RSU73 School Board Meeting 11/10/22

001called foreign attendance very good on adjustments to the agenda 15-115 tour is not going to happen tonight just so you know and 15 3 15 4 is uh special ed teacher at Spruce Mountain Middle High School 51 and 2 is not going to happen nope that's the old agenda and I'd entertain a motion to accept the October 24th 2022 special board school board meeting minutes by Phoebe second Tasha any errors or emissions seeing none roll call please yes so moved had also entertain a motion to accept the October 27 2022 regular school board meeting minutes by Phoebe second Jody any errors in admissions there seeing none roll call please yes Elena yes yes so moved under Communications uh this first one is not a voted on it's uh an FYI but we regretfully have the

002resignation from Sherry Kutcher central office Administrative Assistant and six two which I'm really looking forward to we have our LEGO League state champions here for a presentation actually we're here just to update you guys that we're going to be hosting the LEGO League state championships so on December 3rd the blue crew robotics team is going to be hosting the state championships we've hosted a number of Lego League qualifiers before but this is the big Statewide event we're expecting 33 teams from all over Maine the event is being organized by the robotic robotics Institute of Maine they're the kind of the state Mothership Organization for all of our first programs but the the blue crew team is playing a very very active role as the team hosts we're going to be feeding everybody we're using it

003as a fundraising opportunity e we need there's a whole lot of volunteers and and help being organized we had a meeting last night and have been doing a lot of organizational stuff if anybody's interested in volunteering or helping out they need judges they need officials we need people just to serve food there's all kinds of capacities and ways that people can can help out and I also wanted to give a little update on how the robotics program is going and I'm going to let Lily here turn it off it's a turn it over to Lily it's a very student-run organization so I'll let Lily give you the update on how the team's doing yeah so we're about like evenly split this year um we we did some recruitment efforts this summer we did really well

004we have about 33 members um we just selected our executive board of captains um entirely student-run the mentors they're there for guidance and that's like about it it's completely student run and like Lily said we have um there are 33 kids currently on the roster and it's about 50 50 Spruce Mountain kids and Mount Blue kids um I can't say enough about the partnership um and the success that the team had last year we have really really high hopes as of right now we're planning on attending um an event in New Hampshire and another qualifying event in Bridgewater Massachusetts in March and then in April we're hoping to make it to the new englands again at the uh the Big E Expo down in Springfield Massachusetts and we're also looking at trying to get to

005worlds in Texas um in late April so the team's really striving for that we have 13 seniors this year and like Lily said it's a very youth run program and we're really pleased the kids are doing a great job and it's it's a lot of fun right now thank you [Applause] okay before we start public comments I'm going to read through uh policy on that and these are some of the guidelines citizens and employees of the school unit are welcome to participate as provided in this policy others may be recognized to speak at the chair's discretion individual employees in an and or employee groups will not be permitted to discuss matters for which complaint or grievance procedures are provided the chair May limit the time a lot of the comments on a particular topic as

006well as a time each individual may speak now I've got a big list here I'm not going to limit the total time but I will have a three-minute time limit and I'll raise my hand with 30 seconds to give you an idea of when to stop persons interested in speaking should use the public sign up so they may be called on an a fair and efficient manner during the time set aside for public participation the chair will be responsible for recognizing all speakers who must identify themselves in a place of residence as they begin speaking speakers are not permitted to share gossip make defamatory comments or use abusive or vulgar language all speakers are to address the chair and direct questions or comments to particular board members or the superintendent only with approval of the

007chair requests for information or concerns that require further research may be referred to the superintendent to be addressed at a later time members of the board and the superintendent may ask questions of any person who addresses the board but are expected to refrain from arguing or debating issues questions must be addressed through the chair no complaints or allegations will be allowed at board meetings concerning any person employed by the school system or against particular students Personnel matters or complaints concerning student or staff issues will not be considered in a public meeting but we've referred through established policies and procedures in order to make efficient use of meeting time the board discourages duplication or repetition of comments to the board requests that groups or organizations be represented by designated spokespersons the chair has the authority to

008stop any presentation that violates these guidelines or the Privacy rights of others persons who disrupt the meeting may be asked to leave and the chair May request law enforcement assistance as necessary to restore order and that is policy bedh public participation at board meetings okay first we have John benedetto three minutes is this on all right John benedetto from Livermore Falls uh the first thing that I wanted to mention which is kind of exciting right my daughter this summer went to Singapore for school she spent a month and a half attending classes at South View Primary super exciting until a teacher had to call my wife in to ask why she did so poorly on her exams it's kind of disappointing when we have so many board members saying how great the system is working

009here I have the exams here for anybody like to see them and go with them with me second thing I'll go over title 17 Chapter 93 a obscenity dissemination of obscene matters to minors definition as used in this section unless the context indicates otherwise the following words shall have the following meanings distribute means to transfer possession whether with or without consideration exhibit means to display for viewing by the public matter means any printed or written material any picture photograph motion picture or other visual representation a minor means a person under 18 years of age obscene matter means which sorry means matter which to the average individual applying contemporary Community standards with respect to what is suitable materials for minors considered as a whole appeals to the pruent interest depicts or describes in paternity offensive Mana

010ultimate sexual acts excretory functions masturbation elude exhibition of genitals and or consider it as a whole like serious literally artistic political or scientific value I would like to present the images from some of the books that are going in discussion because they include things in the main statute which are considered illegal in the state of Maine finally I am still waiting for my apology from the school board members for the insanity that went on last year because of the covid masking mandates and segregation and everything that we had with the school and also the last thing white fragile white fragility can any one of you explain to me what a white person is a scientific definition what is a white person am I White is my daughter White and you wonder why it is all

011of this commotion going on in the schools when you're telling people that they're you're bringing in race to all these different things you're segregating people by telling them that they're A different race or whatever else we're supposed to we're all the same we're human beings stop asking for special treatment just because you think one way or the other that but a republic is supposed to be and which is ironic because we pledge allegiance to it every day but the way the school board it's more of a dictatorship thanks foreign Jeff Bailey hi I'm Jeff Bailey living J I'm a parent of a high school student here and a teacher in a neighboring District I've come to encourage you not to ban the book's genderqueer and white fragility both of which I have read our schools

012are places of learning growing and belonging we have the opportunity to continue to be that the books in question are not being assigned to students but are simply available to them in the library I would imagine that many books in the library would make some people feel uncomfortable for one reason or another and would challenge our thoughts and our beliefs being able to seek out knowledge and learn how to process information and perspectives other than our own is an important skill it is in fact a major part of producing well-educated and independent graduates and in a global world it is a job skill and a necessity white fragility is a book that I and other people in my district were offered as part of a book study group led by our principal at the time

013reading that book helped us to begin to understand and talk about the complex but important topic of race and racism in our country this board has recently made a very strong statement that racism will not be tolerated here Banning this book would send the message that we are not willing to allow those important conversations and understandings at a time where what we need to do most is try and understand the perspectives of each other Banning these books would send the message that schools are not for everyone we are a proud public school we are for all students of all Races and identities let's not ban someone's story someone's experiences nor someone's histories let's be an institution of learning compassion and understanding thank you [Applause] Patty henges thank you Patty Hedges from Livermore Falls and I

