School Board, Residents Converse to Build Pathways Forward

HARRISON – Public Comment at the April meeting of the Harrison Community Schools Board of Education was filled with criticism of a book that showed a loving, yet non-traditional family and another book that described the vivid, colorful imagination of a very small child described by critics as “grooming” and “sexualizing” children. Criticism also stretched to staff and the district overall as continuing to fail its students and the community.

After that meeting, various people had accepted the invitation of HCS Superintendent Judy Walton to have conversations about their concerns in an effort to bring together the district and the community, and to find common ground for moving forward.

At the May BOC meeting, Walton expressed appreciation for the conversations that materialized, and specifically called out Larry Siska for his contribution. And, when it came time for Public Comment, Siska was the first to address the board.

“I wanted to thank you for the dialog that we had,” Siska said, addressing Walton. “It was lengthy, two weeks every day emails. And I think we accomplished a lot with that. For me, it was never about the books, because I don’t care about the books. What I care about is being in compliance with state law.”

He said that included being in compliance with the who, what, when, where and how materials are presented to the children.

“The point is I asked her questions, she answered them,” Siska said. “And if she couldn’t figure it out, she said it might take a minute – and then she got back to me. And that was awesome. So we need to figure out how to bridge that so the other [P-O’d] parents actually have the conversations with you guys, and get these things rectified.”

Next to speak was Jerry Britton, pastor of Leota Community Church, who thanked the board for all it does. He noted his own experience serving on a school board and his understanding of the struggles school boards face. Britton spoke of the 2022 superintendent selection process and noted three things that had been brought up at the selection meetings. One was a gap between the community and the schools.

“That was just addressed by the previous speaker,” he said. “I think the present administration is more open to that conversation – and that really needs to happen.”

He said the second item was fair leadership in the school that didn’t favor families or certain sectors. The third item was the problem of students exiting the school to attend in other districts. He said a fourth point, trauma with kids in the schools, could be left for next month’s meeting.

Britton said that, as a pastor, he appreciates Jeff Brown will be part of the curriculum committee as there had been a gap there, which he believed was part of the problem. He also noted that as a pastor, he works with families struggling with recovery, and parents who would like to attend and speak to the BOE but are fearful of ramifications for their children.

Brian Noel spoke next, beginning by objecting to the 3-minute limit on speakers in Public Comment. He also said the framework of board members being able to ask questions of speaker but not being required to answer speaker questions suggested the board was afraid of having a dialog.

“It’s going to take 10 times as long to get anything accomplished without an open dialog,” Noel said. “If we have to wait another month to bring up another question to get an answer from you. That’s something that tyrants and dictators do.”

When board president Kendra Durga explained the board was following the laws that dictate the meeting [the Open Meetings Act], Noel quickly replied they could make their own bylaws.

He then focused on a comment Walton made the previous month that the school wants to have kids learn about all types of families. He asked where were the stories about Black families, bi-racial families, Chinese families, mom and dad in prison, mom and dad with drug and alcohol addiction.

“When are those stories going to be read?” he said. “By including a certain group, you’re excluding many, many more. And if you guys are about the money – what happens if 30 kids get pulled out of this school? That’s $300,000 gone. How are you going to make up that shortfall?”

Noel then brought up statistics from 2020-2021 which showed Harrison Schools as being in the bottom 25% of schools in the state, with a graduation rate less than 76%. He said he found that most recent data available on Google under Harrison Schools ranking, as per the National Center for Education, Michigan Department of Education, and the U.S. News and a Public School Review [which he said also showed middle school math proficiency at 21% and reading 34%].

Next to speak was Erick Sizemore, who had addressed the board in April, who questioned the board’s action of approving the ELA Curriculum Resource at the current meeting, which he perceived to be changing the curriculum without addressing the parents. He suggested that, if the people who had just been empaneled on the Sex Education Advisory Panel had not been asked their opinion on things that they could all have the same opinion, and therefore the board would not be diverse.

“I don’t want somebody on the committee who simply agrees with me,” he said. “I want to have open dialog back and forth, because maybe you’ll change my mind about a couple things, and maybe I’ll change yours.”

Sizemore said his previous objection had not been to the books, but to the presentation, adding that he and his wife had a great discussion with Walton about visualization, which he believes programs children.

“So, if you’re constantly seeing homosexuality, gay, lesbian, transgender and that type of stuff, over and over again – especially as a young child in fifth grade – by the time you even get to the point you’re thinking about that stuff, you’re already programmed to be thinking one way,” he said. “Instead of letting the base principle be a heterosexual marriage, that we can do the one thing we’re put here on earth to do which is to reproduce, right? Instead of involving all the LGBTQ community stuff, that has no place in school anyway because we’re there for reading, writing and arithmetic, right? Not to learn about sexual orientation.”

Sizemore said he has no problem with having a discussion of those topics, at a high school level where kids are more fully developed.

Also addressing the board were parents who said their daughters, along with others had been groped by a particular male student. They said that despite reporting the problem a month and a half ago, it had taken two weeks for him to be kicked off the bus where he had tormented kids, yet the boy is still in school – and they wanted to know why. One parent said she was there to make sure the board was aware, and that there are many such victims, but unfortunately their moms just won’t show up. Another parent spoke of her daughter’s shattered self-confidence and the fear that this boy will go out into the world believing he can continue to inappropriately touch other girls. It was clarified that both mothers present had pressed charges against the boy in question, that the charges are on the prosecutor’s desk, and both daughters are in counseling.

