001foreign foreign first wow it is a personal matter one of our board members had an accident there a few moments ago I apologize for delay so if you catch [Music] if you catch uh the rumor mill which seems to Prevail here lately there was no major incident at the school apologize there was no major incident at the school but through the ambulance here it was simply a falling so I would ask you to keep you keep them in your prayers so good evening the purpose of this meeting is to conduct the business of the Gettysburg area school district board of directors meetings and committee meetings are open to the public but they are not public meeting all School Board residents who wish to make public comment should sign up prior to the start of the
002meeting and request to speak at the looks of that good job you did School District residents wishing to speak the board shall do so only during citizens participation section of the meeting or it's not going to tolerate any bowed Outburst but it reminds you no matter where you feel on any opinion that was taken action on and I ask you to hold pause in any Outburst is that tonight we're going to follow our board policy letter Mr Dickerson we'll explain that when I turn the mic over to him all right good evening everyone and thank you so policy 903 dictates how we conduct our public meetings and public comment um last time we had a quite a large turnout like we do this evening and we we effectively doubled the time gave about an hour
003and 10 minutes versus 30 for public comment um we did reduce the four minutes per speaker down to two to try and accommodate the number of speakers um last week I think we uh last meeting we had 27 or 28 today we have 34. so um what we're going to do this evening is we're going to ask each speaker to please keep your comments limited to one minute so we can get through all 37 people if you feel that you cannot deliver your comments in the one minute's time you may uh you may send your full comments to board at gastpa.org and we can make sure that they are an official part of the board minutes and if we do cut off um public speech uh public comment um after the 30 minute Mark and
004we have not gotten to you please feel free to submit your comments as well and as president hassinger said I'm going to please ask again like I did last board meeting to hold your applause um there are 34 people and I would like you to please be respectful for for each speaker behind you to make sure that they get a chance to speak and have their their voice heard so we'll try and go through these as quickly and efficiently as we can um and also real quick one more housekeeping item um if you uh if you hear your name um I'm gonna announce the speaker and then I'm going to announce the next speaker behind them and if you could please be ready to come down to the podium to try and make this as
005efficient as possible thank you thank you Mike so roll call uh obviously it's parent Tim and will not be joining us here this evening all other members are here accounted for would you please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance one nation so as a matter of public record the district or the board met an executive session this evening just prior to part of this meeting relating a Personnel matter personnel Beyond communication hearing non-citizens participation and I'm just going to Echo Mike's comments we made it through covid without without people biting or yelling or screaming at people we made it over without Applause we were able to we were able to let everybody get their voice heard but we are going to follow our district policy that policy has been in place for three years we're
006not I don't want to deny anybody so you can't get here this evening we'll go on the official board minutes Mike all right so our first Speaker this evening is going to be Jennifer norright and following her will be Sarah zip to go through this uncomfortable come from the Librarians and I don't want to speak now we can't Rarity then they came for those who are not Caucasian and I do not speak out because I am a Caucasian then they came for those who are LGBT 30 seconds for those who are transgender and I did not speak out because after transgender then they came from me and there was no one left thank you after Sarah zip will be Kristen Bell thank you um the school administrators took care of any concerns about that it's
007over it's not the role that this board [Music] and furthermore [Music] share information about a personality a Personnel issue which which is not something to be to be discussed outside of the behind the behind the scenes or it's not to be discussed publicly but she did and therefore should be the removal 30 seconds [Music] and there are very few precious Seasons that they have what about every lgbtq student who has made to feel honestly the same day because of the coming from certain not all Landing members of this board and some of the people that are supporting this feature our community needs feeling uncomfortable we've become a laughing star our skills will be harmed because of the Velocity that's going to drain our resources thank you very much after Miss Bell will be David Jenkins
008housing education and public accommodations and commercial property on the basis of race color religious privilege ancestry age sets national origin familial status can detect or disability and abuse handling or training of support for God animals for disability recently thrc finalized regulations 30 seconds AP 3188 that clarify that sex includes sex assigned at Birth gender identity or expression differences in sex development and affectional or sexual orientation I want to make you aware that it is unlawful that that discriminatory actions against an individual on the basis of sex it is if anyone would like information about phrc the ways the agency Works to ensure pennsylvanians can live work and learn free from discrimination for you are interested in learning or about our local advisory Council please reach out to me you can visit phrc.gov I am speaking
009on behalf I'm gonna I'm gonna ask the audience and this is the first time ma'am here one minute please be courteous of the other people we will cut this off at 30 minutes please be respectful of everyone's time [Music] well well unfortunate well here we go and this is what we're going to do we did before if we want to Heckle we want to we want to be disrespectful whether you agree or don't agree I'll provide the first notice second notice I'm going to ask you to leave or grown adults in here and we better start acting and that's across the ball please time is The Talk coach H gender identity makes no difference and should not be considered next is the quality of coaching provided I think this is really important it's pretty easy
