A Bitterroot Valley school district’s review of regulations governing participation in school clubs drew more than 230 people to an online meeting. The Florence-Carlton School Board is considering amending its rules after a conservative Christian advocacy group called for a ban on LGBTQ clubs on school property.
Florence-Carlton trustees moved their regularly scheduled in-person board meeting online after Superintendent Brian Rayburn said in a now-deleted Facebook post that reports surfaced of some members of the public planning to bring firearms to the venue. Details were not released.
The Board is studying a proposal requiring parental notification when students participate in formal, recognized clubs or groups, as well as informal clubs or groups. The proposal would also authorize administrators to inform parents of all formal and informal groups and clubs regularly occurring on school grounds.
Advocates for an informal middle school Gay-Straight Alliance group say the clubs give LGBTQ students and their allies a safe and supportive place to hang out.
Logan Oleson, former Florence resident and once a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance, cautioned trustees against requiring parental notification for GSA students.
“And a lot of times when you don’t quite know who you are, you need that safe space to be able to figure it out — before you’re required to go and tell the world everything there is about you,” Oleson says.
Florence-Carlton’s GSA participants currently don’t need parental approval.
This concerns the conservative group called Stand Together for Freedom, which has spread inaccurate information about masks and COVID-19 vaccines and now says the school GSA group endorses high-risk sexual conduct.
Corvallis resident Aaron Rhodes was among the supporters of mandatory parental approval for students joining school groups.
“GSA preaches distrust of parental care,” he says.
Superintendent Rayburn said the board received over 40 letters and emails on the topic by Tuesday afternoon, with more coming in. He did not disclose the opinions contained within the correspondence.
Nearly 70 people spoke during the five-and-a-half hour Zoom meeting Tuesday evening. At least 31 spoke in support of the Gay-Straight Alliance and against the notification proposal. Twenty five supported parental notification or expressed concerns about the GSA.
Trustees eventually voted to table the proposal in order to seek further legal clarification.
The next regular Florence-Carlton School Board meeting isn’t slated until August, but a special meeting will be scheduled before then to revisit the club issue. Public notice will be posted 48 hours in advance of that meeting.
Copyright 2021 Montana Public Radio