Former school board member Dan Pechacek also addressed the board, touching on the previously stated 76% graduation rate and calling it sad and something that needs to be fixed. He also said the 3-minute time set to address the board was sad and should be lengthened to five minutes.

Next to address the board was Sandra Bristol, who returned to convey the Democratic Party’s support for the teachers, administrators and all other staff at Harrison Schools. She said most of the current membership are former or current teachers, who totally understand what a teacher does to run a class, educate and support their students – a very demanding job under ordinary circumstances. She said teachers also watch out for students, for signs of illness, fatigue, abuse – which is heartbreaking – hunger and the effects of poverty.

“The job is huge and difficult at times,” Bristol said. “But it is also an incredibly beautiful job when we make the connection to our students with their curriculum in a meaningful way. We love the experience of the lightbulbs going on over their heads.”

She finished by saying the Clare Dems wants teachers to know how much teachers, staff, administrators, BOE are respected, appreciated and admired.

Kelly Cook, a teacher at HCS, finished up by commenting on the remarks made by Siska and how Walton’s presence as superintendent had allowed all those present to have their voices heard. She said that was because all the board members make them feel comfortable.

“The topics may not be pleasant,” she said. “The topics will be great. But the change is happening, and I am a Pat Summitt fan: You’ve got to break it down, and you’ve got to build it back up. It’s getting broken – we’re getting a lot in here, But I’m telling you I can see it. The curriculum is going to be great, it’s going to help. The book review. You’ve got people coming in here giving you the voice of our town. I’m very proud right now of the beginning of the superintendency; the faces are all changed. And it is changing – it’s changing piece by piece – and we’re going to do it, everybody. We’re going to do it.”

In her Superintendent Report, Walton responded to comments/concerns voiced by the previous speakers. She began by noting her agreement with Cook that open, consistent and clear dialog is “what the world needs now.” She also again thanked Siska for “helping to make us better.” Responding to Britton’s remark about parents being fearful to address the board, Walton said it hurts her heart that people would be afraid to talk for fear of ramifications. She urged him to reach out to speak with her, particularly about the trauma issue, promising there would be no time limit on their conversations.

Addressing the comments made by Noel, Walton said she agrees that it is difficult at the board’s business meeting to have dialog. She said in all the years she has been in education, the way the business meeting public comment portion is set up has always felt awkward in the sense of its time limitation. She said one thing the board could do is to do more of a town hall, where decisions will not be made as it would not be a regular business meeting, but more dialog could happen.

“I would say that with the HMH, one of the things our teachers rated very high in that new curricular resources were the diverse stories,” Walton said. “So, we are seeing more things. We know there are families in our district who have adopted children; they need to see themselves in books. And I think it goes back to what we said a month ago, which is what makes a family is love, and that can look and feel so differently. I couldn’t agree with you more that we need to make sure that all of our children are represented.”

Walton also pointed out that recent graduation data shows Harrison’s to be around 83% to 86%. Kelly Lipovsky, curriculum director, note the year Noel had referred to was the year of COVID when things were “wonky and without face-to-face instruction.” Walton said the higher numbers are more accurate/current, but that she still is not satisfied with them.

She then thanked the Sizemores for meeting with her, and explained that what the school teaches follow the state standards, over which the district has no say. She explained the ELA Curricula Resource is a tool used to help support teaching of those content standards. As far as his comment about asking Sex Education Advisory Board members their views, Walton said she had purposely not done so in an effort “not to stack it.”

“But you’re absolutely right,” she said. “And the one thing Larry [Siska] and I talked about for the next time was having an application process for parents to join that board.”

Walton then tackled the subject of the student who had inappropriately touched others, saying she had met with and talked with the parents who spoke that evening.

“It is very frustrating as a superintendent or a school official at times when privacy laws prevent us from sharing as much as we can about situations and consequences that we have assigned to students,” she said. “And so, I’ve listened to them, been moved by their stories. All I can say is we have implemented consequences but, unfortunately, I can’t say anything more because of privacy laws.”

Addressing Pechacek’s comments, Walton said she agreed the Public Comment time could be changed because it is within the district’s own bylaws. She did, however, agree with trustee Betsy Ulicki who had said board members hesitate to ask questions of a speaker so as not to shorten the speaker’s time.

“Maybe we do need more town hall style events where we can just talk,” Walton said. She also urged speakers to submit possibly longer items for the board members to read which could then be part of the meeting record.

Walton then continued by noting it was Teacher Appreciation Week and lauded teachers for their devotion to their students as embodying the best of the community, state and nation.

“They’re ready to serve and eager to see others thrive,” she said. “Teaching is a calling. It’s a way to live out the belief that we can shape our corner of the world one child at a time. Teaching happens inside classrooms, teaching happens outside classrooms. It often involves spending time coaching teams, supporting student clubs, helping kids catch up when they’ve fallen behind. It means giving all children the foundational skills they need for success. On a daily basis, I’m deeply inspired by the dedication, creativity, and loving strength of our educators. It’s often said the greatness of a nation is measured in part by how we prepare the next generation to succeed and lead.

“This week and always we honor the Hornet Nation educators who we entrust with this awe-inspiring responsibility. So, thank you to all of our teachers.”

Walton finished up by informing the board that a policy glitch had been cleared up regarding the reporting of absences. She also said the schools would be meeting with the prosecutor this summer to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding truancy. Especially pertinent in light of the evening’s conversations was her information about a new automated behavior reporting system which will enable bus drivers to digitally log any behavior concerns. That will result in an automatic record, and the incident transmitted to the building administrators so they can impose consequences as per the student handbook. She said that also will take the burden of discipline off bus drivers, who she said have a hard enough job as it is.