014wish to speak on the on the same subject I've been in books uh the voices of a few should not have the right to outweigh the rights of everyone else especially when it comes to the right to read books while researching what I wanted to say about the hoard idea around Banning books in general I was actually able to read a recent article in the Livermore Falls Advertiser by Pam Hardin discussing the prospects of this very meeting the article mentions one local individual whose objections on the books titled genderqueer and Memoir and I'm paraphrasing here to the subject of gender identity but more so on the actual display of sexual act in the book and to give a nod towards the individual and to the objections of a high school book discussing sexual activity but

015on the other hand I will not even Hazard a guess at how many books in any Library deal with the anxiety anxiety of young adults growing up and having to deal with that very subject and to be honest while this book genderqueer does delve into this very subject in a very unusual manner benefits of the book and the way the characters deal with such a sensitive issue far outweigh any negative connotations around the part sexual activity I cannot believe that we actually have to discuss whether or not to ban any book based on any subject are we going to regress and start Banning any book that anyone has any objection to I certainly hope not do I need to point out further that just because a few individuals object to any book and I emphasize

016any book for any reason that does not give those individuals the right to deny others the privilege and indeed the necessity to learn from the same books that they are objecting to again I certainly hope not but here we are discussing that very possibility have we learned nothing from history at all freedom of speech is inherently dependent on the ability of each individual to have access to all information all education and even all books the point that you do not agree with any book for any reason only gives you the right to say that you do not want if you do not have the right to take that away from anybody else yes you have the right and even responsibility to raise your child with your beliefs I am not saying that is wrong I

017am saying you can exercise your words as long as a child is a mind of living under your household I want your child reading any books for each season please deal with it And discussing what you do want to have do not right on everybody [Applause] I think that's uh Striker Adams and Kira good evening Striker Adams Livermore Falls I'm coming here to support the book genderqueer and white fragility staying in the library removing these two books would restrict uh students the access they need to form their own opinions and Views which is protected under the U.S Constitution in the First Amendment so I just be brief in that that's what we had to say that we want the book to stay in the library so that everyone has the right to form their own

018opinions and also a lot of students may not feel comfortable going to their parent or guidance counselor and this is a great way for them to have access to a self-help book thank you [Applause] Roger Moulton so first Bob I just want to disagree with your policy that I can't address a board member I'm not going to do that here tonight but I'm asking you to revisit that policy I have a constitutional right to address an elected member these are elected members and this is the appropriate place to address them I have the right to criticize them as a United States citizen constitutional case law approves it's actually a time and a place but go ahead okay we'll have the conversation later um listening to everybody that's in favor of the book you might have

019a valid argument but that same argument would apply to any pornographic material everything that you've said opens the door for Playboy are we going to bring Playboy into the school no I would hope not okay um the fact that this is is being made that we we don't want non-binary or non-cis students in books that's not the case that's just ridiculous that we're going to take that spin on this it's the graphic images that are on my shirt tonight you think my 14 year old should have this brought to them in the school library and for the ones that want to talk about a cell phone listen I can control my daughter's cell phone I can take it I can put parental controls on it my daughter's never going to need this image to call

020me an emergency okay she might need her cell phone to do that so I'm not taking away her cell phone like the librarian suggested when she handed my daughter this book it's the sexual images they don't belong I read the book committee's recommendation and I have to say I'm Blown Away in my opinion anyone involved with recommending this book belongs on a list at the town office and not anywhere near a school take into consideration the varied interest abilities and maturity levels of students D was what the book committee said the graphic novel format allows students who might need information to access it without reading Advanced material beyond their reading level are you kidding me who needs this information I didn't see much growth or any conclusion to my story so I don't understand a

021need to access this information and basically it's in comic form for younger readers or readers behind their grade grade level to read if that doesn't read a red flag to you I'm not sure you belong around children period the book is specifically at high school for high school students in accordance with reviews and awards the book has received the committee said when did we start basing our policies on reviews and awards over the content of the material in the book just because people think it's award-worthy doesn't mean it's High School library shelf worthy Worthy e they said Foster respect and appreciation for cultural diversity and varied opinions the Review Committee all felt we gained more empathy for this understanding of issues faced by non-binary people by reading this Memoir so are there no books available

022that that show this that don't include graphic sexual images I felt sad for Maya when I read the story I feel like she still lives an unhappy life and hasn't had any resolve I don't see how reading that is going to help anybody present a balance of opposing sides of controversial issues to enable students to develop a capability for critical analysis the book helps provide a perspective that begins to balance our collection overall it reflects [Applause] hopefully I'm saying this right Matthew Pepe did I get that right I'm here to speak uh oh Matthew I'm from Rumford but I attend Spruce Mountain High School I'm here to speak as a four-year member and a founding member of our school's GSA which is gender sexuality Alliance I feel that banning these books restricts kids access to

023learning about themselves and how they feel inside I think these books take a good Approach at discussing these topics without over uh over showing and over um doing it I think that these books while an interesting manner show this uh show these sexual acts in a different manner to how some think I think that it is so important for students to see these and feel normal and accepted in our school and that's all I have to say thank you Daniel Adams Pam McAllister from Jay I did not prepare as well as I should have all I can say is I just I was a teacher for 29 years and I was a reading teacher and I had a lot of books in my classroom and I bet a lot of students could have found something

024objectionable in some of those books if anybody ever came to me which only happened I think once with a complaint about a book I just said put it back get a different book you don't have to there's nobody requiring you to read this particular book and nobody's requiring anybody to read these books they're there but those people who are interested in them I absolutely think parents have a right to say what they want their children to be reading but they do not have a right to take that choice away from others [Applause] Megan Craig hi um I'm Megan Craig from Livermore and I am also here to talk about the Banning of these books I will say one thing now and I hate that I have to but I believe that it will make the

025people of our community actually listen to me I'm a straight white CIS woman I'm dripping and privileged and I want to use that now to implore you to listen to me genderqueer was written in order for the author to share your experiences and tell all who listen that it's okay to be who they are that that it's okay to not follow the social norm and and to follow their own path follow their own truth genderqueer is a beautifully written story about the struggles to do just that the struggles just simply exist when you're part of the lgbtqia plus community I work with the Youth of our community work in the elementary school two to five every day at the after school program and every day I see them Express themselves learn about themselves learn that

026it's okay to be who they are to be true to themselves it's books like genderqueer that Empower Our Youth and justify the feelings that they have and we need to keep one main thing in mind that that those being that the accusations and arguments against this book are being brought to light by person or persons who have not read this book they flip through these titles and proceeded to argue against the first slightly problematic problematic thing and questionable things and subjects that they saw they have not read these books yet for some reason they are attempting to ensure that no one else can and in doing so they are destroying the Integrity of art that our school holds we have built um we have built a community that has told all associated with RSU 73

027that it is okay to be who they are that it is okay to not be heterosexual not be cisgender and the attacks against this book The the attacks against genderqueer are just proving what we have vigorously brought up to build this book is not waving a flag or Screaming in our faces or spreading outlandish propaganda it is silently yet effectively telling us telling all who read it that it's okay to be who they are that it's okay to exist but there is one thing that is being waved like a flag and shoved in our faces and forced down our throats and that being that the hopefully just attempt at Banning this book is real our students my peers I now feel unsafe in our schools the arguments against this book are telling everyone of rsu-73