010to understand what that is look at the stats and take a survey of our current and past players and you'll have the answer what's really important is the safety of our children and protecting their privacy adults should not be watching our kids change clothes nor should they be changing their clothes in front of them there's zero reason for this this is about protecting our kids again protecting our kids I implore you establish a policy pertaining to the bathroom and locker room use require adults to use separate facilities build changing privacy stalls like you have in a a department store where students can change their clothes with privacy and dignity vote no on reviewing the AIDS contract for these reasons to protect our kids safety and privacy and protect our kids from any further sexual harassment
011per the school board policies it is your responsibilities to maintain a safe positive learning environment for all students do the job protect our kids keep it safe vote no thank you thank you after Sean Fitzgerald I have a gentleman named Ronald and I'm sorry that I can't read the writing it's g-r-i-z Ino no worries thank you my name is Sean I'm the associate pastor of First Baptist Church Gettysburg what we're facing is this evening is a war of World Views it starts with a teacher who believes that he is a woman and I disagree that he is still a man and both are welcome to each worldview because this is still America these World Views violently Clash because we're told that if we don't love them then we must hate them if you don't affirm
012a coach you must hate the coach you don't defend our daughters you must hate our daughters so if hate is the problem then the answer is love Darkness cannot drive out Darkness only light it could not drive out hate only love who I will not hate those who hate me this evening I will not hate the coach though I do not affirm him I will stand and say that an adult change in the locker room with minors is morally wrong and that the teacher is presuming upon our daughters this is crossing the line not by being a woman by by exposing himself to our daughters and I petition this board not to hate this man but to love our daughters and defend them I solemnly warn you this evening not to fear man but to
013fear God whom you will have to give an account to on the last day of the decision you make tonight thank you thank you um after Ronald will have Wanda Gilmore if I was doing dress and expose myself in front of one of your daughters or granddaughters I would be arrested thrown in jail labeled a sexual predator and not be allowed anywhere near the school to work I do not want a man dressed as a woman coming into my daughters or granddaughter's locker room or bathroom and traumatizing them this is a right and wrong issue and every one of us has been given a conscience to know this if he was told not to enter the locker room or bathroom and he did not abide by this rule of law then he shows no respect
014for the Lord or our children has lost his right to work here if he threatens to sue you then we will sue him for traumatizing our daughters I know of two national White Law Firms that will take this case in a minute without charging you a penny I hope that anyone agreeing with me will stand up and support the rights of our children over the rights of one person who needs our prayers and the knowledge of a God who loves him and created him to be a man thank you for letting me speak and may God bless all of you after Miss Gallimore Andrea wicker him several decades decade that gives freedom to any adult to choose how they want to present themselves to the public what we are facing in this present situation is
015not giving our youth freedom to have decent respect and private my question is if we open this door what will be next I am sure you can understand concerns and what will follow because of what is already taking place in public schools across our nation against the wishes of many parents many students and teach evidence by teacher resignations and the increase of home and Private School attendance our students do not need full exposure to a culture that goes against nature and science itself what they do need is stability reinforcement of decent public standards and to be educated not indoctrinated necessary to be successful in life this situation is not about adults using what they want for themselves it's about forcing young people to accept a standard that is bold more than anything our students need
016to be exposed to true after Andrea wickerham Carol rebert for allowing me and members of our community to speak once again on this topic I attended the August 7th board meeting and I spoke at the August 21st board meeting in support of approving the supplemental contract for cochiate I like many were disappointed that you took no action at that time this evening you must put forward a motion take a public vote and approve the contract let our community know how you feel on this matter the girls tennis team has been without a head coach your decision must be based on the facts and the evidence of this case and this case alone do not be influenced by board members Myers and her attorney drawing fear-based analogies to Jerry Sandusky or to the events in Loudoun
017County Virginia or to threats regarding mandatory reporting requirements in Pennsylvania the matter before you is none of that please consider the facts in this case what you know in this case and consider previous decisions if any you may have made on other Personnel matters but please make it thank you very much this evening after Ms Rieber we will have Kathy Griffin good evening my name is Carol Robert a resident of the Gettysburg area school district spoke to the board was in December last year when I donated books for Mom's for liberty for each of the elementary libraries fortunately this comment is not in such happy terms there are several issues of concern to me the Oxford dictionary defines common sense as good sense and sound judgment in Practical matters an example of Common Sense tells
