Inclusion is vital for any school board. It is vital for school districts to be a welcoming place for students and faculty alike. Students and staff want to make sure they have an affirming place to educate and to learn When schools are not a welcoming place for students from the governing board to the school principals the effectiveness goes down.
It should not take a lawsuit as what happened to the Chaffey Joint Union School District to force an inclusive school environment across its campuses where a kid sued the district for not stopping the torment he endured for being perceived as gay, but Chino Unified can do better. I like most of the members of the board despite them being very socially conservative, but they should hear from different perspectives.
The majority of Chino Unified governing board members have used the board as a bully pulpit for the passage of Proposition 8 and for the opposition for AB 1266 which expanded education opportunities for gender non-conforming students. However not all students and faculty are straight or cisgender, making people pariahs only makes the minority marginalized.
Social conservatives may say they are “advocating the homosexual agenda”, but the agenda the LGBT community wants is to be treated fairly so students can learn without intimidation and harassment. It does create a polarized education environment which led to some outbursts from opponents of equality legislation in the schools back in 2013.
I remember once when I was in a Facebook group for educators in San Bernardino County and someone ended up reading my personal blog posts when it came to immigration issues and said you should realize that there will be undocumented youth who entered the country illegally and if they read your blog posts it would make it hard for those kids to trust you. The same thing could be said about those governing board members when it comes to LGBT youth. Yes, there may be religious issues why the majority of the board may not be as affirming to the community, but we have to have empathy despite any disagreements we have on issues of the day just as I may have issues on immigration.
School Board President Andrew Cruz may of went overboard on a speech last year, but I may admire the majority in the board in fiscal stewardship. However, I do not trust a union dominated school board to spend the taxpayer money efficiently either. I would like a more inclusive school board so we can get the best and brightest staff members from all demographic groups that make up our community so we can have kids wanting to learn and not be fearful of going to school.
I don’t want any kid in the future to endure what I endured in school. That is why I am an advocate for safe schools. Students of all demographic groups should not have to worry about getting from class A to class B without intimidation from a bully.