October 2021 - School Board Comments
Parent comments made at School Board meetings in Oct 2021 (names omitted)
Topics: Sticking to basics in teaching, Equity Committee, Transparency
My name is ______ and I have a daughter in the Tahoma School District. The reason I’m speaking here is because I want our schools to teach harmony and not divisiveness.
Members of the school board and Tahoma families, you are likely aware that someone working on the Equity Committee, who has since resigned, had published videos on social media full of hate and racism and caused a major concern from Tahoma parents, and attention from local, and national news. Because of influences like these I fear for the safety of all children in Tahoma Schools.
How does something like this happen? What are the goals of the Equity Committee and who has influence over it? What should the vetting process be that prevents people with extreme agendas from infiltrating our schools which could enable them to harmfully indoctrinate our children?
These events show that Tahoma schools can potentially be used as a coercive instrument to indoctrinate our children without parental knowledge or consent, and has the potential to instill a value system inconsistent with those of our family. I see how this current approach for addressing equity may be causing divisiveness in our community, instead of promoting love for our children and bringing people together. Is it possible that the Equity Committee can make all children feel valued and safe in school? Nobody should be made to feel bad because of their physical characteristics. Let’s make sure our schools teach that all children are beautiful and able to achieve meaningful goals in their life.
To promote a team effort that ensures both parents and schools are working together toward this goal, it makes sense for parents to be fully informed and have a voice about what is taught. Because these issues affect every parent and child in our district, can the board please make the answers to this and every parent question and concern public, rather than providing just private answers?
Thank You.
Topics: CRT, Transparency, Divisiveness
My name is ______. I’ve made the mistake of being uninvolved once my kids got older and out of Grade School. I still have a Senior and the last couple of years have been interesting to say the least being able to see into the rooms and hear what’s being talked about and pushed in the classes. I’ve also made the mistake of not saying something because I didn’t want to cause waves or create backlash on her because I heard that’s what happens to parents that speak out. I’m here to speak out now. It’s important and even though I felt very alone for a while, I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of people that have felt the same way and I’m not alone. They’re not alone. We’re being told that CRT is not in our district but I am seeing that’s not true. It’s been happening for a while but lately it’s been ramped up a LOT and morphed into hatred and divisiveness. These kids are learning to navigate relationships, friendships, misunderstandings and disagreements but we, the adults, are not teaching them tools to use in learning to deal with them by communicating, negotiating, listening and understanding the other person’s point of view. Instead we’re telling them you have to see things exclusively THEIR way or it’s wrong. Not just wrong but racist. No, having a different point of view is SO crucial no matter what side you’re on. I actually do want everyone to be able to voice opposing points of view but my conservative stance is almost never discussed. I hope that what I teach stays with my kids in that they decide if they like a person because of who they are and not what they look like. I want them to see less hate and perpetuate that by being kind, accepting and loving to anyone they meet. I want the school to teach THOSE feelings, not hatred and divisiveness. I have 2 daughters. I want them to have the same access to opportunities but I don’t expect the same outcome. They certainly don’t want to take the same paths but they both have choices to make—the same choices the rest of the students get! Feelings are what created the CRT discussions but only CRT Supporter opinions and feelings are what should be listened to and considered--does that make sense? Is this coming down to telling me that my feelings aren’t “acceptable” now I can’t have a voice? No, we all have something to say and I ask that we have a Board that will listen to everyone that wants to speak up. It takes a LOT for me to come here and read this—I feel it’s important enough to power through my fear and let you know what my opinion and thoughts are. I don’t want anyone to judge me because of how I look. If my employer hired me because they needed to check a box so they have a “fill in the blank” employed, I would be so upset! I want to be hired because I’m the best person for the job and that’s what I want for everyone! We all want to be included and be treated as an equal with the ability to celebrate our differences but that is discouraged. Why? Our differences should be celebrated. If you don't like me or I don’t like you, it’s not based on what you look like.