018me it's good to look both ways before crossing a street burn adult to enter a locker room where minor students who are potentially in a state of undress is not practicing common sense when principal Lusk a mandated reporter became aware of these accusations was a report filed with childline or another appropriate agency or did he just confirm with other administrators specifically athletic director Casey Thurston who is also a mandated reporter and decided to file a letter of concern these allegations were enough concern to be placed in Yates personnel file his response was essentially on my bad I'll try to do better I feel the concerns of these minor students were at a minimum ignored and at the worst themed Liars shame on Coach Chase for thinking this is acceptable behavior shame and Jeremy luskin Casey
019Thurston if they failed to file a complaint with childline or other appropriate agents about these actions unless a shame in all of you present at the August 21st board meeting who failed to even consider after Miss Griffin will have Ariat Merritt Mart hello and thank you for allowing me to speak I'm listening to everybody here from the last meeting in this meeting and moving forward I like everybody else are tired of the adult games the administration have left our students down here in the school district some of the board members the same way other ones are fighting for our children in the school system has anybody taken the time to ask the students the tennis girls everybody else in a girls sport what their thoughts are I have yet to hear anything really of what's
020going on with them it is their school it is their locker room it is their bathroom this board and administration are being silenced of the truth there's cover-ups going on here and we need to find out what's going on I haven't heard everything I want to know what's going on there are certain board members that are standing up and fighting for the girls and the boys the same way we and I myself are and I stand behind them a hundred percent proud of what they're doing but what do the students think of the situation if they come up against the situation again it happened three times what do you know it's going to happen a fourth guarantee it will happen so we need to find out their opinions thank you thank you [Music] welcome a
021new grandchild this week as I snuggled with this perfect little new human being I thought about what do kids really mean I think all children need to grow up with love and safety trust inclusion acceptance possibility and the real freedom to live their truth as a psychologist I've seen lives change for the better when when struggling teens have a supportive adult one or more in their lives a supportive adult is just how families and student athletes described coach Yates last time that's exactly what we need I'm sure this situation is having a direct and indirect negative effect on the mental health and well-being of our all of our students our student athletes faculty their staff and my heart goes out particularly to the district lgbtq plus Community we shouldn't sacrifice our school community in order
022to serve the minority behind this misguided effort so I believe your choice is clear and and I hope that you agree to renew the contract thank you thank you after Dr um Dalton we have Bob Beth thank you very much my name is Sonia Del tradachi and a previous speaker had asked what do students think about this issue I want to speak as a parent in The District parent of two students on the tennis team my older son was the captain of the men's team after playing on it for four years he graduated this spring my younger son is 10th grade and was on the team last year will begin my son was also the manager of the women's tennis team for several years my children have attended over 400 tennis practices with Coach Yates
023her behavior has been nothing but appropriate supportive friendly and professional my children love tennis High School athletics is hugely important for children and finding a supportive coach is something that can make or break a high school experience I'm also speaking as a physician I'm a doctors area I work with lgbtq people I teach about transgender Health at the York Hospital Residency program I know a lot about transgender issues and transgender Health knowing being near being a colleague of being a student of a transgender person does not hurt you it is not traumatizing for you it does not hurt our society to have transgender community members and neighbors it does not hurt our children what hurts our children is discrimination against transgender people in our community and against transgender staff members thank you very much after
024Mr betz we have Steve smyers but this isn't an issue of board policy this is a question of Law Pennsylvania crimes code Title 18 6301 States whoever being over the age of 18 and upwards by any act corrupts or tends to corrupt the morals of any minor less than 18 years of age and who AIDS abeds entices or encourages any such minor in the commission of any crime or who knowingly assists or encourages I would say that anybody that agrees that an adult male being in the restroom with any minors let alone female minors is an accessory to a crime a male going into the restroom with minors as a crime this isn't a question of transgender it's a question of predatory behavior this is grooming behavior that has gone on for years and needs
025to stop Matthew 18 6 would tell us if anyone causes one of these little ones those who believe in me to stumble it would be better for them to have a large Millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea Dr Steve smyers we have Martin AutoZone sorry thank you my name is Marcus Myers my wife is Michelle no she does not always speak um a coach's side is making this all about his status of wanting to be female this isn't what it's about it's about his transgressions in the bathroom in locker room it's transitioning is only relevant an excuse for his actions Title VII does not cover misconduct which is what this is this is misconduct it doesn't have anything to do of his transitioning status quota the
026administration to put it nicely made errors in handling this the whole way down the line to the board please don't compound this probably 30 seconds hiring them back and then having to try to fire him again because he's doing something else which he will it's just a matter of time and there's a taxpayer in this District there are some things I will pay money for that includes defending a lawsuit if that happens one of those uh the right standing up and doing the right okay especially for the girls and the female students that don't need to be subject to adult males and female spaces please don't bend the knee to the tyranny of the Moon thank you after Mr Otto Zimmerman we have Melissa Rosenberg I apologize I can't read the last part evening I'm
