After several intense hours of public comment and discussion that turned to bickering between board members, the Big Walnut School Board on December 14 passed a resolution banning the display of Pride flags and other symbols in the district.
The Big Walnut Local School District is located in Ohio’s Delaware County, near Columbus. The resolution passed 3-2, with the board’s three conservative members voting in favor of it.
The resolution limits school and classroom flags and displays to:
- Classroom displays that are “part of a temporary unit of study within the curriculum” or represent a “recognition of achievement and are approved by the superintendent.”
- Displays representing sports tournaments, such as those put on by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
- Displays from universities and branches of the military.
- Flags of countries representing foreign exchange students.
- Flyers, notices and invitations for school clubs.
Passionate public comment
While the Pride flag is not directly referenced in the resolution, it was the primary focus throughout the meeting.
Noah Heath, a teacher at Big Walnut High School and a co-sponsor of the school’s Pride Society club, said that he hangs a Pride flag up in his classroom in order to let LGBTQ+ students know that they are safe.
“The flag in my room is an unspoken but easily understood message to those that see it, that it’s for them,” said Heath. “They can be who they want to be. I respect them like every other student and I will defend them and their right to be who they are.”
A trans student named Jasper Franco spoke about the bullying they experienced in school for being trans, and how seeing pride flags in classrooms make them feel safe.
“I am not controversial,” Franco said. But “as a transgender student, the Big Walnut School District is not a place where I’ve been consistently able to feel this way.”
They finished their comment by condemning the board.
“How can you sit up there on that stage, far above the waters of hate that fill these halls, and expect me to escape the flood while tied down to the rocks of fear and discrimination?”
Parent LeAnne Carr began her comment by asking members of the board if they had ever received a call telling them that a loved one was in the children’s hospital due to a suicide attempt.
“Do you know what it’s like to look into the face of a kid you love and see petechiae on their swollen face?’ Carr asked with a shaky voice. “Petechiae are busted blood vessels that are on their face because they put something around their neck and tried to end their life. They tried to end their life because their religion said that the way they were feeling was unacceptable and they thought no one could love them.”
Carr said that she now thinks about whether a Pride flag would have helped the child feel accepted at school.
“We are talking about removing a flag that could save kids’ lives,” She continued.
While many commenters spoke out against the resolution and stated that its passing would make LGBTQ+ students feel unsafe, supporters of the resolution expressed other concerns.
“We also have people who believe in bestiality,” said one commenter. “They’re called zoophiles. Will they get a flag? And how about when there is an after-school Satan club? Will they get a flag?”
Others said the hanging up of Pride flags is “indoctrination.” One commenter said that those hanging up the flags are “child predators.”
A bickering board
Following public comment, board members spent nearly an hour arguing about the purpose and legality of the resolution.
After Board Member Stephen Fuji asked what problem the resolution is trying to solve, Board President Doug Crowl said that there is a need to “regulate the flags” because otherwise “we’ll have a thousand flags in the classroom.”
“[The resolution] will give us the authority to control the flags and displays in the classroom,” Crowl said. “So when somebody wants to come up and start a Satan Club, let’s say, as an example, they can [display a Satan flag in the room they are meeting while the meeting is occurring], but their Satan flag isn’t going to be there in the morning [after the meeting].”
Board member Todd Smith responded by explaining that case law regarding regulation of symbols and speech revolves around proving intent. He said that not liking a certain symbol is not enough to ban it.
“That goes against free speech,” Smith said.
Smith also raised concerns about teachers and staff leaving the district due to the resolution.
“Who’s going to want to teach under that kind of system?” Smith asked. “When they can’t teach the way they want to. When they’re fearful of what they put on a wall.”
While he was in mid-sentence, Board Vice President Angela Graziosi interrupted Smith to ask if there was “something [Smith wanted] to make a point about.”
“My point is this,” Smith responded. “This resolution should not pass.”
Crowl quickly called for the board to go into recess after Superintendent Ryan McLane expressed frustration with the amended resolution being provided to him minutes before the meeting.
Following the recess, McLane shared that the school district’s legal counsel recommended the resolution not be passed. Graziosi responded by saying that she had reviewed the resolution with a lawyer, whom she did not name, and that the lawyer “saw no problems with [the resolution].”
“Just for laughs, I am an attorney,” followed Smith. “I have reviewed the case law behind this. You’re going to lose, more than likely.”
Soon before the vote on the resolution was called, Smith condemned the resolution as “political bullshit.”
“This is all political garbage,” Smith said. “We’re supposed to be spending our time dealing with the performance of the district.” 🔥
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