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and now for tonight’s second school board meeting - albemarle county. city and county school board meetings could not be more different. doing both in one night is gonna give me whiplash.
tonight’s agenda for the albemarle county school board meeting. public comment is set for 6:50 and discussion of the dress code policy is scheduled to begin at 8. 
oh my god the cutest tiniest nerd in the world is being congratulated on his spelling bee win. bless his absolutely itty bitty little heart.
now receiving an update on the “gold card” program that allows senior citizens to attend school concerts and sporting events
we talked about the importance of old people attending sporting events for too long. on to announcements. dr haas is reading into the record an email he sent earlier this week about the decision not to close schools after the shooting threat.
the night they received word of the 4chan threat against charlottesville city schools, he alerted the school board. he says the threat contained an image “associated with the alt right movement” (i believe it was a groyper with a gun)
when they received a threat against their own schools, he called a cabinet meeting with the board and police. based on the timing and content of the threat, there was no evidence linking it to the threat against cville schools. they decided not to close county schools.
by friday morning, suspects had been arrested in both cases. city schools remained closed for a second day and county schools opened on a delay due to flooding.
haas says some parents complained they did not see the additional police presence at the schools as was promised. he says this is because many officers were in plainclothes and unmarked cars.
this message should’ve been read at the last meeting. that was a shameful and damning weeks-long period of silence.
and now, a bit behind schedule, public comment. graham paige is reading the standard disclaimer that anyone who breaks the rules will be ejected or arrested. it never gets easier to hear. if anything, hearing it read back on the record in court makes it harder to hear here.
the first speaker is against placing cell towers on school property because of some pseudoscience she’s citing.
she claims to have developed a hypersensitivity to electromagnetic frequencies that causes her symptoms like depression, anxiety, and eye pain.
a parent from @hatefreeacps: “i’d like to take a moment to decolonize this space,” acknowledging the monacan & saponi people whose land this is & her ancestors who survived the trail of tears. the ancestors of her children, black virginians who were liberated by the union.
“we should seek only that which is for the greater good,” she says. if you can’t see why confederate imagery is harmful, acknowledge that “you are a product of the education system in america - a white supremacist nation”
“we demand better. we demand curriculum change.” curriculum that represents all people and not just in november, not just in february. all year. “one where white supremacists are not honored.”
the next speaker is a social worker. he says the harm done by confederate and racist imagery is real. it can cause physical and mental anguish.
“schools are supposed to be a safe place for our kids to learn and grow,” seeing racist symbols displayed by a classmate tells a child that they are not safe. that there are people in their school who think it’s ok for them to be treated unfairly, to be attacked.
allowing this kind of harm to be done to children in school tells them that the adults either can’t protect them... or that they won’t.
(matt always gives such powerful comments. i hope they’re listening. really hearing.)
(matt always gives such powerful comments. i hope they’re listening. really hearing.)
now walt heinecke. he thanks dr haas for taking the step to ban racist imagery & calls for the board to support the policy. he’s reading from a letter signed by 100 UVA faculty in favor of banning racist imagery in schools.
next up another parent from @hatefreeacps. she asks them to imagine their child came to them afraid to go to school. imagine your child is forced to interact with people at school who want to exterminate them. “what would you do?”
“i have begged and pleaded with you to keep my child safe at school.” “i have been attacked and brutalized by police in front of my child at your direction,” she tells the board.
the parents organizing with @hatefreeacps have brought forward experts in mental health, law, policy, diversity & equity, and this specific issue! they’ve all been ignored. “you’re unwilling to do the bare minimum.” she urges them to vote tonight to ban racist imagery.
the next speaker says they felt compelled to speak tonight after listening to these parents who have been fighting for their children. “we’ve given you so much information, we’ve given you experts,” what else can we give? “it’s time for you to make a choice.”
“there’s not two sides to every story,” you’re either on the right side or the wrong side. of the community’s efforts to stop august 12th, they told council “somebody’s gonna die. you either have the choice to protect us,” or something bad will happen. (and someone died)
“stop being scared. just do your job. and your job is to protect students.” the speaker thanks dr haas for his recent actions but says increased police presence doesn’t keep students of color safe.
board chair alcaro is now reading back his impressions of the public comments. he calls the “decolonization of space” “very interesting” in a tone i can’t quite parse.
here’s the text of the letter dr heinecke read. there are two types pages of UVA professors who signed on to this message to the school board.
and the text of the email dr haas referred to at the top of the meeting is here
katrina callsen suggested that they rotate the duty of recapping the public comments. good idea! it would be nice to know they’re all listening.
i missed some discussion about moving forward with placing stop arm cameras on buses. i’m still not clear on who gets a cut of the ticket money in this setup. last talk i heard of it was at the october legislative priorities meeting
we’re on item 8.1 and on track to have the dress code discussion at 8pm.
the report included a figure that 15% of students nationally experience bullying. alcaro asks if they have data for that locally. she doesn’t. haas says there is survey data that can be provided... but it’s not forthcoming at this meeting.
puzzled to learn that county school employees provide special education services to people 18-22 incarcerated in the local jail. i’m glad those people are able to access services they need (are they working toward GEDs?) but confused as to why this cost is borne by the schools
ok now for the main event. the board is going to discuss a policy banning racist imagery in schools. i’m very tense.
alcaro says they’ve closely studied the caselaw on the matter. he cites the hardwick decision that schools could make prohibitions on dress that disrupted the school environment.
