say here listen what I'm gonna say so what I'm saying is is that the will of this board is representative of the will of the community we're we're going by what you tell us when I ran 2015 and we've had some highly contested races you know uh you put me up here and so when we when we go out to the community we want to know you're letting us know how you feel about certain things and so the will of this board represents the will of this community and and I hope you understand what I'm saying so that's where we're coming from with this [Applause] under yeah I think uh Jennifer like talking and then can I make one more comment sure before we close this
066out um I apologize board there's one more thing I wanted to say and I forgotten but it's important uh it's very important especially to me the last thing I'll say about this topic is that you know um as community members we all have values and some of us believe those values are sacred we have life experiences that shape us and sometimes those values and life experiences they don't line up right and so that's why we have to in those instances find compromise a compromise that will respect all values and respect all life experiences and I do believe this policy does that and so that was the last thing I just want to say sorry Jennifer now you may go you're good so I just want to thank you guys my fellow board members because we
067all together have come as a group and we've spent hours and hours just discussing this I know that on our own individually we have really dug deep right we've just dug deep on these policies I do believe these policies are in the best interest of all students they protect all students and staff unless somebody has another question for Jay or a comment I'll just add and Mr Beckett I appreciate you coming up just to speak to some questions that came up about the 30-day read as opposed to a 28-day read that's not a law that's not even a policy that's a practice and the intent is to give you time between each board being to be able to review this information gather input which I think you have done very well I want to applaud
068you guys for the process that you've gone through you've heard from several speakers personally you've taken hundreds of emails and so I think as a board you have stopped and considered the opinions of this community but we wanted to clarify that and Mr Beckett's here to answer any final questions on the policy and if there aren't any specifically then I think it's before the board for approval [Music] I would just say thank you can you hear me now all right great so I just wanted to say that the development of these policies has been driven by the boards very robust thorough and highly professional discussion of all issues on all sides of these policies so with that unless you have further questions of me I think it's appropriate for the president to call for a
069motion and I just want to add that there were over 1800 there were over I want to add that there were over 1800 signatures on a petition that supported these policies I believe is that if that's so at this time uh Andre can I make the motion yeah and I do that one quick question for Jay if that's okay um Jay is there any law in Arkansas that prohibits us from making this policy no there's no law that prohibits us okay is this policy clear to understand in your professional legal opinion yes and is it practical to implement yes okay thank you yes sir okay but I need a motion to adopt policies 4.20 use of bathrooms affected by gender and 4.56.2 assignment of Roommates while traveling overnight on trips as presented I moved need
070a second all in favor say aye aye I said [Applause] at this time excuse me no ma'am no ma'am excuse me we've been doing pretty good three two three [Applause] [Music] [Applause] my apologies uh at this time we're going to move right along on our agenda calls for our board financial report from our Chief Financial Officer miss Robin King good evening board members tonight I will be presenting the financials as of September 30th 2022 at this time 25 percent of our fiscal year has elapsed as you will see on this first slide this is a slide of all of our fund balances the first table includes our revenues and expenses for just the month of September and then the bottom table lists all of our expenditures and revenues year to date we have an ending
071fund balance of all of our funds of a total of 19 million 789 459 dollars on the next slide we have a revenue and expenditure report looking at our revenue for our property taxes year to date we have received 3.4 million dollars that is 6.62 percent of our budgetary revenues for property taxes and if looking back at the previous years that's right in line with what we received last year our state revenue year-to-date Revenue 10.7 million dollars so that's about 23 percent of our budgeted state revenue budget or state yes State revenues and the other local Revenue we've received a little over 200 000 and it's about 30 percent of our budget to revenue for other local Revenue so total at this time we've received about 14 percent of our budgeted Revenue are operating operating
072revenues for expenditures salaries and benefits year-to-date encumbrances and expenditures 9.4 million dollars that's about 12 percent of our budgeted expenditures for salaries and benefits again that falls in line with what we typically run at this point supplies and services 11.6 million dollars and that's about 89 percent and I know that seems high at this point but that does include our encumbrances as well uh Debt Service 1.8 million dollars which is about 20 percent of our budgeted expenditures for Debt Service and then moving to our last slide this is a multi-year comparison comparing the data that I just shared for 22.23 also the actual for 21 22 and 2021. again we are trending in the same with all of our percentages with revenue and expenditures to date any questions on the financials I don't have a
073question Robin about just comment you're doing a great job I love your calming demeanor that's what you want with the finance person you know what's up here jittery talking about finances but you're doing a great job so I'm just nervous on the inside no you're doing great you're doing great thank you very much I appreciate it [Applause] thank you Miss King all right let's see next on our agenda is Mr Lynn thank you board good evening back in August the district received two uh challenges on books that were located in the junior high Conway Junior High Media Center and so what that did when we received those challenges we had to implement the procedures that are outlined in policy 5.7 which is the collection development policy material selection and adoption and this is the policy
