Public Comments - February 5, 2025

Last week, I felt inspired—and as my colleague Mrs. Schofield said, hopeful—after the district visioning retreat. The community came together to set forth on building our shared future with our values at the center. Public education is—and has been since Horace Mann—a community project.

Also last week, I was concerned.

If there is an issue, any at all, where you are bothered by federal government overreach— whether it be the sanctity of your state, your home, or your body—then you should be concerned that the federal government aims to dictate which values we choose to instill in our children as a community, regardless of how you feel about who signed the order.

I’m grateful to serve on the governing body that establishes educational goals and policies for and is held accountable by our community. I choose self-determination because schools shouldn't be driven by national security; our motivation should be loving our kids, however they show up.

Finally, community isn’t a static, dormant connection that lives outside of us. Community is always emerging through the actions of people, and in that way it is aspirational, hopeful. We are always making our community, and I choose compassion.

The community I hope we are

• has space for nonbinary, queer, and trans people;

• has room for our neighbors regardless of citizenship status.

The community I hope we are promotes critical perspectives, which involve questioning power structures that have been and continue to be influenced by race and people's beliefs about race.

The community I hope we are models and embodies the values we use to build the future of our schools.