Topics: Equity Committee, CRT
How many of you know that Tahoma School District made the National news on the most watched cable network 12 days ago with a very negative story about racist and vulgar remarks made by Alicia Busch who I understand was supporting one of your candidates for School Board? The point that was being made, is Louden County Virginia isn’t the only poster child for CRT indoctrination and that it could happen anywhere like it is in the Tahoma School District outside of Seattle. Current polling about CRT (DIE) Nationally ranges for those parents that even know what it is, is between 60% and 80% negative and will probably be the issue that topples the Virginia Democrat candidate for governor. The point is Parents haven’t bought into it and are not likely to.
To make matters worse for you, Merritt Garland, US Attorney General has been discovered as having a huge conflict of interest as his son-in-law owns ½ of the company promoting CRT in the Louden School District and he has the gall (stupidity) to write a letter declaring parents as “Terrorists” for challenging School Boards implementing CRT.
I must ask you again; do you really want to invest the money you are spending on DIE when the money and classroom time could be much more productively used for basic education? How much more negative publicity do you want to bring upon the Tahoma School District as parents wake up to what’s going here? I know I speak for lots of parents, and I am not naïve, it may take one or two election cycles to get this unwound. All I’m politely asking is that you stop digging yourselves in and start thinking about how to unwind it.
Don’t forget who you work for! - Not the Teacher’s Union – It’s not the State Legislature – It’s not Governor Inslee, and it’s not the Biden Administration - It's parents and property owners in the District who are electing you and paying your salaries – Time to start paying attention to them!!
NO parent will accept a government funding bribe in exchange for the racist and Marxist indoctrination of their children that comes with DIE.
Topics: Pronouns, Inclusiveness
Good evening Mr Hanson and school board members.
I come here tonight with many feelings. One feeling I know we all have is the love we have for all kids. That is a feeling that brings us all together right now. We are all striving to do what’s best for them, which is meeting all kids' needs regardless of race, gender identification, religious beliefs, and cultural values.
We also all agree we want them to have a safe environment and feel welcomed by all. It’s a truly noble goal, one we should see everywhere we go. However, in trying to create a safe environment for everyone, it has had the opposite effect and created an unsafe environment for some kids.
This unsafe environment is caused by forcing children to list their pronouns. I believe as a concerned parent that the kids should be given the opportunity to list their pronouns, however, this should not be a requirement. My son, an 8th grader at STMS, has experienced it first hand. When trying to submit his math quiz electronically, it would not allow him without putting in his pronouns first. This requirement has nothing to do with educating our students and should not be a requirement to submit any work to a teacher. This occurred not just once, but is a requirement in many of his classes. It makes him feel very uncomfortable about his own gender identification as a male. He should never be put in this uncomfortable situation. I don’t believe pronouns should be used at all as they do not enhance anyone’s learning experience.
My intent is not to alienate any child. The fact that my and many other kids are impacted by this decision with an admirable goal means we missed the target. For the sake of all kids in the district, please remove this requirement. All kids deserve to be safe and welcome while at school.
Topics: Transparency, Equity Committee
My question is this:
The school district claims to be focused on transparency, however the recent national media attention that our district has received would suggest otherwise. The school district knew about multiple parents' concerns about Alicia Busch months ago. People have shown their emails as proof. Mark Koch responded to these emails by saying, "She is just exercising her free speech rights." It wasn't until the media got a hold of her anti-white TikTok rants and it went viral nationwide that the district did anything about it. WHY did it take media coverage to get the district's attention? WHY was this person allowed to be on an EQUITY committee of all things when she obviously has very public racist views?? It seems like her removal from the committee was more about making our district look good rather than protecting our kids from her hateful views. Does the district want us parents to go to the media every time there's a concern just to get it properly acknowledged?? Parents can NOT be removed from the equation and brushed aside. This blatant (and highly visible) failure at the district level could have been prevented had you addressed the issue when it was brought up originally.
___________________________
Response from AJ Garcia:
Hi _____,
As we mentioned in our statement about this volunteer, she offered to step away from the equity work and was not removed by the district. I won’t speak for her on why she thought that was the right decision, but after the district reviewed the TikTok videos, we agreed that it was best for our students and our equity work if she withdrew from the committee she volunteered on.
