6 days ago
Why South-Western City Schools parents are considering leaving the district
GROVE CITY, Ohio (WCMH) — The South Western City School board said joining conservative advisory groups welcomed diverse perspectives to the district. Many parents disagree.
Parents said they were concerned about the conservative policies of the National School Board Leadership Council, one of four advisory groups the board joined on April 28. Although it was one of several conservatively aligned groups the board joined, parents were especially concerned about the NSBLC and said the decision to join groups like it could contribute to them voting against future levies or even leaving the district.
The NSBLC's website says it encourages districts to remove 'learning-challenged' students from general education classrooms, promote competition between public schools and charter or private options, and that non-English speaking students are an 'unacceptable cost to taxpayers.'
Tiffany Cheney has a daughter in South Western schools with an individualized learning plan, or IEP, for two language disorder diagnoses, and said she is 'looking to flee' the district because of the board's actions.
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'To hear that our current school board sees my smart, creative and intelligent daughter as a waste of resources, or should be considered to be segregated due to her uniqueness is not only disheartening but many steps back in an equal rights climate,' Cheney said.
NBC4 spoke with more than a dozen parents, and only one of whom said joining the group was a positive move. A high schooler with autism has gathered nearly 400 signatures on a petition to stop the district from joining the NSBLC.
A school board candidate and parent to a student with an IEP, Chelsea Alkire, used to teach English as a second language in the district and thought joining the NSBLC was 'like a slap in the face.'
'I was honestly between shocked and one of the highest levels of frustrated and angered I had ever been,' Alkire said.
School board member Denise D'Angelo and board President Chris Boso addressed public concerns. They said nothing has changed under the new membership and that the district already separates students based on what is best for their learning and approve an English-only curriculum. Both said joining the NSBLC and other groups like it provides increased diversity of thought for the school board, and Boso warned the 'noise' and 'hysteria' would harm the district.
'If our finances don't go the way they should, we're going to be going for a levy and the people in this community are going to hear all this going on and they're not going to vote for a levy,' Boso said.
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Boso was referring to the current Ohio budget plan, which reduces funding for public schools. Board members said the state's plan would cost the district $150 million. As Boso addressed community members, several yelled over him that it would be the board's fault if a levy failed.
'Calling individuals who disagree with him as 'hysterical' is rude, impolite and shortsighted,' said Kelly Dillon, parent to two district high schoolers. 'How are we supposed to help our children understand civic engagement and 'American exceptionalism' if we do not participate in the process?'
Parents acknowledged the state's funding changes would put the board in a hard position but worried people would vote against a levy because of the board. Graduates and parents like Kyra Paul, who has two young children in the district, said she would vote in favor because she remembered attending schools under a failed levy. However, she thought she'd be in the minority.
'If they put a levy on the ballot, I know that said levy will not pass because our community members and stakeholders believe that the board is not being good stewards of our money, and they are not making good decisions,' Paul said.
Anthony Wilson has two students at district schools and said both will attend a new school in the fall, one of several parents who told NBC4 they may leave the district. Tessa Schwabeland said her son will be a freshman in a district high school this fall, but she worries about his IEP and how the decision to join the NSBLC will make students with different learning plans feel.
'None of us want to leave our public schools. We want to trust them,' Schwabeland said. 'But if leadership prioritizes ideology over inclusion, families will walk away not because they want to, but because they feel they have no choice.'
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Not all parents disagree with the decision. Parent Robing Gorrell said she was worried about what she had seen at school and thought joining the NSBLC was a good step.
'I am pleased with the board's decision,' Gorrell said. 'My kids are going to school to learn — reading, writing, math … not figure out their gender with unsolicited pushing or figure out whom they want to have sex with, being made to feel weird/different for being straight.'
Spokesperson Evan Debo said joining the groups does not mean the district will make changes. He said the district has no plans to discontinue the English program serving students of more than 81 languages. Debo also said the district received the state's highest designation for special education.
'There have been no cuts or program eliminations proposed or voted on to eliminate parts of the academic infrastructure, resources or continuity of programming we currently have in place,' Debo said. 'SWCS remains resolute in its unwavering commitment to providing a high-quality education for the 21,000 students we serve annually.'
Overwhelmingly, however, parents told NBC4 they disagreed with the decision.
'I am so disappointed in SWCSD,' parent Savanna McCoy said. 'I would think that they'd want to stay away from an advisory board with such extreme ideals and beliefs. … I'm not proud to have my son in this district at all.'
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