027Dr Martin Otto zimmen I'm the senior director of continuing education at United Lutheran Summit I think everybody in this room loves their kids and we all want what is best for them I know the well-being of students is a top priority of the school board it's our interpretation of the matter that makes things complicated I know Sasha Yates and I know that God loves hurt I know she is not a threat to the well-being of students I am indebted to cochiate for walking with my daughter Chelsea difficult times in her life she has indicated that she will change clothes in a place apart from the students of whatever concern people had about this matter should be settled Sasha Yates has the the tremendous coach qualities that we should want in a coach she's a mentor
028to students who need someone to provide care and support in difficult times please restore her to her position at the high school you will send a deeply resounding positive message to students faculty staff and parents thank you thank you after Miss Rosenberg we have Carrie Russell can my time start now uh my name is Melissa I'm a social worker therapist in the community I'm a mother to a tennis player and have been a mother to athletes the Gettysburg School District last um almost 10 years um the first thing I want us to remember is everyone in this room has people who are in the lgbtq plus Community either their neighbors or their family members nieces nephews whoever they may be their children's friends so let's please be respectful not misgender people and use people the
029names that they choose as a social worker one of the strongest parts of my code of ethics is to honor the dignity and worth of all people so I think that's really important to remember as we all sit here together that we all are important and we all have meaning um this month is suicide prevention month we spent a lot of time talking about suicide statistics for lgbtq plus Community I want to take a moment just to recognize that we had three suicides three friends in our schools that um really touched Our Lives October 16 2021 Jaden milter October 28 2022 Xi'an green October 9 2022 Riley horn these are our Gettysburg children these are our students these are our children's friends please respect and honor these children and respect the people here and let's
030keep our tenant after Ms Russell we'll have Molly Heaton with 19 years of experience in civil rights litigation so I'd like to speak to the board's Authority and legality with regards to this matter the Pennsylvania public school code does authorize school boards to make athletic employment decisions if and only if an Athletics rule has been violent absence of violation the board has no authority to obstruct coach 8 contract second as others have said state and federal law prohibit gender discrimination and the Supreme Court has held that transgender individuals are included in such protection singling out a single transgender coach for an action that I know from my students many other coaches take going into the long terms of their gender is an act of discrimination the Civil Rights Act provides for attorneys fees punitive damages
031and numerous remedial damages obstruction of Cochise contracts would be unauthorized illegal and subject the district to immense potential liability approving the contract is the right and necessary action under federal and state law thank you after Miss Heaton we'll have Adam Michael good evening my name is Molly Heaton and I'm a member of the girls tennis team this was my first year on the team in my first experience experience playing I was nervous nervous that it might be hard to pick up so late but coach Yates was very supportive I can say from experience that she fostered a positive culture conversely is a member of this school board who has made specific attacks against Gettysburg high school students on Facebook and has used her platform to attack the trans Community even before there was any question
032about the conduct of Coach Yates she has further allowed our team to be left without our trusted and trained coach many of you haven't had the pleasure of meeting coach Yates as someone who has been coached by her it is clear to me that this matter is a question of that this matter is not a question of her character as much it is an attack on her identity I am proud to be here tonight supporting coach Yates because she is truly an advocate for all students thank you thank you after Adam Michael we'll have Yoko nishimura so I'm Adam Michael I'm a youth pastor over at St James but a lot of you probably know me better as a sports writer for the last 15 years I attended a lot of basketball games in the
033district and I also drink a lot of Diet Pepsi so after hearing everyone's concerns about a bath adults using the same public bathroom as kids I need to make some apologies because I did that a lot uh I keep hearing the board say that the situation with Sasha Yates isn't a trans issue so I guess that's an Unwritten rule that I was in violation of without knowing it I'm kind of surprised they let me cover games here so long anyway now that I got that off my chest I wanted to let you know I agree that we should be concerned about who who uses the locker room while kids are changing and 11 months ago the athletic director and administrations team to make it obvious that the district is concerned as well when it warned
034cochiates that she would be fired any further action in this regard since then everything I've heard that coach Yates has done has been a fantastic job coaching kids on and off the tennis courts for the last 11 months thanks in part to you guys rehiring her in the spring that brought that brought you plenty of time to write the policy you'd hope to enforce I am looking forward to seeing how you guys are doing with that by the way this is what I loved about athletic director Casey Thurston for 15 years she helped coaches and players set goals then set boundaries to help people achieve those goals thank you Mr Michael up next is Tristan Smith after Charlotte eurosinski girls team over the past two years I made efforts to get to know the head
035coach Sasha and the sport teams that she has created it was obvious that Sasha is an excellent role model and the students who know Sasha look up to her because they could they constantly see her being fair to everyone and staying positive even in difficult times we need excellent Educators like Sasha especially around teenage boys and girls Sasha teaches her students indispensable values and attitudes that they needed to acquire so that they will be successful in this country when they grow up it is painful to see the girls tennis team without their head coach for already two weeks children are watching our actions too we must show our children that we can also do the right thing thank you thank you after Charlotte will have Tristan Smith [Music] in recent weeks I've struggled with this
