Hello readers!  Welcome back. I hope everyone was able to tune in to last Monday’s BOE meeting since live streaming is finally in place! 

The true standouts were the AMAZING students we have in our district. The marching band and football team were honored for their accomplishment this season as well as the Air Force Jr. ROTC. Congratulations to them all!  

As many of you are aware, the second reading of Policy 5756 was on the agenda. Greg Quinlan, founder of Center for Garden State Families spoke in favor of repealing the Policy, and reported that he has been asked to speak by Roxbury residents. Does ANYONE know who has requested him?  Who claims him?  He regularly spouts hateful anti LGBTQ statements (all while fundraising for his organization of course).  He claims he USED to be a Roxbury resident, but that does not appear to be the case any longer. Quinlan regularly attends BOE meetings throughout the state repeating that there are studies proving there is no “gay gene,” which is a misrepresentation of the study which ultimately concludes “Same-sex sexual behavior is influenced by not one or a few genes but many. “ To be fair, there is also no “straight gene.”  Quinlan was the only public speaker in support of repealing policy 5756. Several other people spoke in support of it remaining, including several current Roxbury students.

The students that spoke during public comment were beyond words. They were thoughtful, eloquent, informed, empathetic… I could go on and on.   While it saddens me that it was necessary for them to even have to speak at BOE meetings to stand up for their own rights, I am so glad they did. They were rockstars!  

They spoke about their thoughts on the possible repeal of policy 5756.  They shared their own experiences and asked that the Board let 5756 stand.   It was mentioned that many kids do come out to their own parents, but in their OWN time.  The school outing kids takes away the students’ ability to do it themselves.  As I have mentioned before, 5756 also protects the students that would be unsafe if outed in their own homes.

It was beyond disheartening to hear comments from some board members after the students’ comments that completely minimized and straight out ignored what students said.  

BOE member Colucci finally spoke about her reasoning behind the call to abolish 5756, which she had not previously clarified. 

“I want to abolish policy 5756 for a couple of reasons. First it’s totally unnecessary as there are already long standing policies in place to protect all children in Roxbury. Second, we are in the business of educating, not assisting other people’s children to change gender or transition. Last and most important it’s encouraged keeping secrets from parents which goes against the values of Roxbury school district. this district we work with parents not against. Many other districts have abolished this policy without any issues. The sooner we do the same the sooner we can get back to what we are really here for, helping to prepare our Roxbury kids for their future. I want to get back to basics.”

BOE member Kathy Purcell had a lot to say, and it can be viewed by clicking HERE. I also transcribed below, because what she said was so unbelievable to me I want to make sure no one misses it. 

“I will speak on this and I and I there’s just so many things that I would love to say, that I just don’t know that I can. But for the record in Roxbury you have two years in Lincoln Roosevelt, you have two years at Eisenhower, and I don’t understand and I’m  very very very sorry for the group  of students that feel that there is not enough trust in their own family to have this conversation. I understand that some families find it very very difficult to address this situation, but how close can you be to a teacher who’ve you’ve only been with for two years and half the time you’re not even spending that much time because you might not even have them the following year,  versus the time that you will have with a parent, a sibling, and aunt, and uncle, a close friend, outside of it just being a teacher. There are so many people in this world,  whether it’s a clergy person. There are many many people that these students can speak with and trust and the trust if you’re attaching yourself to a particular teacher that is 100% supportive because that is what they believe in,  they’re going to lead you in that direction, and I don’t like that teachers may be leading kids down a direction unless sharing both sides of the story.  you have parents that love you. I would never ever ever harm my child and I think it’s sad that a lot of this is based off of parents or being kicked out of a home. it it breaks my heart that you are that sad or that upset and I would love without any bias, have somebody come and speak to me about it because I don’t I – if you want to be a transgender, be a transgender I don’t care, but I want you making the correct decisions in life and understand there is more love in this environment than you probably understand, and even the student that spoke about being 17 and not a child,  my kids are 30 and all I ever do is at home I talk about my kids,  my kids,  and my husband says they’re adults no they’re still my kids I love my kids. I would never hurt my kids and I don’t want one person leading you down an avenue, that isn’t necessarily the direction you really want to go in. So it it really really bothers me that this policy and Brian to your one of your questions is we can’t change the policy. We can’t change it because that’s who’s getting in trouble. We can abolish this policy and then work on it. We can’t work on it the way it is right now. so there’s a lot of issues and from the bottom of my heart I’m sorry for kids that are concerned about their life, but as far as I’m concerned if you go to a teacher and you come out and you’re encouraged to come out they’re coming out to to a group of students to the entire world except for their own parents, because their parents aren’t allowed to know what’s going on. So the minute you change your name, the minute you change a gender, the minute you change your clothes you’re going to let 500 of your best friends knowing you’re out before your parents do. and I think you need to trust your parents a little bit better and more needs to be addressed and not just confide in one person who could also be leading you down the wrong path. So I am going to vote for this policy to be abolished because I know how much I love my family and I know how much I love kids, but there’s also kids on the other side that don’t want someone that’s a transgender that could potentially hurt them in a restroom because they’re doing it for the wrong reasons.  There is a lot more that needs to be addressed before we start doing this to our kids. So yes I care about all kids but we don’t want to hurt anybody and sometimes people are just going to get hurt and we need to be there to support them. so I am going to stand against this policy because I don’t respect it at any level when we want to hurt our children and that’s how I feel.”