074that applies specifically to the books that are found in all of our districts libraries K-12 so that's the policy that that was referenced here um part of that policy deals with challenged materials and so when that when that when that when that challenge was or those those challenges were presented to the the building uh we we began that process basically what that process is is that uh for each book that was challenged we established a committee of folks to review those review each book that committee consists of per our policy a central office administrator the building level principal from the building where the book is is located the building level library media specialist we get a teacher from that building and we know we also get a parent from that building to serve on that
075committee and it's not the parent that makes the that follows the the the question we get a we get someone else so what we did over the last couple of months is that we had to get copies of of the books for all of our committee members and each Committee Member uh that was that that that served for us they read each book and depending on which committee they were on they read the book in its entirety and then the committee did meet to discuss um uh whether or not you know the book whether or not they would recommend that the book stay in the school library or would they recommend that it be removed from from the school library I'm going to share with you uh the findings of those committees along with some
076rationale as to why they they're making the proposal that they are making our policy does state that the final decision would be reached by the Board of Education and that the decision of the committee shall be subject to the approval of the board of education so that means is you guys as as the board have finals say that you can accept the committee's recommendation or you can go in another direction if you um soch you so that's that's kind of how this how this process works so the two books that were reviewed uh by the by the two different committees at the junior high were Beyond magenta by Susan Kirkland and Felix Ever After by case and calendar um for Beyond magenta the committee uh made the recommendation that the book remain in the library
077for the following reasons they felt that the book was factual since it was written in an interview format they felt like the terminology used was was relevant to the vocabulary used to describe transgender youth they felt like the book expanded the depth and breadth of the reader they felt that the book was useful for readers who may need to identify with someone like them basically the the comment that was made a student could find themselves in a book and they felt that the book fit with the library standard of understanding inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community for the book Felix Ever After the committee makes the same recommendation that the the book be allowed to remain in the library based on the following um the following uh comments were that the committee
078felt that the book was relatable to all readers the committee felt like all the all the challenges that the main character experience could be similar to what teenagers face every day um they felt that the book would allow readers to to have a sense of worth and to dispels and to dispel any self-doubt the Ala the American Library Association does recommend this book for secondary age students and they felt that the book fit with the library standard of understanding inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community so as we implemented the tenants of policy 5.7 these are the recommendations of our building committees foreign do we have a representative from the committee here Mr I think we do because I speak because I'm sure the board's going to have lots of questions yes sir
079I believe we do I think Dr Wesley is here can answer any questions for the board Dr wolfley was the central office representative on the committee forward hey Dr Wesley um thank you for spending the time we appreciate it you drew the short stick on this it seems like so I've got a little bit that I want I'm gonna bring to you man this paragraph and then we're going to reuse this page this one um Dr Miller does not come out of magenta this one does yes this one comes out of Felix okay oh this one's out of Felix it's just okay thank you I appreciate it I was sexually mature what I mean by sexually mature is that I knew about sex from six up I used to kiss other guys in my neighborhood
080make out with them and perform oral sex on them I liked it I used used to love oral and I touched there you know what we were really young but that's what we did and I I I'm sorry I'm gonna I do want to say now this this was I should have announced this before this next page is very explicit so if you don't feel comfortable saying the word you can say D or whatever because it's it's very explicit so I want to make sure in the the public that we understand this before we read all right go ahead afterwards because you have a dick what's a dick I didn't know that what that was boys have dicks and girls have pee well that's a p a vagina vagina I didn't even know how to
081say the word no vagina oh okay then he said so you're not a girl you have a d well that's okay what is a d that thing you have between your legs and I'm like I thought everybody has that no not everybody has that I thought this man was is crazy a lot of people didn't approve of me my neighbors cursed at my family were raising an effing boy he's supposed to be wearing effing boy clothes and not effing girl clothes you and I I apologize I don't mean to put you on the spot but we I'm getting emails all the time of like I'm trying to ban uh Huck Finn and that's that's not what I'm doing I was very vocal at the last meeting a month ago and so obviously to get the
082point to the public and let them see what's in these books this is what's in the books guys that's what's in the book so again I understand the uncomfortable position I put you in having to read that but you were on the committee and again you recommended these books go back on the Shelf in the 8th and ninth grade and I don't agree with that decision can we ask questions sure did you not have any problem at all especially with the language and is It Felix Ever After 13 year old kids Miss Hargis as our policy states this is a committee's consensus and so this is the committee's recommendation [Music] committee together who established it the policy says that the principal at the building will choose the committee and then there was discussion with with
083he and I was it a diverse committee it was a very it was a very diverse committee report if I Dr Wesley did you have to bifurcate between the two books or did you guys read them together did you discuss them together or did you bifurcate the two as you went through the process how did that work thank you Mr Coleman that's a great great question we provided the books to the committee members and they read them and we set a date so that they would know when we need them to be finished this was two different committees each book was a different committee the only people that were the same were me and the principal and then I explained the policy to them what Mr Lynn shared with you the five criteria that we're