036after what happened to me many years ago at the hands of an adult when I was a child an adult who was to be trusted I know how destructive it is to a child I was urged to keep quiet go on with my life and pretend that nothing happened despite the evidence violation is violation regardless of the degree I will be looking for a public statement from each of you as to whether or not you think it's inappropriate for any adult to be present in a changing room with minor students who are in their own private spaces silence will not suffice it would appear that there's been too much of that already equally important is when trust is violated that it be dealt with promptly on behalf of the children in my opinion a responsible
037adult who chooses to work with children would not put themselves in a compromising situation regardless of Talent OR skills when that happens poor judgment is at play and certainly not in the best interest of the children thank you Charlotte after Tristan Smith will have Mike hi my name is Tristan Smith and I'm a senior at the high school and the rising team captain for the boys team and the team manager for the girls due to coach Sasha's absence I have been single-handedly coaching the girls team sees while tennis is my passion I have no experience coaching it or the time for such a commitment I am 17. but I'm doing this because it's what needs to be done because the girls need their season because this board won't allow our coach to do what she
038does best taking the time and the kindness to provide us with a healthy safe environment to learn tennis the issue of Coach Sasha simply changing her attire in the girl's locker room was promptly resolved that she was given a key to use the private restrooms used by the officials there's no validity in the disgusting claims I've heard about my coach I truly don't believe a commotion of this gravity would have occurred if for example a cisgender male coach happened to be changing the same locker room as his fight I cannot stand here and refuse to acknowledge that blatant transphobia is the main motivation behind this motion I'm sure I speak for all of us players when I say that coach Sasha not only respects all of our personal boundaries she accommodates and Advocates more than
039anyone I know for us as players as human beings thank you thank you after Mike flattery we have Dino Louie Mike flattery I did want to clarify that uh what was reported that happened and I know you guys can't talk about Personnel issues but coach Yates was in a locker room and my daughter was there as well and she wasn't aware that somebody felt uncomfortable because coach Yates went a corner of the locker room and changed her top now I agree that shouldn't happen and I think several people have mentioned that you should be protecting our children you should have a policy you don't have a policy for four weeks you sat on this should have should have resolved this longer coach Yates had streams of accolades from her team and that seems to be
040ignored it seemed to be a no-brainer that you would hire her back now I know that people are are afraid of transgender people they are protected by the Pennsylvania human relations Commission and some people just want to go empty their pockets and pay for a lawsuit thank you very much after Miss Lowey we have Maria Fernandez I'm reading a much hotter Kim I was a varsity player captain and manager for the tennis team all four of my high school years Sasha coached mentored and supported me throughout the duration of my time at Gettysburg I can personally attest with full confidence and much experience that Sasha is an outgoing positive and wonderful person who uplifts those around her and breeds a more inclusive welcoming and fun environment and community during my junior year as the number
041one singles player on the varsity team I began to suffer from a wrist injury not only did this injury come with physical limitations and discomforts but I started to exhibit mental distress I was afraid of the pain as well as disappointed and frustrated with myself I started feeling like um I stopped feeling like myself and started to hate my time on the court no longer finding fun in the sport I'd played my entire life Sasha not only cared for my physical well-being but considerably more so from my mental well-being even after the pain stopped and I had physically recovered I continued having mental struggles Sasha cared for me my health and my happiness above all avoiding me breaks affirmations and constant support could you thank you very much could you please submit that to the
042board we'll make sure it's included in its entirety and his board minutes after Maria Fernandez will have Nell Matthews thank you good evening I'm Maria Fernandez and the mother of Carmen and Nico they are in the tennis teams in them there's some boys team nobody ever asks any input from us as parents about Sasha as coach nobody ever said anything to us that there was something going on and when we act they told us that there was a personal issue that couldn't be the start we understood that but for our surprise that personal issue has been discussed leaked to the media and spill all over the Internet just to justify your Witch Hunt and your to find support this is illegal and for my understanding Immortal apart from that you have been insulting us you
043have been lying to us trying to make everybody believe that you are trying to protect our children you can't protect them from bullying from hate speech from cyber bullying from drugs from firearms from underage sex from discrimination those things are happening in our school no adult has a place in the bathroom with the kids where do the children go when they go to a Taylor Swift concert or to a Penn State [Applause] game do they hold their feet in the great home I don't think so uh what you are doing Sasha is yeah thank you very much thank you sir uh no Matthews will have Lance window good evening in the past two weeks I've been able to process some information brought forth and delve into some online forums while reflecting on the issue at