028how this community truly feels about them I walk our Halls every day and experience issues constantly that are cause for attention the question that I hold that no one can seem to answer is this why is it that amongst the racism the sexism 30 seconds amongst the slurs the bullying and harassment amongst the blatant hate crimes that are constantly being thrown through our schools why is it a book that tells our students that it's okay to be who they are a book that exemplifies that students shouldn't be afraid to express themselves is brought in front of you today your decisions tonight will tell everyone in our schools and in our town how you feel about our students genderqueer is now so much more than just a book it's a symbol and I desperately wish and

029hope and dream that it'll that is a symbol of love and acceptance and not a symbol of hate thank you [Applause] yeah horizontal I think each one as they come up should just go ahead and adjust it if you if you do that please because I think some people have a hard time hearing okay I'm gonna I'm not sure this next name uh maybe Alex profano did I say that right profenno Alex um hello my name is Alex perfenno and I live in Livermore Falls and am a proud part of Spruce Mountain High School I've come out of my shell to discuss a topic that I feel is important to me most of the people who are trying to ban genderqueers because of the graphic images the book teaches people to cope and accept themselves

030for who they are if they are part of the lgbtq plus Community I am a proud part member of the GSA and I'm part of the spectrum the images in the book are not even comparable to the contents of the everyday science and history textbooks genderqueers educational um and the books I have listed it explains what gender identity is to people who want to understand that this what the spectrum is or what experiencing the spectrum is also how friends and family can be supportive if there's any reason that you don't like the book maybe due to religion I will always respect that even though it is in the library for everyone to read it's simply not mandatory this book sends a message to a lot of people in a lot of different ways for example

031as I mentioned coping reading the book is a choice it's important to let kids such as myself learn and grow from material that has been granted by someone who is older than us having experience is very important to people who are experimenting their sexuality children not knowing about sexual contact might make some people uncomfortable but it's important to their growth I feel very strongly in this topic for multiple reasons it's been very helpful coming out to my friends and people I'm close to the other book White virginity I am not too familiar about and I have not read but I have the same amount of passion as I do for the art other book I have discussed I am a white male 14. um children not knowing oh actually um I am a male white

03214 people understanding racism is important to everyone just like it is assessing sexuality in the world racism is a huge problem and this book explains why it is that we learn Banning books that teach valuable lessons to the youth is a mistake everybody matters and everybody's beliefs matter but being considered is the number one priority to growing as a community thank you [Applause] August sender hi everyone hello everyone my name is August sender I live in Rockland and I work for out main out main is a Statewide agency that focuses on lgbtq plus Youth and supports them and their families I come to you today with a really heavy heart I woke up this morning with news of another trans kid who took their own life last night I get this news pretty often I'm

033here to speak in support of keeping the books genderqueer and white fragility in the high school library why this specific appeal is about these individual books this conversation is not just about one or two award-winning books in in a school library it is a national issue about adults who have decided to use at-risk school students for political gain regardless of the impact they may have on those students I understand that putting our lgbtq plus students on Center Stage has caught people off guard many adults are uncomfortable with the idea of people identifying as something other than heterosexual or cisgender but the reality is that more and more people are refusing to stay in the closet and more and more people are demanding equal treatments this particular Civil Rights Movement is putting our youth in the

034spotlight and honestly we have a lot to learn about from them and I really think it's time we listen to what the youth have to say let's talk statistics for a minute the 2021 Maine integrated youth Health survey data was recently released I stayed up all night analyzing the 700 page document because that's what I think is Fun the percentage of main teens that identify as lgbtq plus has continued to increase approximately 27 percent of Maine's teens identified their sexual orientation as something other than heterosexual and 6.5 percent identified as transgender or questioning their gender identity meaning in a class of 24 students eight of them are lgbtq Plus however the main integrated youth house survey also showed that less than 30 percent of these youth the lgbtq plus youth said that they don't believe

035they matter to their community why are we not talking about that why are we not talking about how less than 22 percent of lesbian gay and bisexual students and only 10.3 percent of transgender students in Maine say they feel safe in school these young people are experiencing unimaginable levels of harassment bullying and assault on school grounds the most harrowing statistic we saw on the main integrated 30 seconds was about suicidality 18 of lesbian gay and bisexual Youth and 25 of our transgender youth in High School Maine attempted suicide in this last year transgender youth particularly transgender youth of color have the highest rates of suicide compared to any other demographic these youth do not feel like the adults in their lives have their back that they are listened to that they are listened to that

036they matter or that they're worth it for them to stay alive Banning books Banning conversations about gender and race in school I'll leave it there thank you [Applause] Katie Lutz I think foreign correct on that last name yes yes good thank you sorry for the next person I'll move it down when I walk away hi my name is Katie Lutz I'm also from Rockland I also work for out Main I would like to share a brief story about representation with you regarding one of the books in question tonight a colleague of mine recently talked with a librarian who shared that a student had checked genderqueer out of their library and was returning it late when they returned it the student apologized for being late but said they wanted their father and sister to read it

037after they had because they couldn't believe how they found a book that so clearly described how they felt the student said the book was life-changing and they no longer felt alone this is an example of why we must have books like genderqueer and white fragility and other materials and resources that represent all students in schools in school libraries students must have be able to have access to information to help them learn about themselves and others as a previous educator it has always been my experience that young people are more likely to learn when they feel safe students feel safe when they're able to make connections to the things that they're reading the curriculum they're learning and other people's experiences they are more likely to engage ask thought-provoking questions and really lean into the content that's

038being presented students want to see themselves in their learning whatever that might be students have the right to feel safe in their schools first and foremost learning is Possible only after that need for safety has been met having these books available to students is a form of that safety by having these books on the shelves a message has been sent to the Youth of this community that their experiences their life their safety matters to be sure both of these books raise perspectives that may have some people uncomfortable but that does not make them inappropriate white fragility asks how we as white people need to be able to hear and grapple with the concerns and perspectives of others who are not white that effort is and foundational piece of Education both for school and life genderqueer

039is a coming-of-age story about learning to understand yourself something that teenage literature is full of neither of these books has mandatory reading but we know from experience talking to young people that they that they help some students in their process of self-discovery and learning about their larger community we'd be disappointed to see these points of view censored when these the when these in the library that is full of books that engages these broad topics the power of this board is real and the impact felt from the outcome of this decision will also be very real the decision made regarding these books will tell your young people if they matter to your community or not we must support all of our students and all of their identities and intersectionalities we must stand up and tell them

040that they matter thank you [Applause] Christy Labonte Chrissy Labonte I'm resident of Livermore and I have three children currently at the high school I am a prolific reader I'll read just about anything I've read mind Kampf but I didn't turn into a Nazi I've read Toni Morrison's beloved but I don't believe in the Supernatural I've read Bastard out of Carolina but I've not committed incest and despite reading the Harry Potter series multiple times not a wizard I value all the books I have read and the varied perspectives they've exposed me to they've taught me that the way I grew up is not the way everyone has grown up they've taught me that mental illness trauma geography values all shape who people are and who they become I come to the two books being considered tonight

