February 2022 - School Board Comments
Parent comments made at School Board meetings during February 2022 (names omitted)
Topics: Bullying, Masks, Director Resignation
My name is __________ and I have a student at THS. I am here to discuss the abuse happening by the teachers and faculty at the school. Since the beginning of the school year and still currently happening, my child has repeatedly reported about being harassed for not properly wearing his mask, lectured about getting the vaccine and told he should live in fear of COVID. Why are the teachers and faculty members continually being allowed to behave this way? Why do they think that bullying their students is appropriate? I have heard from many community members that this type of abuse has been going on for years, been reported on for years, just to be ignored and swept under the rug. This behavior is unacceptable by anyone, let alone adults in the school district and must be stopped immediately. They should be focusing their teaching on the subject they are paid to educate our children on, not take precious time to instill fear and push their agenda on our children. Where is the compassion, acceptance, understanding, love, positive guidance and nurturing behavior they are supposed to be exhibiting? We are fresh air breathers because we know the harms that wearing masks does to our bodies and there is plenty of research to back that up. We will not be forced to get an experimental vaccine that has been proven to have far worse adverse reactions than actually having COVID, again plenty of research stating so. We will not live in fear of a man made flu virus that was intentionally spread to instill control and compliance. What is it going to take to stop this abuse that is happening by the teachers and faculty? This behavior is only causing more harm to our children, hurting their mental and emotional wellbeing and hindering their ability to learn. It’s no wonder why there continues to be an ever increasing number of students drug use and suicides in our community. I do not know all of you very well but I know enough about some of you that I do not feel you truly care for the students in our district. Except Val, I trust Val and want her to stay and not be pushed out by her fellow board members. I will continue to be a warrior and fight for our children and their liberties and freedoms that you all have so willfully taken away to continue to push this insane agenda. I will never stop representing the voices that you all are so eagerly willing to silence and I will do whatever it takes until these issues are addressed and positive changes in the right direction occur. These actions, policies and procedures must change. Thank you.
Topics: Director Resignation, Diversity, Equity Committee
Dear Superintendent Hanson and School Board,
I am very concerned about Val Paganelli’s comments about wanting to resign from the School Board due to a feeling that her thoughts and input are continuously ignored or overridden by other Board members. After attending lots of Board meetings, I see what she means. Don’t we want diversity of thought and the opinions of others to guide our district, rather than a unanimous perspective on things? That may be cleaner, but it doesn’t represent our community. As you likely recall, in the recent School Board election almost 50% of the voters cast their vote for a conservative candidate. Are we going to have their views represented on our Board and in decisions for the district?
There are some things before the Board that NEED to have diverse perspectives. I’m thinking of health education, mask or vaccine mandates, and other things. If Val decides to stop trying to offer a perspective different from other board members, and if you replace her with someone else who thinks like you, how will that serve all our students and community members?
I hear the claim about “students first.” I’m sure that you recognize the wide diversity of students that you’re charged with serving. There are students from liberal, conservative, and a wide range of perspectives, and ALL are important. Shouldn’t the Board have representatives of different ideologies? Related to this: Does our Equity Committee represent this range of thinking by having strong and skilled members from different viewpoints?
Please encourage—not reject--diversity of thought on the Board. The students deserve it, and the parents and grandparents who voted you in deeply value it. I respect whatever Val decides to do, but I hope that the district and Board consider the values of ALL of the district’s students, parents, and staff. Some parents are too busy, too trusting, or too timid to speak. Some feel overwhelmed and helpless, and some are frustrated and angry, feeling powerless. But they care, and they vote.
Please think through what I’ve said as I speak for many, many others. I respectfully request a public response to these concerns at the next board meeting.
Thank you.