044hand one of those online forms is called Redux redux's vision statement is pro-woman pro-child safeguarding and anti-bull most of the second if not no wrong if not all the posts are transphobic Michelle smyers was interviewed by Redux and she made a couple of incendiary statements about Coach Yates all the while claiming she is not against coach Yates being a transgender woman coach Yates used the girls bathroom because she identifies as a woman Sasha has not gone through gender transformation over the past year so that she could use the girl's bathroom that's time thank you no I you you're wrong you've got to be wrong okay seconds is up next that wasn't two minutes you get one minute thank you very much Lance Windish folks lower the temperature guess what I got the stopwatch [Music] can
045we please stop pretending that this is about bathroom use please as an educator who has worked at every single School in this District in some fashion I can tell you for a fact that many adults have used restrooms belonging to children because there is no other recourse at the time as far as I know any further transgressions have been have been stopped here might be afraid of what Sasha Yates represents I understand that it's it's it's understandable to be afraid of what you don't understand what is not okay is to let that fear transform to intolerance and bigotry and hatred love thy neighbor as thyself and do unto others as you would have them do unto you after Miss Riggs we'll have Ben kennedy my apologies I have laryngitis I'm going to try to get
046the here of my after the last school board meeting one of you told me that the delay and Coach H's contract had nothing to do with her trans status but rather that there were serious Personnel matters to consider my understanding is that those Personnel matters had to do with locker room and bathroom use as we've been discussing and as was said earlier tonight these matters were settled they were resolved appropriately by the school's Administration however it appears that these concerns have now become a spokescreen behind which some of you are taking cover as you keep coach Yates from coaching the only legitimate reasons for not rehiring code Shades or that she's either engaged in some egregious behavior that has not yet been revealed or is doing a poor job as as coach I don't believe
047either the school's athletic director or the principal or the superintendent would have brought forward their recommendation to renew coach hates his contract if either of these things were true there is still an opportunity to rectify this thank you by renewing coach H's I'm going to take a moment now your first warning on this side over here the one in the white the black and the gray has been issued if there's another outburst if there's any intimidation if there's any comments that are not from the public thing I'm going to ask you to leave we're done we're gonna act like adults I gave you an opportunity now if you can't I'll settle the problem after Mr Kennedy we have a I can't read it oh it's bold all right okay thank you Mr Dickerson I am
048watching your uh yellow sheet there I am reading on behalf of my son Paul who is competing at a cross country meet my name is Paul Kennedy and I am currently a 10th grader at Gettysburg area high school and a member of the tennis team I would like the board to note that I frequently enter the bathrooms while a staff member is using them and that coaches are frequently in the locker rooms I would also like the board to think back to the stories you have heard from all the people coach Yates has helped in her time here she has helped me every member of the tennis team and so many others coach Yates has done nothing wrong to anybody and terminating her only serves to harm the student body and prevent her from making
049a positive impact in any other Gettysburg students life I urge you to do the right thing for the students and reinstate her as Head tennis coach thank you after Elijah we have constant Starbuck Elijah all right Miss Tarbox then and Miss Tarbox you're up [Music] he's making she's making out loud yeah hi I'm Constance Tarbox I'm the parent of a trans kid I know a bunch of trans kids I know trans kids who are watching this on the video feed who are hearing a trans person be misgendered and misnamed the kids are watching there are so many trans kids at this school they don't feel safe some of them don't feel safe talking they won't come they're watching at home please listen to the tennis kids who love their coach give them their coach back
050the bathroom issues resolved if you're worried about a trans woman going into the women's restroom it's because you don't understand what it means to be transgender thank you thank you Paul kellett and after Mr kellett we have Lauren Gene Griffin [Music] I apologize you hadn't called my name my name is Paul Keller I'm a parent of a junior here at Gettysburg high school and I too have peed in front of somebody under the age of 18. I probably will do it again this Friday at the football game so the question really is not whether or not uh somebody has used a bathroom that question's been resolved and that it is they've laid down the law for one person on using restrooms which seems rather inappropriate that there should be such a policy but uh I
051think that any accusations of child abuse um are ill-founded and should actually result in the uh firing of the principal the athletic directors already resigned but if they're uh if they are founded in the least and if being in front of it somebody under 18 is uh then please have me arrested have a nice evening thanks Mr kellett um after Miss Griffin we'll have Angela Summer [Music] hi my name is Lauren Jean griffune I live here with my family um your failure as a board to write a restroom policy should not be the burden of any coaches especially just targeting the transgender coach using the restroom not everyone else at the last board meeting my children had to go to the bathroom and I went into that bathroom and thought I hope I'm not in
052trouble for going into this children's bathroom with my tiny humans um I'm not sure what your lawyer is doing but my experience in working in boards you cannot talk about personal issues with the media and if you can why aren't you talking about them with us right now instead of an executive session just lay it all out instead of keeping it hush-hush and talking with your moms of Liberty buddies it's not fair to share with some people and not others and not respond um please keep your religion out of the school it is a public school please do your job write a restroom policy if that is what you need and reinstate coach games thank you thank you [Music] [Applause] good evening thank you for the opportunity to speak I do not have children in