041from a personal perspective three out of six of my family members are part of the lgbtq community and two out of four of my children are students of color in this school recent weeks have been emotionally difficult the increase in racist rhetoric around the school graffiti on the walls and parents yelling racial slurs at a youth football game have made it clear that there is danger here that my children are at risk in their own community it's ironic that as this problem is becoming more and more prevalent people are trying to limit access to books that may help us with discussion around the issues I am a white mom trying to parent Brown Sons when I don't have the experience I need to fully understand their position I depend on books and perspectives of others

042to research and to guide me I've read books that have been incredibly helpful and make a lot of sense to me I've read books that I disagree with and feel are hurtful to the cause and I believe it that I believe in when I've read these I've never thought get this book off the shelf I read something else I balance the perspective and I'm glad that both perspectives are available for me to judge for myself these books are not required reading they are not classroom assignments in fact if you don't want your own child reading them you can let the school know and they won't be allowed to check them out but they will be available for the students who want them and need them they need to see themselves reflected on the shelves one

043of the core values of Spruce Mountain High School is to be a school where quote from the handbook all people are welcomed and involved in an anti-bias learning environment part of the mission is to quote to provide diverse and authentic experiences the experiences in these books are just that diverse and authentic genderqueer is autobiographical it's a gender journey and it is my privilege to know a lot of kids in our school that are going through similar Journeys I hear about their internal struggles their fears the dysphoria and also about the external harassment and bullying that happens on the bus in the bathrooms in the halls and even in the classrooms and then I get to see them in the activities provided by the GSP seconds provided by the GSA by the way the largest club

044we have at Spruce with 42 active students participating to see the difference in how they present in a safe space where they can be happy Express themselves without fear or judgment is amazing I wish they could be like this in school I wish it was a safe place for all students not just white straight students please keep diverse books on the Shelf please embrace all of our students I love the school in this community and I hope that we move towards safety and acceptance for all [Applause] thank you William kenniston good evening I'm William Kennison from Livermore Falls I do not really come prepared to speak and I will say I'm not a big fan of banning books I do not really have a dog in the fight because I removed my child from this

045school not necessarily just for this school but I just don't agree with the public school system in general I think it is failing our children we continually increase our school budget and our grade scores continue to go down something is wrong the rest of the world if more money was spent and a worse job was done somebody'd be fired somebody to be held accountable you guys are failing our kids more money is being thrown and they're getting failed for you know what parents are failing their kids too I'm not going to sit here and blame all of you because that's the fact people are more consumed with their own lives their cell phones than sitting down with their kids at night and really talking to them you know that's what we have to do we

046have to talk I tell my kid my perspective I would like even make up his own mind but you know um there's a lot to unpack here but I I do disagree with maybe the graphic nature of the book I don't know anything about the white fragility book I think we're in a point in this country where Something's Happened in the last 20 years I don't recall this being a big issue when I was in school I don't recall race being a big problem I went to school with a lot of different races I went to MCI we had a very mixed bag of everything I don't recall it being a problem we had gay students I don't recall it being a big deal they just got to be gay but now everybody is just

047so hyper focused on these issues so hyper focused and you're driving things in the wrong direction you're alienating the kids and they don't even realize and maybe you guys don't even realize it maybe you think you're doing what's right I'm sure most of you probably think you're doing what's right but it's not helping it's not helping these kids everybody has the right to live their own life I don't agree with it but that's not up to me that's their life but something's happened in the last 20 years where we went from nobody cares about anything to oh it's always been racist it's always been hateful it's always been this something is happening here and you guys are not seeing it causing a serious problem let's talk about racial slurs that was never a thing when

048I was a kid nobody at a football game was yelling about gay stuff or yelling about black people we had everybody all this hyper focus is causing the problem and making it worse it's not helping you got to go back to the book somewhere and figure out what the problem is I don't remember it being a problem I had gay teachers I had white teachers nobody cared you kind of had an idea but nobody talked about it let everybody just live their lives focus on the math focus on the reading nationally 19 of Stu have high school graduates are a functionally illiterate that's what's really the problem [Applause] okay I'm probably going to mess up this last name Ellen is it Greenblatt Maybe I'm not sure my name is Ellen gruenblatt that's fine I'm a

049resident of Jay my children attended J schools many years ago um but I'm here to speak not as a parent I'm here to speak as a professional I was a physician at umf for 25 years and for the last 14 years I have been a counselor in the community I have talked to countless adolescents and the adolescence that I see who are struggling the hardest who are the most depressed who are the least able to engage and feel that they can express what is happening to them are kids who are lgbtq Plus particularly transgender kids particularly kids who may not have identified who they are and don't have the words to explain the process that they're going through a previous speaker spoke to kids in this category not feeling safe being harassed having suicidal thoughts

050and the actual suicide rate among students who are lgbtq is four to six times higher than other adolescents and I think we have to be concerned that we do everything we can to ameliorate the misery these kids are in and to give them the words to communicate what they're going through I can help if a student can talk to me you can help if a student can talk to you teachers can help peers can help but you have to have the words and if you don't have the words in your environment you get them from books that's why we need these books thank you I'm not sure on this one uh chain Bean or Bran or or June I'm not sure um oh not June my name is Steve bien my handwriting used to be

051better I'm a resident of Jay and a physician in Farmington so this book genderqueer was written as a graphically Illustrated Memoir that covers the difficult but important topic of gender identity to quote Publishers Weekly this heartfelt graphic Memoir relates with sometimes painful honesty the experience of growing up non-gender conforming I don't agree that it should be pulled from the library doing so would be would declare this topic and this experience off limits and taboo and would be a terrible disservice to our students some of whom confront this issue among them friends or in themselves these students need a place and resources for their thoughts and searchings they are not served by isolation or shunning this book is not pornography pornography is designed to sexually excite and nothing more this book's main character has no sexual

052interest she doesn't even want to date indeed this lack of interest is at the core of Maya's social problems how does a person interact with others when they have no interest in Romance Maya's book opens the idea that people can function without sexual interest or identity this is hardly the makings of pornography yes there are a few pictures of genitals among the hundreds of illustrations in this book but the drawings are no different from what you find in standard sex ed and health textbooks if this is pornography then so is every health book that touches on sexual and pubertal information and every art book with human anatomy are we to pull those from the shelves yes parents can and should decide what books enter their homes but not books which books should be in our

053library that is for our librarian and the other professional staff in the school if we start pulling books based on parent discomfort where does it end sex ed books how about books about gender books about race religion politics to books on Evolution offend Banning this book will just be the beginning of an endless slippery slope thank you Jane Costa Jane cost from Jay a lot of people have more or less said what I had wanted to say so I'll keep it brief white fragility basically is written by sociologist a professor who talks about how racism anti-black racism in America is a social construct it was designed and invented by white supremacists to maintain white supremacy in America we all know the history there when the slave ships first arrived in 1619 and we have been

054fighting this problem of racism ever since white fragility is just the idea that racism as a construct as something that was designed by a certain group of people that those people who represent that group have a moral responsibility to try to help with their problem of racism racism isn't just a black problem racism is a white problem it's all our problem and so many people take it personally they feel as though someone is calling them racist or implying that somehow they're racist because they feel uncomfortable that whole idea of fragility uh that they feel uncomfortable talking about racism and that's the whole point of the book is that we have to talk about racism that everybody has to talk about it and it's really all of our responsibility to open up those channels of communication