“board members have expressed an interest” in having the superintendent regularly report on the effects of the action he’s already taken... so they’re not gonna do anything. cowards.
their vote would be mostly symbolic! haas already did the damn thing. refusing to formally adopt a policy at this point is absolute fucking cowardice.
oberg: “i’m very proud of dr haas” and appreciates the action he took. he says the community generally supports it (though they’ve gotten some emails from folks who don’t)
oberg, who is an attorney, says under the tinker standard, based on the information they’ve gotten from the school health advisory board & mental health professionals, they have sufficient justification for a ban.
if you hold that the tinker standard requires actual physical violence, “the conclusion would have to be that civility is actually detrimental to the cause,” and he doesn’t think the standard intended to create that outcome.
oberg says right now we don’t have a policy, we have an interpretation of a policy. (haas’ interpretation of the current dress code)
“i don’t wanna be the one who didn’t say no,” referring to the austrians in the sound of music who welcomed the nazis.
“i don’t wanna be the one who didn’t say no,” referring to the austrians in the sound of music who welcomed the nazis.
graham paige says we need to take haas’ interpretation of the policy into the actual policy. he’s drafted something but indicates he doesn’t think it should be done NOW. which is frustrating.
alcaro seems confused. he wants to give it “some time” to “try out” the current situation. oberg says “the success of dr haas’ program should not stop us from doing the right thing”
paige says he’d like to proceed as quickly as possible, maybe wait 2 months for the next school year. oberg says he needs a clear timeline for how this is going to move forward.
“i want to make sure that this is something we’re prioritizing,” says oberg. he’s worried that pushing this off could result in it getting pushed aside.
katrina callsen asks for clarification on what charlottesville city schools have done. she says she isn’t certain the resolution they passed actually bans this imagery.
she says she’s worried the board is not showing support for dr haas right now.
she says she’s worried the board is not showing support for dr haas right now.
this discussion is being live-streamed here
facebook.com/49198607121748…
facebook.com/49198607121748…
oberg and callsen are disagreeing — she says it isn’t clear to everyone that the board is in agreement with haas’ interpretation of the policy. oberg says everyone on the board supports haas and that’s clear. the audience grumble indicates that it is NOT clear to us.
god i hate it when kate acuff speaks
she’s favoring a “wait and see” approach. she says everyone on the board agrees that confederate and nazi and white supremacist imagery are horrible. (do they? that’s not clear to us.)
“i don’t take that oath of office lightly,” says acuff.
she condescendingly acknowledges that there has been a small number of “dedicated” people making public comments, but says there is no actual overwhelming public support.
she condescendingly acknowledges that there has been a small number of “dedicated” people making public comments, but says there is no actual overwhelming public support.
she says “it’s not a fear” of being sued, but it’s about balancing the risk. “i have not been persuaded that it’s necessary.”
kate acuff is one of the worst human beings i’ve ever shared air with.
kate acuff is one of the worst human beings i’ve ever shared air with.
callsen is responding to acuff. she says “i would argue that our job is not to uphold the law, per se...” “we’re not really doing our jobs if we’re not protecting our students”
callsen says she’d prefer to support dr haas proactively.
oberg says he disagrees with acuff - “my understanding of the constitution is pretty solid,” and doesn’t feel this would violate the first amendment (again, oberg is a lawyer and i believe callsen just passed the bar)
oberg says he disagrees with acuff - “my understanding of the constitution is pretty solid,” and doesn’t feel this would violate the first amendment (again, oberg is a lawyer and i believe callsen just passed the bar)
oberg says he thinks this will hold up to legal scrutiny and even if it doesn’t, he’s willing to take that bullet. “if i was on the topeka board of education, i would like to think i would’ve said no”
paige says he wants to see an actual ban written into the dress code. he obliquely references “what happened in south carolina.”
the intersection between my antifascist work and my local government work is unsettling. he’s talking about dylann roof.
the intersection between my antifascist work and my local government work is unsettling. he’s talking about dylann roof.
“if we passed the ban and it was litigated, i can’t imagine a more powerful fact situation than what has happened in the charlottesville area,” acuff says. then fucking do it, coward.
ross holden, the board’s attorney, notes that the hardwick case was decided in our circuit, so that’s particularly relevant.