For clarity, there were written Facebook comments that were brought to our attention over the summer, which is what Mark Koch consulted with our attorney on and concluded that she was exercising her free speech rights. The TikTok videos that have gotten a lot of attention recently weren’t presented to us until Oct. 7, and were more contradictory to the environment we’re trying to build at Tahoma, such as using hate speech and vulgar language.
When community members contacted us about the Facebook comments, our Director of Equity Emilie Hard and Superintendent Hanson each addressed the concerns with the volunteer. At that time, we felt that the value she was bringing to our equity work was still moving us toward those goals. After we reviewed the TikTok videos that were brought to us, and she offered to step away, we agreed that our equity work would struggle to move forward with her on the committee.
We do want you and our entire community to continue to be involved in important conversations like this and bring to our attention any inappropriate content that you see on social media from volunteers, students or staff. As part of that transparency, I will say that we will review it and bring it to our human resources department, but that does not necessarily mean that it will create the results that are being asked for. Superintendent Hanson and the team will continue making the decisions that they feel are best for our students, and we will correct mistakes to the best of our ability.
Thank you for your time,
AJ Garcia
___________________________
Parent’s response:
AJ,
I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.
Wondering if you could clarify if the district was going to allow Alicia to stay on the Equity Committee if she hadn’t decided to leave? Your email mentioned that it was AFTER the TikToks were reviewed AND she offered to step away, that it was agreed that equity work would struggle to move forward with her on there.
Some further clarification would be helpful.
Thanks.
___________________________
AJ’s response:
Hi _____,
I’m happy to clarify and provide the timeline to give some context. We were notified of the TikToks late Thursday that week. After reviewing those and having internal discussions on Thursday and Friday, there had not yet been any decisions made, and our Human Resources dept. was anticipating getting legal counsel as the next step of our investigation; however, the volunteer offered to step away before that point. As mentioned, Mark Koch consulted with our attorney regarding the Facebook comments during the summer, but the use of hate speech in the TikTok videos was reason to investigate separately.
I can’t speculate what the legal team would have advised, nor how our district leadership would have handled the situation following that advice. I can say that we saw the videos, agreed that they would negatively impact the equity work before the volunteer offered to step away, and therefore were willing to accept their withdrawal once she proposed it.
I hope that provides some clarity, and please feel free to reach out any time with other questions.
All the best,
AJ Garcia
Topics: Equity, Sticking to basics in teaching
My family has lived in Maple Valley since 2002, and both of my children graduated from THS. Our school district has been tops in the state for years, and Tahoma has always attracted caring, committed and well-educated faculty, administrators AND involved families.
We are hearing a lot about inequity in our Tahoma School District these days. IF systemic racism truly does run throughout our policies, curriculum, personnel and student body, it means that our school board directors and our administrators are sadly failing their individual and collective obligation to this community.
In the event that a student or family does complain about a situation that makes them feel unsafe or unwelcome or unrepresented, Tahoma families have an expectation that there are CURRENT Tahoma policies in place to address and resolve each complaint directly and immediately with the offending individual.
However, we are being told that concerns are going unresolved, and even worse, concerns are being unreported because these families don’t know where to turn. IF this is the situation, and changes are indeed needed in our district, they will not come about by electing a candidate who is endorsed by members within the system.
And honestly, I believe that systemic racism does NOT occur throughout our esteemed district, and that we do not need to hire expensive consultants to lecture our caring, committed and well-educated administrators and faculty on “Intersections of Identity and Racial Privilege.”
On the contrary, I believe the school board should direct a greater focus on the abysmal student achievement. According to the Washington OSPI, only 52% of the 2,744 THS students meet science learning goals. Only 58% meet math learning goals. Only 86% of 9th graders are on track to graduate, and only 92% graduate in 4 years. Tahoma families and the community of Maple Valley expect and deserve better.
We should elect a candidate that is not part of the establishment. One that is not endorsed by, nor beholden to the Teachers’ Union or school district administrators. One that will represent the concerns of families and students and community stakeholders. One that wants ALL kids to have a great educational experience. One that will work toward more fiscal and curriculum transparency, and keep the focus on an educational system that drives cognitive thinking, teaches a foundational curriculum and puts substantive skills-based learning back in the forefront so that ALL students will be prepared for a successful future after high school. This is what Tahoma calls “Future Ready.”