It appears that Ms. Purcell has a mistrust of teachers, as she apparently believes that teachers that are supportive of LGBTQ students are “leading you down the wrong path.”  She is also “sorry for kids that are concerned about their life.” I am going to guess she doesn’t actually believe there is any risk of harm for these children, otherwise I am unsure how anyone could say such a thing. Mr. Purcell also seems to not believe it’s normal or acceptable for students to have good relationships with their teachers. To clarify, none of the students who spoke reported being unsafe at home. Another massive red flag here, is that the board members who wish to repeal 5756 have often repeated that the students will still be protected under state law, but as you can see here, Ms. Purcell admits she wants mandatory parental notification, and she wants trans students to be prevented from using the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity (to keep others safe). So in that statement, she appears to have admitted she wants Roxbury to break the law. 

BOE member Milde jumped in with some tone deaf comments asking why there are guidelines for ONE specific demographic and not others. He mentioned “Irish males, Irish females, Italians, anything.”  I am unsure as to what protections he feels need to be put in place to protect those groups, especially from their own families.  Mr. Milde then mentioned that students should not assume their parents are not supportive, and compared it to times he has been hesitant in his own life to speak to his parents. Mr. Milde seemed to be unaware of the real life ramifications many LGBTQ youth face when being outed to unsupportive parents. 

Ms. Champagne pointed out the difference between his adult experiences and those of students’, clarifying that as adults they have a place to live and agency over their lives. These students do not. Ms. Champagne clarified that everyone (that has been paying attention) knows that parental involvement and support is important, and the goal, but that sadly it is not always achievable. She also spoke about how NORMAL it is to have a teacher that really meant a lot to a student (unlike Ms. Purcell’s implication that a close relationship is abnormal, or teachers are not to be trusted). Ms. Champagne also mentioned that it’s important for kids to come out on their own terms, and that BOE members should not apply their own experience to all.  It is this author’s opinion that it seems that some of these BOE are simply not understanding of, or believing that LGBTQ students could be unsafe in their own home (OR that they think being trans is simply a mental illness that needs to be reported to family).

BOE member Staples discussed his concerns with parts of the policy, such as the fact that there are no clarifications for age, which he feels are necessary. He correctedMs. Colucci in her false assertion that other schools have repealed with no repercussions, stating that this is absolutely false. Nine schools have repealed, five are in litigation with the attorney general. He also had a fair point, that no one mentioned any concerns with this policy before Hanover was in the news. Mr. Staples discussed the confusion he grappled with over the fact that if a transgender student is involved in a HIB, their parents would be informed, and felt that was contradictory to other aspects of the policy.  This author would think that this fact would pacify those looking to abolish, since it’s another point in which parents are notified. The policy also clarifies that staff speak with students about the situations in which their privacy cannot be protected, so they would be aware that a HIB investigation may lead to their parents being notified, and would allow the student the opportunity to disclose to their parents first. 

BOE president Coakley pointed out that since the policy’s inception there has not been one single complaint from a parent. ZERO parents have complained about any “secrets” being kept, in EIGHT years.  He reiterated that there is NOTHING in 5756 that PREVENTS teachers from talking to parents, it simply does not MANDATE that they out students. This is an important clarification. 

BOE president Coakley stated that his concerns are that by removing the policy, it would create a void, and since it doesn’t change the law or statutes the District is obliged to abide by, it just takes away the guidance for teachers and staff. He mentioned concerns that rewriting could take a year, due it being complex and controversial.

