Rutherford school board rescinds resolution supporting border closure: 'Damage is already done'
Rutherford County school board members rescinded their resolution urging closure of national borders recently after hearing from upset parents.
Mother Valeria Diaz de Leon shared her concerns about the resolution in person by speaking during the public comment portion of the Feb. 6 meeting
'In this political climate, we all know the implication that has," Diaz de Leon told the seven-member all Republican Rutherford County Board of Education.
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Many of the packed school board audience in a room that can seat 170 people applauded the mother's comments prior to the elected school officials unanimously agreeing to rescind the resolution in question.
The board on Jan. 23 approved the now rescinded resolution in a 5-1 vote a few days after Republican President Donald Trump took his oath of office. Trump soon sought to secure the national borders and deport immigrants who entered the country illegally.
Immigration issue: Rutherford school board votes in support of closing nation's borders due to rising ESL needs
Only board member Tammy Sharp opposed the initial resolution in question.
"This is going to send a message to our children − and not a good one," Sharp said after the other present board members approved the now rescinded resolution.
The resolution from vice chairwoman Frances Rosales had support from fellow board members Butch Vaughn, Caleb Tidwell, Katie Darby and chairwoman Claire Maxwell. Board member Stan Vaught was absent.
The resolution also had requested more federal funding for the district to help serve the increase of students needing English as a Second Language instruction.
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Diaz de Leon said the district should have just asked for more federal funding to hire additional ESL teachers without making a statement about the border.
'This resolution personally affected me and my family because my three sons will be attending RC (Rutherford County) schools as ESL students, and you have just stereotyped all ESL students as coming from the southern border," the mother said.
Diaz de Leon told the board that she was glad to learn prior to the meeting that the school officials were prepared to rescind the resolution.
'With all due respect, the damage is already done,' Diaz de Leon said.
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Diaz de Leon also suggested that some student absences are correlated with deportation actions.
"Students are afraid that they'll go home to find their parents missing," Diaz de Leon said.
"Parents are afraid to send their kids to school for fear that they may not come home. And our school board decided to respond to this by releasing a statement that completely vilifies our ESL community."
Rather than approving the now rescinded resolution, the board should have reaffirmed its opposition to the state approval of funding vouchers to help parents pay for private schools for their children instead of providing the money to support public schools available to all students, Diaz de Leon suggested.
"We need to believe that you did not write that resolution in good faith but to further divide our community," Diaz de Leon said.
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Rosales, the board vice chairwoman who called for the resolution in question, requested that the board rescind the previous position.
The vice chairwoman provided the following statement to The Daily News Journal prior to the Feb. 6 meeting.
"I advocated for ESL because I am a product of ESL within the public school system," Rosales said.
"The effort got lost in translation as a way to raise awareness about the little to no help the federal government provides to the district, and for that, I was mistaken. Districts have no control over the decisions made by the federal government. All we can do is our best as a district to educate everyone."
The vice chairwoman during the recent meeting mentioned spending her early childhood years in Puerto Rico before moving to the U.S. and being the only Hispanic student at her high school.
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In addition to rescinding the motion, the board also rejected a motion by Tidwell to oppose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Rosales initially supported Tidwell's resolution in a 4-3 vote before she requested another vote to reconsider. She then voted to reject the resolution to oppose DEI with Vaught, Vaughn and Maxwell.
Tidwell's rejected resolution kept the support of Sharp and Darby.
'We are banished': Rutherford schools book banning upsets free speech advocates
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rutherford school board rescinds resolution supporting border closure
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