The status of a Gender and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) at King George Middle School is under review after a Facebook firestorm last week prompted school officials to take a closer look at the proposed club.
King George Superintendent Jesse Boyd said during Monday night’s school board meeting that the reaction from the community was polarizing and swift when residents learned the club was in the works.
“The reason this is on hyper-speed right now is the digital world,” Boyd said. “So, we were made aware digitally of student interest and within 24 hours, we had 500 and some comments on Facebook.”
Boyd noted Monday that King George County Public Schools policy requires that any extracurricular group’s meetings are voluntary and student-initiated; they are not sponsored by the school or an employee, employees are present in a non-participatory capacity to supervise; the meetings do not interfere with school activities; and non-school personnel are not involved.
The GSA was proposed by a KGMS student, and a sponsor was identified. Some parents said they were troubled that information regarding the group was emailed to students and not to them. Others are upset the club is now on hold, but Boyd reiterated that no decision has been made on its future.
“So, to address any concerns about a pause, it’s really just our opportunity to say, let’s really slow down and look at this from every perspective, understand as a school board, understand as a superintendent, understand as a school division what’s being requested and understand how this fits in our community and whether or not we understand it in its totality,” Boyd said. “That’s where we are right now. Nothing else has been done at this point.”
GSAs focus on creating a safe, welcoming and accepting environment for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. The clubs offer LGBTQ+-specific resources. They also organize awareness campaigns to combat bullying and discrimination within schools.
A host of parents and community members spoke out on the issue, representing various viewpoints, at Monday’s meeting.
One speaker noted that a GSA is currently in place at King George High School.
Parent Susan Park said “shame in its truest form” is the fear of many LGBTQ+ youth that if they show their true selves, others may turn away from them. Park said she wants to live in a community where every child knows it’s okay to be themselves.
“These clubs are not about politics, ideology or promoting a lifestyle,” Park said. “They’re about safety, belonging and kindness. They give students, some who feel very alone, a place to be accepted and to know they matter.”
Park said LGBTQ+ students face a higher risk of bullying, depression and suicide, and she noted that the Equal Access Act of 1984 mandates that any public secondary school with extra-curricular activities cannot discriminate against clubs based on the content of their speech or the identity of their members.
“If a school were to pause or deny a GSA, it would need to pause or deny all non-curricular clubs,” Park said. “That means the Christianity or the rugby club, [too].”
Artemis Park, an eighth grader at KGMS, said that placing the club under review before it got the chance to start is “once again choosing the easier side of the oppressor.” Artemis added that anyone against the club can simply ignore it.
“The school is already divided,” Artemis said. “This is just picking a side. Equality hurts no one. Safety hurts no one. Self-expression hurts no one. Removing a club created for equality, safety and self-expression hurts many … This club will do nothing to hurt you, but for me, to the people this is for, it means that my school sees me. So, to me, this club is worth fighting for.”
Carrie Smith, a mother of eight — including four currently enrolled in county schools — said she has strong feelings about the GSA. Smith described being upset that her 13-year-old daughter came home questioning if God created man to be with a woman and vice versa.
“I was not ready to have these conversations with my 13-year-old,” Smith said.
Smith also said the school emailing the children rather than the parents was inappropriate. She was also dismayed that school board members were not aware of the club proposal. Smith, a self-described Christian conservative, questioned whether the teacher serving as the club’s sponsor had liberal political beliefs.
“I’m just asking for representation on the other side,” Smith said.
William Holcomb, who is the parent of a student at the middle school, said that the email going to the students and not the parents shows “nefarious” intentions. Holcomb expressed the strongest opposition to the club among the speakers, claiming without evidence that a GSA promotes a “Lord of the Flies” sexual identity for the county’s children and will be a club with no guidance or discretion from any mature adults.
“My personal belief is that heterosexuality is the highest good of every human sexual relationship because it has the ability to produce offspring,” Holcomb said. “By the way, everybody that’s here is here because of a heterosexual relationship. So, we want to promote what is the highest good for our students.”
Holcomb added that heterosexuality provides the opportunity for a biological family, “which is the foundation of human society.” He expressed concern that the club could promote sex changes for children, calling it “genital mutilation.”
Advocates, however, say GSAs do not encourage children to become transgender.
“Are we going to encourage kids down this path of psychological disorder or are we going to promote what is the best possible good for their life which I believe is heterosexuality and their biological gender,” Holcomb said … “So, we have to make the hard decision: Do we want to protect our kids, or do we want to appease the darkest part of their identity and their feelings?”
Boyd said the community conversation will continue before any decision is made on the fate of the club.
He acknowledged the “challenging” political climate in the nation and said that King George can be “a model on how to slow down, take a deep breath, look at this from a multitude of perspectives.”
“We’ll move forward in a very informed and educated way on how to approach this with our students,” Boyd said. “It’s a learning opportunity for our students, for our school division and for our community to figure out how to navigate this successfully.”