055to discuss where we're at um as far as the genderqueer book again parents already have the right to decide what their children will read and take out from the library that's already a school board policy that's been in place for many years these books have been on the shelves in this building for many years and there's never been an issue but all of a sudden there is the book genderqueer is 243 pages long there are three squares on three pages that I can understand people would be uncomfortable with definitely I totally understand that but you have to look at the whole of the book people have written that that reading this book has saved their life it literally has saved them from wanting to end their life so that's power so lastly you know someone

056just mentioned um what we teach in school in grade nine all the students take health and part of the health curriculum in the Department of Education website you can look it up is human sexuality students are already learning right in the curriculum in the health curriculum about human sexuality if they take biology in grade 10 they learn about human reproduction and genetics so this is not something that students are not learning about already so I just want to encourage people to not ban books and because once you do where does it stop thank you [Applause] Leslie Geisinger hello my name is Leslie Geisinger I'm a resident of J I have two boys who are at Spruce Mountain High School I'm also an emergency room nurse which I think is relevant to this conversation I would

057also join the chorus of voices that are speaking in support of keeping these books particularly as a statement of acceptance of welcome of belonging and in the ER I see a lot of kids who are suicidal who are feeling unsafe who feel they have no place to go no acceptance and it's real and continuous and ongoing and if keeping books is one small step we can make to help these kids feel more safe more included um I think the obligation is on us and on the school district to take that step to help protect these kids thank you [Applause] last but not least Tamara Hoke I'm going to keep this brief which people will probably appreciate I imagine um my opinion is a public librarian uh sorry I'm Tamara I'm from Jay I'm the library

058director uh at the day Niles Memorial Library uh my opinion is that parents have the right to decide what is appropriate for their own children but that they do not have the right to restrict the access of others I believe very strongly that we all but especially minorities who have been historically underrepresented need to see themselves represented positively in books young people in particular need to realize they are not alone schools and in fact School libraries should be safe spaces where young people can learn about themselves and others books save lives [Applause] thank you to everyone who spoke do we have any board member comments foreign 2003 my wife Patty and I were in northern Indiana a little bit of a red State there we founded the glbt resource center of Michiana within a year

059I had 52 kids in my youth group were they all gay no were they all transgender no where are they all questioning oh yeah of these 52 kids at least half of them had been kicked out of their home at one point or another because their parents didn't understand their parents would not see them as possibly glbt gay lesbian bisexual transgender or just questioning it's a Bible Belt up there but what we offered to those kids was a chance to talk a chance to ask questions Mr benedetto of my 52 kids quite a few of them are still in touch with me and are still grateful for the space that we offered them because they did not have this in their schools they did not have this book to be able to read if I

060would have had this it wouldn't have been 35 when it finally came out I wouldn't have led a pretty miserable life for 20 years but I didn't and I had to keep closeted because I didn't know what to do at least now we have the opportunity for kids to have books such as this to read when they have questions we have teachers we have counselors who they are able to go to and talk to I would hope that there are board members here that these kids can also feel free to go and talk to if we start Banning books folks you know they talked about gays and lesbians having a slippery slope what are you going to do next you're going to start looking at our science books this is not the time to be

061banning books thank you [Applause] any other board numbers I'd like to thank Rob Taylor for his uh work on getting the Lego championships here and work the environment fun team you just handed me a thank you that he gave to all his sponsors he won't come up and look at it after the meeting thanking uh all the people that helped get them there telling where the kids uh placed and how they performed and I think this is a wonderful tribute to him and the kids and I think as you get a round of applause [Applause] one other thing I got is this past spring the National School Board Association had requested the Department of Justice to investigate comments and people who spoke at school board meetings I spoke then that the First Amendment fundamental to

062this country no one should be afraid to speak out respectfully to at a board meeting or anywhere else for that matter and I would like that respect also extended to the public and the administrators and I'll quote again my favorite historical hero Ben Franklin is the responsibility of every citizen to question authority anyone else Eva So speaking for me and many other students reading these books and specifically the pages they're talking about as I think as I wouldn't say a middle schooler is recommended to read it but as a high schooler we don't really I didn't think anything of these Pages like it's it was a great book I read the story behind it and the pictures were just like part of that story but if you were reading the words behind what like the

063author was saying then it was like like the pictures don't really matter if you're being mature about it and knowing I've read as a freshman the books you read and that are required of the curriculum are the same things with just words like so just because it's a picture I think is why it's the big issue but if you also look at the books that we're reading as freshmen sophomore junior seniors they just also have descriptions so if we're thinking about banning these books then we should definitely think about the books that we are required to read and not just an option to discover more about the author thank you [Applause] anyone else Phoebe it's no secret to most people who know me growing up I lived in a very religious home it was very

064this is the way life is no other way works that way during that time there were books that I was not allowed to read Darwin was very taboo anything that seemed out of sync with My Family's religion was automatically not okay that was my mother's right to decide what I could and could not read did I enjoy that no there were lots of books that I would have loved to have been able to obtain to read for myself especially when I had my peers talking about these books I did not have access to them because I listened to my parents I do remember every every generation seems to have at least one of these books that gets banned or is threatened to be on the Banning list I remember in fifth grade when they talked

065about banning Harry Potter I remember when they talked about banning Captain Underpants I remember when they talked about how they had originally banned Wizard of Oz I still remember because it happened three days ago someone in the grocery store telling me that we should ban Grapes of Wrath because it has sexually explicit material in it I still remember these conversations I still recall how it felt to be excluded and not allowed to have this material to read these things I'm not asking for anyone to agree or disagree with me what I am asking for is for conversations to be had with your children your loved ones we have an obligation as a community to reach out and discuss with each other these kinds of meetings although a little bit longer than what we're used to

066for public comment are important it's important for us to look at each other not as this person versus this person but these two people can coexist together as neighbors friends community members and still say I didn't like the book but that's okay I think what this community needs now more than ever is a chance to look at each other and say I see you as you are and I accept you as you are whether you're black white whether you're part of the lgbtq plus community does not matter we see you we accept you I think that's what we're missing today that opportunity for us to look at each other and say that thank you [Applause] anyone else great superintendent's report okay we had a good evening we had a zoom meeting this week to discuss

067training for staff for sources of strength which is a best practice use Suicide Prevention project I was also involved in the zoom meeting with our district council a lot of Zoom meetings this week also had a zoom meeting to discuss the hall and strong tennis court project I attended live our foster tech meeting with local superintendents I had a zoom meeting with Leah Boyd from Clarity services to discuss training for staff for de-escalating certain situations I also attended the Western Maine superintendent's meeting this past week and also last night we tended the our expulsion hearing for a student so it's been a lot of Zoom meetings in the last week questions or comments for Scott Phoebe all right um I just wanted to thank Scott for all the work he's been doing I feel like

068we don't say thank you enough to our administrators as well as our teachers so I was hoping that we could all give them a round of applause for all the hard work they do [Applause] great administrator reports Chris foreign this is a board thing right at this point so still on yep all right as you can see we have some new cameras around maybe you can't see them because they're kind of hidden um but there are two new cameras in here one up in the corner and one in the back and they're very high tech Bank Ernie Steward want to buy taxes for installing them um one of the great things is we're going to be able to use them for school boards they feed directly into our Network and then so we can live

