Parents have had enough. They are at the end of their rope with schools, school districts, and school curricula. They also have had their fill with school boards. They have made that point perfectly clear during school board meetings and through attempted correspondence. Some school board members, though, are not appreciating having their feet put to the fire and in turn, have taken to berating parents asking for answers.
See the video below.
The latest instance of school board members taking issue with parents demanding answers comes from the Metro School Board in Nashville, Tennessee. Their pushback came after a concerned father addressed them for the second time, expressing his dismay for the lack of response given to him and his family concerning his disabled daughter and the district’s mask mandate.
He went on to explain that because of his daughter’s disability – blind in one eye – she must wear glasses. But the mask causes her glasses to fog, so her frustration is quick, causing her to remove her glasses. So, his daughter sits at a desk, masked, but unable to see. She can’t see the teacher, the chalkboard, or the schoolwork on her desk.
The unnamed father first spoke to the school board in early February, sharing with them the issues he is having with his kindergartener, who he described as “severely visually disabled,” and the damage being done to her because the district refuses to lift the mask mandate or even offer to alter the mandate to assist with his daughter’s disability. The father then listed off the board members he has reached out to while his concerns have gone “unanswered.”
The father took his complaints to the school board right before school began and the mask mandate was put in place. He was told, at the time, that instead of allowing for his daughter to drop the mask, she could sit closer to the chalkboard. He continued, “Over and over we’ve [parents] been lectured to how great kids tolerate masking. If you make the most innocent among us do something just because they comply a little bit easier, that is horrible. That is criminal.” His entire lecture to the school board can be seen here.
That was the first time. He followed up on his concerns a month later at another school board meeting. There he explained that after his pleas at the previous meeting, he finally began to hear back from the school board after he dared to send an email asking simple questions about how decisions were being made so his family could make better medical decisions for his daughter. The response he received was not what he expected. He was told he was “dishonest,” “unkind,” and he was “disrespectful” by a board member.
The distraught father says he copied all the members of the school board and received no other responses, feeling the remaining members condoned the initial response. This explanation by the father was posted on Sadie Luck’s Twitter channel. During the video, clips of school board members’ previous reactions were also shown. One shows a board member, discussing the father’s situation, something the father was less than pleased with.
The clip comes at 57 seconds with the school board member where she admonishes the father for not filing the proper exemption paperwork. The father said the board never had his permission to discuss publicly his daughter’s medical condition and that they “crossed the line” by doing so. He then points out a short time later the profanity used by a school board member at the last meeting. The clip then shows one of the members saying, “This is an act of service. I get fu**ing $300 every six weeks for this job.”
Then he pointed out the “veiled threats” that were handed out, again at the last meeting. The clip moves over to another school board member saying, “We all have husbands and brothers and dads. I have two dads, so stay safe. But if you’re feeling froggy and you feel like you wanna jump, don’t do it here.” The entire exchange can be seen here.
Is this what we should be getting from our school boards? Yes, it can be a thankless job. The decisions they have to make, many times, are not easy ones. They simply cannot appease every family throughout the district. But talking down to parents? Is that the answer?
This is not the first time a parent has taken issue with a school board, nor will it be the last. It is probably not the last time a board member pushes back at parents. It’s a bumpy public education road families are riding right now and unfortunately, it may get bumpier before things smooth over.
*story by go2tutors.com
(*) www.WhitePrideHomeSchool.com
