News Photo by Reagan Voetberg A community member speaks to the board about the Fairview Area Schools physical privacy policy Monday night at the Alpena Public Schools board meeting.

ALPENA — A physical privacy policy that has received pushback from community members was discussed at the Alpena Public Schools Board of Education meeting on Monday.

The Fairview Area Schools Physical Privacy Policy was on the agenda for a first reading. The policy regulates the use of restrooms, locker rooms, and showers by gender non-conforming students. Fairview’s policy dictates that facilities that are designated for one biological sex shall only be used by members of that biological sex.

The policy defines biological sex as “the biological condition of being male or female as determined at birth based on physical differences, or, when necessary, at the chromosomal level.”

Community members once again packed the board room to express how they felt about the policy.

Of the 11 community members who spoke up, two were students.

One community member spoke in favor of the policy.

“I think their policy is excellent and I wish you would adopt it,” Julie Burns said.

Most in the room disagreed strongly with the policy.

A parent and former employee of APS mentioned the eight traits of an effective school board found on the APS website and said she does not think that the board exhibits those traits when they choose to discuss bathrooms over student achievement.

“All eight of those traits are geared toward student achievement, not bathrooms, which students and staff in the community have explicitly told you are not an issue at APS,” she said.

“Our success starts in the classroom, not the bathroom,” another community member, Yvonne LaFave Johnson, said. “Let’s set aside red versus blue, and let’s get practical. I call this a non-issue because all Alpena public schools have a single-person bathroom. This is a solution in search of a problem.”

“The proposal is not in the best interest of the student body,” Alpena High School student Callie Brousseau said. “Instead, it creates a negative environment, seemingly targeting students who may be different.”

At the last board meeting, board member Eric Lawson suggested that they get another legal opinion from Kallman Legal Group. On Monday, Superintendent Dave Rabbideau told the board that he called Kallman last week and has not heard back.

Board member Monica Dziesinski said she had the opportunity to meet with former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox about the policy. She also showed him the letter sent to the superintendent and the board of education from the American Civil Liberties Union, which explained how adopting a policy like Fairview’s would violate the law.

Cox sent Dziesinski information, which she passed out to the board, saying that Title IX law does preempt Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights law.

Dziesinski said she sent the Fairview policy to an organization called School Boards for Academic Excellence, and they made changes using best practices. Dziesinski handed out the amended version for board members to read as well.

Board member Sarah Fritz asked whether getting a legal opinion from Kallman would cost any money and whether there needed to be a motion from the board to spend that money.

Dziesinski made a motion to “spend the money on Kallman,” and board member AJ MacArthur seconded the motion. Dziesinski removed the motion after discussion about the as-of-now unknown cost, and MacArthur followed.

In a discussion near the end of the meeting, MacArthur and Dziesinski expressed that they felt they’d been personally attacked by some public comments at the meeting. Personal attacks are not to be directed towards individuals on the board, according to meeting etiquette.

MacArthur referred to a comment made by a member of the community that specifically addressed the occupations of three board members, himself included.

Other board members disagreed that any personal attacks were made, as no one in the audience mentioned any board members by name.

President of the board Anna Meinhardt said that when board members vote one way about a policy and a community member wants to address that, they cannot totally avoid addressing specific board members, even if names are not said.

“Well, if a music teacher, a doctor of medicine, and a berry grower doesn’t lay it all right out for you, Anna, then maybe you need to step down from your position,” MacArthur said.

MacArthur’s comment upset the audience and board members alike. The noise in the room leveled out quickly as Meinhardt continued on with the next agenda item in the meeting.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

— Thunder Bay Junior High staff and students gave a good news presentation about activities going on in the school.

— Board members made a motion to approve the AMA/SOAR partnership. Ashley Peterson, special education supervisor from the AMA ESD, answered questions from board members about the program. All board members present voted to approve the motion.

— Board members made a motion to approve the King Scott Facility Master Plan Development agreement. The motion passed.

— Board members made a motion to approve a lawn care bid from A Cut Above Landscaping for service at all APS buildings. Meinhardt, Lawson, and Fritz voted yes. Dziesinski and MacArthur voted no. Board members Sarah Costain and Eric Hansen were not present.

— The board voted to replace the second sentence of Policy 1210, Board – Superintendent Relationship to, “As such, the Board retains all discretion to originate or amend its policies. Therefore, the Board shall not originate or amend a policy without first giving the Superintendent the opportunity to provide recommendations or input.”

— The board approved new hires to the district.

— The board voted to accept donations with gratitude and thank the donors in writing for their generous gifts.

— Rabbideau talked about the top 10% student dinner that occurred Sunday night. The 22 seniors had a 4.06 average GPA, completed 56 AP courses, and earned 544 college credits. The Valedictorian this year is Lucy Cook.

— Rabbideau said that 44% of staff have responded to the Rehmann employee engagement survey so far. Rabbideau is hoping to get as much feedback from as many people as possible. Meinhardt said that the board wants to use the data to make better decisions.

— Dziesinski suggested trying to use a different law firm when a contract with Thrun is renewed in July.

Reagan Voetberg can be reached at 989-358-5683 or rvoetberg@TheAlpenaNews.com.