“you don’t have to have a conflagration” to justify administrative action. the action can be to prevent disruption.
“you don’t have to have a conflagration” to justify administrative action. the action can be to prevent disruption.
holden says following the guidance of tinker and hardwick is the best way forward (in those cases, the board did not pass a resolution - they allowed the principal or superintendent to take “appropriate action”)
“in this community there certainly is enough basis” both in our history generally and because of unite the right to justify a ban, says holden.
jason buyaki is talking. he shouldn’t be. he’s asking to see reporting on the number of incidents. he asks if the reporting is being done “equally,” if all incidents of disruptive clothing are being reported. haas says that’s always been done.
haas is again recounting the incidents they’ve had so far.
jesus h christ. haas is elaborating on the incident of the student who wouldn’t comply with the ban. it wasn’t just his hat... he was wearing a t-shirt with a slogan associated with the klan.
two brothers wore shirts their parents made depicting the confederate flag. the principal counseled them on the choice and allowed them to remain at school after they agreed they had made a mistake.
haas says people say this won’t really doing anything, it doesn’t really undo racism or change anyone’s heart. he knows that. but it is an important step anyway.
“this institution has inculcated biases on purpose” in the past. you can’t keep using the same plan.
“this institution has inculcated biases on purpose” in the past. you can’t keep using the same plan.
haas says he’s received a lot of positive feedback from community members who appreciate him taking action to protect marginalized students.
koleszar says the board unanimously passed an antiracism policy last month, which shows the board’s commitment to eradicating implicit bias. “the confederate flag is the least of the problems that we have” and targeting implicit bias is where we’ll see real change.
wow fuck you steve
koleszar tells oberg he agrees “we need to do what we think is right and not be afraid of being sued,” but “my understanding of the constitution is different from yours.” he says free speech is very important to him.
koleszar doubles down on his commitment to “free speech,” “i would feel if we explicitly ban specific political speech i would be violating my oath to uphold the constitution,”
“we’re worried about getting sued by one type of person,” says callsen by says if her child was involved in a fight at school sparked by a confederate flag, she would sue. “it’s a nonargument. we could get sued by anybody.”
paige says the district already restricts “free speech,” and this is no different than banning clothing depicting tobacco leaves, which they already do.
buyaki is fucking losing it and it is not clear what about.
buyaki is fucking losing it and it is not clear what about.
alcaro says the role of the board is policy. “and we passed the anti racism policy,” which has been turned over to schools for implementation. he says it will take a while for it to come to fruition.
he says haas took bold action in reaction to the community.
he says haas took bold action in reaction to the community.
“a lot of people in this community were traumatized,” alcaro says of A12. “i support what matt [haas] is doing” and supports a “wait and see” strategy. “if it’s the right thing to be doing,” “then we should do it. but i don’t think we should do it quickly.”
someone needs to print out the letter from birmingham jail and nail it to every one of these white moderates’ front doors like it’s the fucking 95 theses.
“this conversation is how our democracy should work,” says oberg. he says he appreciates that he was able to share his thoughts and respects the process.
it’s easy to respect the process when you’re not the one being hurt. this is white supremacy in action.
it’s easy to respect the process when you’re not the one being hurt. this is white supremacy in action.
paige says he wants to wait “at most” three months.
“i’m just curious how many more conversations we’re gonna have,” says callsen “at some point you just have to take a vote.”
“i’m just curious how many more conversations we’re gonna have,” says callsen “at some point you just have to take a vote.”
and with that, the conversation is over with no clear promise about when it will reappear on the agenda. we’re taking a recess.
so if this were to come to a vote... buyaki, koleszar, and acuff are definite no’s. callsen, oberg, and paige are yes’s. i guess that leaves board chair jonno alcaro, who is up for re-election, as the coward who won’t decide whether or not he’s ok with racially traumatizing kids.
we’re back from recess. nearly everyone in the audience has left. they will keep organizing. they will keep fighting for their kids.
there’s a little bit of meeting left.
there’s a little bit of meeting left.
i don’t know why i stayed. i’m too mad to really listen to this presentation about professional development and learning management systems.
it’s 9:21pm, i’m so mad i am about to cry, and i’m watching a powerpoint about waste management 👍
oh wow she brought several different disposable lunch trays with her as props. nice.
a lot of thought went into selecting affordable, compostable options that work for students.
a lot of thought went into selecting affordable, compostable options that work for students.
ok, now calls for “other business.” oberg says he wants to preface his comments by saying he “truly enjoys” working with the board, “this is the best part of america,” and he’s been struggling with whether or not to run for re-election.
after conversations with his friends and family, oberg has decided he will run for re-election for county school board this year.
no other takers for other business, so we are adjourned.
no other takers for other business, so we are adjourned.
for the record, for anyone who may have been confused, when i yelled “you truly are a disgusting human being” at the dais, i was addressing my comment to kate acuff, who is a disgusting human being.