069stream a lot easier but when they're doing plays and activities here on the stage they'll be able to use that as well and be able to live stream that because it's all hooked into the same system so it's going to be good for the high school and the and things they do as well um some of the things we have uh we're gonna have a bunch of interactive science kits coming this way uh about 63 000 worth um through a state Grant um so so it's all paid for through the state um each school is getting a number of interactive science kits that they can use uh some of them the elementary and the high school and even the Middle School some of them are even the Lego robotics kits that um that we use

070these are a little bit newer and they have some programming so so it's going to be some great you know and the kits are basically classroom sizes so you know we'll probably have a couple classroom worth in each school that they can use and and have Interactive uh and then just an update on the no coming up the next in service and November 30th in service now that nwa's have finished um all the teachers in the district um and sticking with our district goal of looking at data to improve instruction all the teachers in the district are going to be looking at some specific reports in nwea to look at where students are they'll be able to look by grade level by class and then take those students and tell which which areas we have

071the majority struggling in which where they're doing really well but also where they're struggling and what we can focus on to help with those kids that are struggling thanks questions or comments for Chris thank you thanks Laura so good evening today at the Spruce Mountain Elementary School we hosted a veterans lunch and we served 60 veterans this afternoon which was really an honor to do that I wanted to thank Pat Sinclair for organizing that as well as Doris Allen and Linda New Hall who are staff members who work in that kitchen down there for making that all happen today next week we will have our holiday meals in on Wednesday and Thursday between our four buildings um you know I have on my list here supply chain and cost but I think we all know

072what that looks like unless anybody wants to really get into what the dozen eggs is costing and multiply it by a hundred then we can really think about what what's going on we're continuing to just really get the most out of our USDA and our Commodities and really minimizing our waste and trying to keep our costs down as much as possible in the food service department and I really really want to take the opportunity to thank the staff that work in the food service department because they're really working hard today our participation is up tremendously we're we're averaging you know 950 960 lunches alone on a daily basis which are numbers that we've we haven't seen before so I know staff is working really hard with um you know every day so that's what I

073have for you unless anybody has any questions for me questions comments thank you thank you and happy Veterans Day to any veterans Ken good evening uh yeah just to follow on that I do want to say happy Veterans Day to all the veterans that are here and all the veterans that are not here that overseas thank you for your service um things are going fairly well with the facilities and maintenance over the last month we've been very busy with several items last time we spoke about we had a problem with the boiler in this building here the large boiler we've got that fixed now and it's been re-licensed so that's a great thing we also had a problem with one of the boilers or actually both the boilers at the primary school with build up

074and sludge in the tank that's you know been there for probably 30 years we've had that pumped out and that's all running very well now um maintenance crew is very busy on doing getting ready for the winter time with these buildings they've been doing so many things again I can't I couldn't name them all but I mean I mean from one of the biggest things we've been doing lately is unplugging toilets I think everybody knows here that we've been having a lot of problems with with students plugging up toilets and and that's from every school not not just to name one I mean it's pretty much all of them I mean tonight I had a major plug up at the elementary school so I guess it doesn't matter it happens everywhere um on October 27th

075uh Scott Karen bands myself and Joe Sage we all met and went over the Emergency Management plan to update that trying to get everybody's new names believe it or not over the last couple years we've had so many new people come aboard and and so we've updated that I believe and we're on on board and and we'll be heading to the next step with some more training for all the teachers and things Scott can certainly he'll elaborate on that later on um to kind of end here I want to thank a couple blessings that I've had recently and one of them is is from the employees that we have here that that's done a fabulous job being short-handed often and and really no control on it because of sicknesses uh uh just can't find people

076to come to work um you know we've had five or six people that really stepped ahead and I just want to thank them for that and we've also also had a couple Outsiders that have come and worked time for us it's it's been a total blessing second great blessing for me that's started kind of today is thank God the political negativity on the ads on TV of OVA you don't have to listen any more of this that's a great thing um and I'll end in a quote from Anita ruddick who's a British business person if you think you're too small to have an impact try going to bed with a mosquito in the room questions comments thank you Norma hello I also want to say happy Veterans Day my daughter's birthday is tomorrow and she's

077also a veteran so I'm pretty proud of that um a few just a few things the transportation has been up to the Trunk or Treat was amazing thanks to the local community and our drivers custodians jmg high school students NHS students they did a fantastic job um the community definitely came out and made that even more special for us we're already thinking of ideas for next year um we I put a 2002 GMC pickup four-wheel drive out for bid we updated some cameras on the buses made an extraordinary difference updated those with viewing an audio in the transportation department along with Zach Keane who asked me about jmg they would like to use one of the buses to fill the bus for the holidays for the local community on November 22nd I talked to Pat

078Sinclair he gave me permission to pack it on his lawn and we'll start at nine o'clock in the morning taking a drive-through donations for that um the JM students this year are amazing they have great class and they're willing to do anything basically in volunteer and do community service which is great to see from young kids um they've already made Flyers we'll stop posting those soon around town and I'll contact the local businesses also to advertise for us so we also I also found out through the um Federal Motor carriers Association that I can train my own school buses as long as I'm not school bus drivers as long as I'm not charging a fee so I've bought those materials and so that's some great news right now is sitting pretty good we could use

079some spare drivers but um it was cost saving to say the least so that's about it that's all I have to report questions or comments for normal Maybe so I did bring my son to the trunk or treat and he had the most marvelous time there everybody was just having so much fun like if nobody else in this room went it was the picture of adorable like all the kids were there they're all laughing having a great time even little goats and everything like you couldn't have asked for a better Hallmark card honestly thank you anyone else thank you thank you Robin good evening on the workforce side of the house our CNA students sat for their state boards on October 25th all of them passed that was our third cohort we have a 100

080pass rate for all CNAs and we'll be running the next CNA class in January after winter break the current medical assistant cohort is gearing up for clinical placements we work very closely with Franklin Memorial Hospital to ensure that students have a varied experience during their rotation within the medical practices ranging from Orthopedics Urology day surgery to Pediatrics Family Practice that way the students can confidently apply for an open job and they know the expectations and the environment that they'll be working in one of the questions that I'm frequently Asked is why we're not running more cohorts a year I think that's a really great great question each student must complete 160 clinical hours in the hospital on top of the 16 weeks of instruction that they receive at our location it's extremely important to us

081in this partnership with Franklin Memorial that we're producing high quality candidates for their open positions and we're not over saturating the market the office providers at Franklin Memorial are also committed to this goal and they're carefully taking the time to hone each student's skills and then we're providing the career service support as they're moving into employ so Franklin Memorial has been able to retain 78 of the CNAs CMAs that we put through our Partnerships partnership since 2017. um we're hosting a job resource fair in collaboration with the Department of Labor's rapid response team I have flyers for all of you there the event will take place on Wednesday November 30th from 3 to 7 pm at our office so I just encourage you that if that flyer is not for you you can pass it