084supposed to review for challenge for a challenge that's brought before us and I left the floor up for discussion and then after that I asked for concerns or other discussion and then the consensus of both committees was to put the books back on the Shelf so Dr Wesley so one of the comments on the report said that um so I'm guessing a consensus doesn't mean everybody agreed but um that it was relatable to all children um do you feel comfortable commenting on that if you don't that's fine but I'm just curious kind of the why why the committee thought it would be relatable to all children well I would like to speak on that it wasn't to all children it was relatable to any children that chose that book in the library to read it
085okay Mr Leach if I misspoke the word from the committee were the committee thought the book was relatable to readers okay students who chose to read the book okay usually um how did you did the principal select the person from the central office or who who picked you not picking again just I'm trying to figure out the process part of my job is K-12 media library media okay right so but when when the committee is made did you volunteer to be on the committee did somebody nominate you to be on the committee did the principal say hey I'm gonna get Dr Wesley on the committee or are you always on the committee or does it change if we want to keep the committee with this process and have integrity in the process from here forward
086because I really doubt this would be the last time we do this you know we do need one Central person to do it I was asked since I am over K-12 library media and I said that I would be happy to do that but you will be the point person I'm saying from the central office going forward far as I know yes sir I just like to say I'm an Avid Reader I read a lot of books I read all types of genres I read two stories out of Beyond magenta yesterday and I have to put it down I it was it was built [Applause] board I just wanted to explain as far as process goes and Mr Beckett if I'm incorrect please weigh in tonight as you consider the recommendation you've got a couple
087of options kind of like you would with any policy you can accept the recommendation of the committee you can deny the recommendation of the committee or you can table the recommendation of the committee and bring it back at a subsequent board meeting you have all three of those options it is an information item tonight if you decide to take action the board would simply need to make a motion to move it to an action item first just so that you know and then second you know make a motion based on whatever action you want to take so process wise those are the next steps if there's any questions about that Mr Beckett is that is that accurate okay I don't I don't know that this is a question um parents have absolutely no say in
088their children reading those books in that public in that Library do that actually miss Hargis no that's not correct if they want to have a conversation and it's as a matter of fact in the library Bill of Rights it recommends that parents have conversations with their children about what they choose to read now what you are correct by is that we as School Employees cannot look at a child and say oh you can't check that out we don't have a right to do that but these are 13 year old kids that don't listen to their parents anyway I just um I don't know I would have a problem with my 13 year old reading those books that that's that's me [Music] [Applause] uh board I do have a comment on this um this situation I
089speak is also apparent you know I have four kids in The District High School junior high Middle School elementary so we got all of them covered um and I agree with Linda um I do not believe I would not want my my children reading these books but really I think the larger issue is that as Americans we we entrust our schools to educate our kids and our education shapes the hearts and minds of our children but not in all areas okay math Science History these type of subjects for years and years have been the primary focus of our school districts and that is what our parents have given the school's rights sexuality and sex is not one of them that is A Private Matter it it it's it I believe it's a private matter that
090should be dealt in the privacy of a home and um that's that's really all I have to say about it hey Dr Wesley I just want to say um also it seems like we're getting caught up in this being a transgender book and I just want to put it out there that if this is a heterosexual book I'm still against it it doesn't have anything to do with it being a transgender book it has to do with the language and the material on a eighth grade person check looking at this book without without Parental Guidance and so again if this is a heterosexual book I have the same stance as this one so I Lord do you have any more questions I would like to make the motion that we take this as an action
091item so moved second all in favor say aye aye okay and then next would be to take whatever action is recommended by the board and then I'll make the motion to deny the committee's recommendation and to pull the books the second second yes all in favor say aye aye [Applause] thank you okay um board we have a few Personnel recommendations elections so I need a motion to approve the Personnel recommendations as presented so moved need a second second all in favor say aye all in favor say aye okay all right the Personnel recommendations are accepted so at this time uh I just want to thank all of you for your attendance tonight thank you for being courteous and kind let's be kind to one another let's listen at this and some of you will get
092it some of you will get what I'm about to say be kind to one another tend to Heart It encourage one another lift each other up that's what we've been doing and that's what we want to continue to do so at this time the board will now go into executive session to discuss the appointment of a new board member thank you all right we're back into session um board I need a motion to appoint Mr Bill Millburn Bill Milburn as board member for zone five position three to serve until the annual school election following the appointment at which time a member will be elected in the usual manner to serve the remainder of the unexpired term second all in favor say aye all right Mr Acklin that's for that's for basically a six-month term correct
093and then the public gets to pick who the next member is in May right uh that's about for for six months you'll be appointed and then uh at the May election he'll have to re rerun uh to hold that seat yeah any other questions I need I need a motion to adjourn oh wait Andre we need to rearrange our officers and we need a point uh delegate I believe it's that in order oh okay okay all right hey I got you perfect sorry so we'll do that yeah we'll do that in November okay gotcha I need a motion to adjourn I feel mad second all right