Ms. Champagne mentioned that she agreed with the concern regarding age that had been brought up.  Ms. Champagne clarified that If the board were to change the policy they would have to review what is absolutely required by the law and what has flexibility. She also mentioned that over the course of the last year she has asked several times for BOE members to bring up concerns of ideas regarding specific wording of the policy, and none had ever done so or suggested any changes. 

The vote was then held.

Votes for abolishing 5756-

• Bocchino  No
• Botero No
• Champagne No
• Colucci Yes
• Milde Yes
• Purcell Yes
• Scheneck No
• Staples No
• Coackley No

So as of December 2023, policy 5756 is NOT abolished. 

President Coakley mentioned that it could be brought up again after reorganization in January. In the October meeting, Ms. Purcell asked about bringing the matter up again and stated that they could do so until she “got what they want.” Insofar as Ms. Colucci and the two new incoming BOE members specifically spoke against 5756 in their campaign, it appears safe to assume 5756 will be brought up for repeal again, at some point after reorganization in January.  The Back to Basics slate shared a post stating that 5756 eliminates parental rights, eliminates transparency, and “keeps secrets.” They also claimed that students can use bathroom/locker rooms PRIOR to transitioning without question, and claimed that the opposite sex will be able to freely walk into places where people are getting changed.  That is inaccurate, and has been clarified repeatedly. Perhaps this ticket does not believe a social transition should enable a student to use the bathroom of their identified gender, but again, that is state law.  By way of background, for those not tuned in to Board events earlier in the year, newly elected board member Valerie Galdieri attended the infamous May BOE meeting, and read a statement from Gays Against Groomers, a group that has regularly claimed that trans people do not exist, and spread false claims (local GAG member stated that the “gay rights” movement was hijacked to “convince five year old little boys that they need to cut their penis off.”) It seems safe to assume that 5756 will not be around long in Roxbury, but we will have to wait and see what happens in 2024. 

This meeting was also the last for BOE members Champagne and Bocchino,  who spoke about their experiences. Mr. Bocchino has been a BOE member for six years, and reported that he did not run for reelection due to the desire to prioritize his family, including his three young children. He spoke about all the amazing accomplishments in Roxbury during his tenure, and how far the district has come. 

BOE president Coakley thanked both members and stated that he felt Ms. Champagne had “outdone herself with policies and governance, digging into things and answering people. “

Ms. Champagne discussed her time on the board as well as her experience running a campaign for town council against Rich  Zoschakl, and the respect they had for each other due to running campaigns on the actual issues and with integrity. Ms. Champagne spoke about her respect for the board members who put in the hours and work required to do their due diligence. Ms. Champagne reported a good working relationship with Ms. MacGregor despite their difference of opinion, since they respect that they both put in hard work, and that their viewpoints are their own. Ms. Champagne discussed the importance of listening and considering other opinions and working within the law and in the best interest of all children. Ms. Champagne ended with the following:

“The meeting in May changed that for me. Seeing a small group mobilize outsiders to come in, to have people praying over us, shouting at us, heil-ing Hitler at us, seeing our Board and our district smeared with the suggestion that our teachers want to keep secrets from parents for some political agenda was stunning and appalling in a way I still have a hard time putting into words.   It would have been the safe and easy thing for me to be done, but for many of my family and friends, and certainly for those students whose safety and education we are sworn to uphold along with all the other children, how could I look them in the face and say, I support you, but then walk away. I could not. My conscience would not permit it.

Kim, Dan and I ran a race that was informative and positive. We ran with integrity, more importantly, we ran our own race. In the face of attacks, we wrote our own words, we spoke our own truth and any criticisms we levied were based in facts. We can hold our heads up high in public and look ourselves in the eye in the mirror knowing that we are not puppets.

Although we will not be sworn in on January 4th, Kim Dan and I will continue to make sure that this board upholds its responsibility to this district and all of its students and staff, that is a promise.”

This author hopes Ms. Champagne and her running mates keep that promise. Thankfully, now that Roxbury’s BOE meetings are live streamed, all residents will be able to see what goes on in BOE meetings come January 2024, and reorganization.  We all should be responsible for seeing that the Board is advocating for the interests of ALL our children.

On a related note, I was very impressed with the livestream and especially the audio quality. Thanks to all that were involved in making that happen. It was lovely to be able to see everyone as they spoke, as well as see the people speaking during public comment. I want to end with again giving a shout out to those who spoke during public comment, both students and adults. Thank you for your bravery, empathy, and compassion. The world needs more people like you!