082along to someone that might find it beneficial it's geared towards the displaced workers at pixel but it's open and encouraged for all the public to attend there'll be over 40 employers there all of whom have open positions and I just can't say enough good things about working with Mike Castaneda from the rapid response team he's a former displaced mill worker and he's dedicated to making this event happen with us so a big thank you to him lastly our culinary Cafe will be wrapping up on November 17th and students will take their ServSafe kitchen manager certification exam on December 1st a big thank you to the Spruce Mountain staff local businesses and community members who continue to support this initiative the students have had a great learning experience running the cafe and serving you so if

083you haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet Tuesday and Thursday are our last days and I will say that food is phenomenal I really enjoyed it I agree if you haven't gone gone please do check it out any other comments questions thank you thank you happy Veterans Day okay I I do want to also say happy Veterans Day and I'm going to choke up on this one my oldest boy is a veteran he's in a wheelchair as many of you know and he suffers from severe PTSD as a lot of our veterans do and a lot of them hide it so just show some compassion when you see that person out there that might be wearing that Vietnam hat might be wearing whatever and uh it it it would mean a lot to

084many many people the other thing I want to say and Phoebe stole a little bit of my thunder but that's okay tonight this board has a very unenviable task of making a decision regarding books I always thought that determining whether a child should be expelled from school or not was probably the hardest thing but no I think this is very very difficult um as I look out here I look down this Ward I see friends I see family members I see my neighbors I see community members and whatever this vote is tonight I don't know what it's going to be I don't know which way it's going to go but we're still going to be family we're still going to be neighbors we're still going to be community members and I really hope that we're

085still going to be friends on to new business and entertain a motion to enter into executive session to discuss their personnel matter pursuant to one MRSA 4056a motion by Phoebe second Tasha and roll call please yes where the board is going to go into the conference room everyone here can stay if they'd like I don't know back in session at 7 32 at entertain a motion to accept the superintendent's nomination of Katie masteen to the position of special education teacher at Spruce Mountain Middle High School by Phoebe second Chantel any further comments seeing none roll call please yes so moved and we are going to I'm going to ask for a motion for another executive session but before we go in after we make this vote we're going to take a five-minute recess to take

086care of some needs and entertain a motion to enter an executive session to discuss legal rights and duties of the school unit pursuant to one MRSA 4056e by Phoebe second Chantal roll call please yes yes yes we're back in session at 8 31. who didn't want to like to make a motion regarding genderqueer was that part of discussion motion first then let no okay sorry that's my my apology so before we make a motion I do want to let everyone know that the board received both books uh with plenty of time to be able to go through them they also received the committee's recommendations had a chance to go through those and also the complaints so we've been able to see all of that in trying to make our decision so the process here is

087we're going to let someone from the complaint side speak first on we're going to talk about gender career first and then after they speak then it'll be the person from the committee and then also superintendent Albert and in this case I'm going to ask for a five minute time limit on everything so starting out Sherry Willette thank you very much for letting me speak tonight my problem with genderqueer is twofold there are pornographic pictures depicted in this book pornography has no place in our schools we do not allow kids to bring Playboy magazine to school so why should we allow a book that has gay sex in it on our shelves one argument I have heard over the past few weeks is that parents can opt out and that's true but what stops a kid

088from checking the book out of school bringing it on the bus showing it to the kid next to him or the kids in front of him my nine-year-old niece or her six-year-old brother you can't stop that and I don't want my six-year-old nephew to see a book like this at his age my second point is this letting students believe that they can change their sex is misleading and harmful for two years we have heard people say follow the science the science is this you are either XX or x y and that cannot be changed no matter how much you wish it hope it how many hormones you take how much surgery you have you are either XX or x y until the day comes and I hope it never does that a doctor can change

089genes it is unfair to convince kids that changing genders will fix all their problems a 30-year Swedish study which I have here shows that transgender persons who transitioned have a suicide right a suicide rate three times higher than their peers body dysmorphia and gender confusion are complex psychological issues that have no place in our schools our kids are here to learn math reading science I agree that I want our kids to have a safe place to to learn but I want them to learn the right things I want them to learn math reading science I want them to not be two years behind like we are because of the pandemic does anybody have any questions oh and I also have one other thing if you look on Amazon for the book genderqueer it says for

09018 and up I'd be happy to pass on this study if you're interested does anyone have any clarifying questions okay what's that you have a little bit more time that's all I have on on that on that one okay thank you thank you TJ good evening school board members in Spruce Mountain High School and Community the community review the book gender queer and concluded that this book should not be taken out of the high school library the following is the committee's belief as to how the book is aligned with the library selection process first we took into consideration the varied interest abilities and maturity level of the students served this graphic novel format allows students who might need the information to access it without reading Advanced material beyond their reading level the book is specifically

091at a high school for high school students in accordance with the reviews and awards the book has received we found that it Fosters respect and appreciation for culture diversity and varied opinions the Review Committee all felt we gained more empathy for in an understanding of issues faced by non-binary people by reading this memoir we felt that give that it gives comprehensive accurate and balanced representation to minorities and women in History Science Leadership in the Arts and acknowledge the contributions of ethnic religious and cultural groups to our American heritage all students deserve to see the see themselves reflected in the library materials not just cisgendered or majority students we also felt that it present a balance of opposing sides and controversial issues to enable students to develop and capable a capability of critical analysis this book

092helps provide a perspective that begins to balance our Collective overall collection overall it reflects in experience few other books discuss stimulate if we feel that it stimulates growth in factual knowledge literary literary appreciation aesthetic value in an ethical as standards the author models a strong literary appreciation as a child Adolescent and Creator the book also gives examples of healthy cons consent in an adult relationship we also felt that it provides background of information that will enable students to make Intelligent Decisions in their daily lives we feel that this book explains the health concerns of a non-binary people such as binding in medical care and show and shares how the author was able to seek out support in conclusion the committee unanimously supports keeping this book genderqueer in the Spruce Mountain High School library does anyone

093have any clarifying questions for TJ thank you [Applause] I support the review committee's decision to keep the book genderqueer in the high school library I must say while I was reading the book it pulled at my heartstrings knowing that we have young people who truly are struggling with their identity and if having access to this book at an appropriate age can help them then I am for it the other reason I'm for having this book in the high school library is that stated by the Review Committee and stated in our policy that individual parents have the right to not allow their child to take out this book if individual parents were not given this option I might feel differently any clarifying questions seeing none now I think I'm back on track do we have a

094motion I make a motion that we accept the findings of the um what's it called Review Committee and continue to have genderqueer in the library available for students we have a motion do we have a second Chantelle any discussion Phoebe so before this had come to us or to myself I hadn't known about the existence of this book um I was given a copy to review very carefully and I did not take that lightly I read this at least four times since I was given this book um the book closes if I can say what the last sentence of the book is the book closes with this sentence that I would just like everyone to hear just this one sentence a note to my parents though I have struggled with being your daughter I am

095so so glad that I am your child I read that sentence over and over and over again I don't know a single parent that wouldn't want to hear from their child that they are glad that they're their child every child wants to be accepted for who they are whether we understand it or not and this book does have themes that I would not have been comfortable sharing with my parents I know a lot of my friends would not have been comfortable bringing up to their families or their parents either there were references to Anatomy there was references to social standings But ultimately it's a memoir it's a history of this individual and that's what history is it's a collection of all of us not just one not just a thousand but every single one of