053the Gettysburg School District but I am a taxpayer in the district and I am concerned about discrimination I'm deeply concerned about the Discrimination it's ongoing against coach Yates and the girls tennis team I would remind the board that Title IX provides equal opportunity to women and girls in athletics and the failure to appoint a coach for these many weeks has been discriminating not just against coach Yates but against the girls of this school you've heard from many tennis students members of the tennis team how much they support coach Yates my husband and I play tennis regularly across the street and have seen coach Yates coaching and see how much the kids appreciate her coaching skills and how good of a coach she is the failure to act on the recommendation from the from the school
054and continuing to punt this issue is engaging in ongoing discrimination and it needs to stop and you need to appoint her tonight thank you thank you thank you [Music] that brings in approvals that brings us tonight to our routine approvals um typically I bundle those in meetings past but for logistic reasons it reasons because there are other things within the HR report which is 512. and not knowing where the board's going to vote it would be irresponsible for me to tank a hole human really human 512 over a vote one vote so please bear with us so may I have a motion for 5.1 through 5.11 on routine approvals [Music] on the motion on the floor five one through five five one through five eleven hearing non-roll call Brian yes hi yes Michelle damn it
055how yes Jeremy yes that brings us to 5 12. Standalone item HR recommendation if you could not hear down down below Michelle's made a motion to remove Sasha Yates from the HR report to that an individual vote it is she's making a motion we do not have a second yet I'll second and if we could please get board members just make it very closely into their mics there's uh so there's a motion on the floor question on the motion on the floor [Music] correct so the motion on the floor the first vote will be whether or not the board would entertain the motion to remove swasy Yates if it does so entertain that the motion would be a motion on 512 excluding coach Yates and we would come back to coach Yates a second [Music]
056there are question on the motion on the floor [Music] so your vote this evening is yes sir yes to remove coach Yates from 5 12. or no leave coach eight five roll call Al yes all right yes Ryan yes Michelle yes him yeah Jeremy yes I vote yeah so coach hates me back to about bumping in the other so that leaves us with 512 HR minus eight now the motion question [Music] coach 512 which is an HR recommendation it's a part of our agenda but not in ogate coach Gates's vote because the motion passed a separate vote in other words it's simple there are multiple recommendations on our tonight so if a board member wanted to vote for Coach date and didn't want to vote for something else on that agenda his Vote or vote
057would thank our thing so in order to do this we're allowing other items to go through or fail on their own and Coach Yates to go fail or get approved it's the most logical way of doing it to accomplish the HR so there's any additional questions on the floor not a question but just a quick comment uh Mr President uh included in this motion I believe is the accepting the resignation for our athletic director Casey Thurston I would just like to say on behalf of all of us a big thank you for her service over the past 16 years in being an athletic director I have a son-in-law who's a former athletic director and I'm pretty familiar with the demands of that job uh very challenged and Casey I think that a great job thank
058you thank you Al with everything else kind of sidetracked so the Motions on the floor roll call Ryan yes Mike yes Michelle Al yes Jeremy yes Amy Beth him yeah and I vote Yes the next will be Associates to move from the HR I'm still going to call it 512. ability 512 on the on the retention of Coach Y8 tennis court so a yes vote is that we are retaining that Jade's no would be we would choose not to repay sorry about that yes is the retain no is uh do not now having said that may have a motion on 512 poachy8 so moved question on the floor I'll make a comment then I did before we uh our public comment [Music] to be honest with you the emails that have come through the board
059and some of the things I've heard The Narrative has gotten Rewritten maybe that's partly the school board's fault ABC Administration maybe it's just where we're at as a society National level coming down to a local level I would ever got to point it Beyond me but we're here the comments that related to where our board members don't care about kids I find that highly offensive it's just actually accurate I will also tell you the comments that this is on transgender are not factually correct in my world either there's not one board member sitting up here I've had a conversation with executive session on text message email or private phone call that has ever made this about transgender to me it simply was the issues that were outlined in with with the bathroom usage whether you
060agree or don't agree that's fine we're we're elected to make our decision I'm going to ask when the voters goes no matter how it goes that we keep our dignity or self-respect and we move forward as a community as a district and I would hope that everybody's sitting here that keeps talking about setting an example for kids actually looks in the mirror and sets an example for himself and everybody's sitting this up so having said that Matt the motion is on the floor there's a question are there any additional question on the motion and I don't have a question right I have a comment as well there's been hundreds of emails there's been a flurry of comments on social media and some of them are just they're flat inaccurate there's a lot of assumptions being
061thrown around there there's been a lot of accusations been made and frankly there's very few people in this Auditorium that know me or any of these board members everyone up here that I serve with is a long-standing member of this community has children in this District most of us do I've lived here for 30 years I have two kids in this District I ran for school board not to tackle issues like this this should have never made it before the board remember what I am going to say is is every vote that I've ever made every decision I've made has been for the students the teachers the faculty Community I've never made a personal decision and and I realize that some of the comments that were directed to the board weren't not to every single