096us deserves to have a voice and it's up to us to decide if we want to allow a voice to be heard today tomorrow and for all the other students it is not up to us to tell parents what their child can and cannot read for them that is not our job as a school board our job is to look towards what we think is best for our community as a whole and acceptance has always been at the center of what we do we accept people for who they are even if they don't accept us thank you anyone else Pat to the school board this evening to share their thoughts their feelings and to take time out of their days work whatever it is that you needed to do to be here to share what

097you needed everybody should be doing that because this is for the children that are here in the school district and it's not just for this one issue it should be for all issues and although it seems to be the hot issues that tend to bring folks out I do have some hesitations myself as a board member hearing not only everybody's comments but looking at all of the details here at play we started out as somebody had mentioned earlier this meeting say in the Pledge of Allegiance and you know there's art comes in all sorts of forms and it's very difficult for others to always perceive things the way that the artist maybe is intended and I can understand how this author wrote the book the way they did and I'm not a big fan of

098censoring anybody's content including anybody who has any opinion about this book or its images contained I do have concern about any of the imagery that's being portrayed without say a lack of follow-up sort of you know education behind it but we're we're not really discussing that here because well we've brought this book to the Limelight and so you know this isn't going to I I guess and I hear this from from everyone else too this isn't going to go away that there's objectionable potentially material everywhere that we go and I don't want anyone to feel as though my position here on the board is to prevent them from accessing any of the information that is available here at school whether I can agree or disagree with the material and uh I can tell you this

099is a very this is a very hard position to to be in um and I thank everybody for putting in the time and effort to actually come out and and hold us accountable to our policies thank you anyone else seeing none now Lord correct me if I'm wrong the motion states to accept the committee's findings on the book genderqueer did I get that close okay so just for clarification a yes vote means that the book stays in the library a no vote would mean that you want to remove the book from the library okay roll call please yes Elena yes yes [Music] no yes no the motion passes eight to four is that what you have Laura okay now looking at the book White fragility again share he's going to present on that try them

100out sorry what is a white person the premise of this book is that all white people are racist and all black people are oppressed my question is this what is a white person and who decides that my family is of French descent and my father has very dark skin in the summer Izzy black or is he White if someone has one black parent and one white parent are they black or are they White I can't answer that I can no more speak to the experience of a black person than a black person can speak to the experiences that I've had what we should be teaching our children is that with hard work ex perseverance they can be whatever they want do we really want black children thinking that they can't be successful because they're black

101of course recently we had a black president ninety percent of professional athletes are black 75 percent of the most most wealthy are Asian if we're going to have an open and honest conversation about race do we really want to start out by calling one group inherently evil as this book does saying that white people are all racist and that black people can't possibly be racist because they don't have any power as I said before didn't we just have a black president not re not too long ago I think we did people are more than the color of their skin I am more than just a white person I'm a woman I'm a Catholic I'm a conservative I'm a friend I'm a sister I'm a neighbor I'm a daughter I'm I'm not just white I am

102so much more and that's what I want our kids to learn and this book does exactly the opposite it starts out by telling them that if you are black you have no chance you're oppressed and he puts your hand out for the government to give you if you are white you are inherently bad and you need to stop bowing down to the black people well I'm sorry that's not something that I can subscribe to we don't want our children to believe that they are one thing and one thing only they are not just the color of their skin they are athletes they are smart they are funny they might have you know disabilities they might not but they you know they might be blind they might be deaf they might be all of these things

103they are not just the color of this skin and that's what this book says you are just this and no more I don't want that for our children and I hope that you don't either thank you does anyone have any clarifying questions Phoebe Claire you know ask me first okay um I wouldn't go there okay just making sure I understand I thought maybe I missed the section in there okay thank you anyone else TJ so I'm giving the report of the committee's findings the committee reviewed the book White fragility and concluded that the book should not be taken out of the high school library the following is the committee's belief as to how the book is aligned with the library's selection process first we felt that it was in rich rich in support the curriculum

104this book is not part of the curriculum but could be used as optional research material in classes such as sociology history and other discussion discussing racism in addition to other sources showing different perspectives we also felt that it takes into consideration the varied interests stabilities and maturity levels of our students that served this book is written at a level that could prepare students for academic reading material in advanced studies it may also be useful for a college course in sociology students might be taking while in high school we also felt that it Fosters respect and appreciation for cultural diversity and varied opinions we gave it we believe that it gives comprehensive accurate and balanced representation to minorities in women in History Science Leadership in the Arts in acknowledge the contribution of ethnic religious and cultural

105groups to our American heritage and we also uh felt that it present a balance of opposing sides of controversial issues to enable students develop a capability for critical analysis and this is how we felt uh as a as a mostly homeo genius population in outside perspective on racism in our society is valuable we also feel in addition to providing students with an alternative perspective on racism in our society the author also provides a wide selection of additional resources and extensive academic citations to support her ideas we also felt that stimulating growth in factual knowledge literary appreciation aesthetic value in ethical standards we feel that this book explains the historical context and ethical considerations regarding race in our society we also believe that it provides a background of information that will enable students to make Intelligent

106Decisions in this in their daily lives the committee found that the authors opinions regarding accepting feedback and avoiding defensiveness when discussing controversial issues such as racism to be personally and professionally helpful and that is why we concluded that this the committee unanimously support keeping the book White fragility in the Spruce Mountain High School library any clarifying questions Andrew I didn't even read into that so nobody brought that one up anyone else thank you I support the review committee's decision to keep the book White fragility in the high school library I've read the book and whether I or any other reader personally agree or disagree with all some none of the book is irrelevant individual students at an appropriate age level should have access to books that may or may not align to their own beliefs

107I've always been a proponent of looking at things through different lenses to gain an understanding where others are coming from the other reason I'm for having this book in the high school library is that as stated by the Review Committee and stated in our policy is that individual parents have the right to not allow their child to take this book out if individual parents were not given this option I might feel differently any clarifying questions there seeing none would someone like to make a motion I would like to make a motion to uphold the committee's decision to keep white fragility in our library we have a motion we have a second Robin with a second any comments I'm going to speak on this one although I may disagree with quite a bit in the book

108it's a point of view and for me it's something that should stay in the library for that research purpose and frankly if if a kid can get through reading that it's it's a tough but read so whoops Scott you gotta stop foreign so that's kind of where I'm at on that anyone else Ava and asking my peers what they think of of like books trying to see what the student population's opinion was to help better my vote in representing everybody I found out that most of the school has not read the book because it is a very hard read and I know most adults can't even get through it without an audio book help um just it was very hard and um so knowing that most adults found it hard as well to read it

109is mostly seen as nobody will be unlike the other book nobody's seeking out to read this book and it's been in the library for years it's been out for over five years I think I don't know when it came out 2018. it came out a while ago and it only started becoming an issue now so I don't see a reason it should leave considering nobody is going to read it unless they really want to know more about the book the book from the students thank you anyone else seeing none roll call please yes no yes motion carries okay you have your list of co-curricular other appointments on November 15th we'll have a very exciting policy committee meeting at superintendent's office at five December 8th we have a regular school board meeting the finance committee meets

110at 5 30. and you can see the two meetings in January I'd entertain a motion to adjourn Lena second Jody no discussion roll call please yes