062one of us up here but we need to remember that as a society it's not helpful to paint with a broad brush and make assumptions when you don't have all of the fact you don't have all of the details and you're not setting up here deciding someone's fate and employment um I said that the last meeting that there was some information that we needed to get and um it's up to us to do our due diligence and make sure that whatever decision we make is based on fact not emotion not hearsay none of those things so I'll get off my soapbox now but uh I just want everyone to remember that that as you guys point out discriminating against people and and making accusations can be harmful so we all live in this community regardless
063of our political affiliation whether we agree or disagree um we're neighbors so let's act like it please any additional comments I I don't know if you're Mike's okay yep um I had actually very large but I'm not but I would like I have read every [Music] including ones that were not actually yes [Music] I've read every one of the email that had Ward including emails that were [Music] let's try them um I have read every one of the emails even the ones that were not addressed to me as there were several emails that were sent to the board that I was admitted from I've read them and I just want to tell everyone here that I am not a schoolyard bully I am not anti-lbgtq [Music] I'm not a transphobe I am not a homophobe
064I'm not a fascist and I'm not anti-public school public schools are diverse by Nature and everyone here is included while I personally do not believe in chemically castrating or mutilating a child to affirm their gender that they want to be I will still support those same children never once have I ever discriminated against a child here because they are children and they need our support our care and our guidance my opinions are my own and I'm entitled to them under the First Amendment just as everyone else is entitled to their opinion under the First Amendment and I will fight for your first amendment Right From Here to Eternity I have always voted with my conscience based on my morals values and ethics and I will continue to do so that's all [Applause] [Music] [Applause] any
065additional hearing non-roll call Tim let me stop Yes is to retain no is not repaint 512 related to coach Yates Tim yes Amy Beth back Jeremy yes how more yes Michelle no Mike yes Ryan no I vote Yes motion pass thank you foreign [Music] just so there's not disruptions if we can just indulge me for a minute here I'm sorry [Music] backs on what well it always was a Personnel matter um and we have an obligation and actually we have a legal responsibility not to take those Personnel matters outside of the executive session and unfortunately that's a position that this board has always been in not only with this issue but other ones and having said that it's difficult and I'm only speaking for me it's difficult it's difficult to read emails it's difficult to
066be to have stuff portrayed a certain direction when you know facts some things aren't correct whether I believe or don't believe in certain things you have to follow the facts and I think the facts have been already articulated publicly so I I don't have anything else to add [Music] thank you sir 7.7.1 Jason yeah the only eye informational item uh a seats EI joint operating Committee of acpi uh eight Authority that provides a CTI with the ability uh to purchase land or to uh borrow money in the future down the road or any feature upgrade facilities to the Adams County Technical Institute um and uh as part of that Authority each sending the school district asked to basically approve a Community member to serve on the acci authority uh we already have the board member
067serving on the joint operating committee uh that's Jeremy Davis and uh so we we need somebody from our community to serve on the authority we have spoken uh to Robin Fitzpatrick who's very willing to served our community in that role uh Robin is currently the president of the Adam's economic Alliance and was the first director of Adams County tech prep before it was ACI back in the 90s when they started the first program which was Allied Health so um not only is Robin a champion of Career and Technical education um just a solid advocate for the community so unless there are questions we would bring her forward for a routine approval the next word I like it went out to the public at all it would be really amazing to have that something would have
068a little expertise in some children are possibly we have one board meeting left in uh September our representative needs to be approved in September um I think you would be welcome to nominate somebody else next meeting if uh the nominee on the uh agenda wasn't suitable videos may I ask how is advertised whenever the discussions first started at astti the director had reached out to various districts and folks within the community to see if they would be interested in uh anticipating just based on the folks that have heavy involvement in acti already would it be an inconvenient costly address this at the next meeting with the opportunity for someone in the public to maybe throw their hat in the ring [Music] we can put a recommendation on for the next meeting and if there are
069other nominations those could be considered I would think I think they would just have to be submitted to Legend Friday before the month I think that would give uh am an ample opportunity to add that on there and we can run it run any other thanks guys are there any additional questions on hdti hearing on board committee report my left [Music] right anybody yep policy committee will convene on next Tuesday the 12th at the administration building 4 pm any additional uh working on program reports Jason anything another programmer that brings us our calendar of board events our next meeting held on September 18th I'll remind everybody we're going back the decision to come here for the both today for the two meetings was to be very transparent allow the public no matter what their Viewpoint
070was to be able to be able to attend the meeting we tried to be as very as much accommodating as we possibly could we want to go back to our home so having said that uh September 18th at seven o'clock may have a motion to adjourn We Stand adjourned