Across our nation school boards and teachers have come under attack. Meetings are disrupted and confrontations erupt about banning books. There is a common misperception that the mere mention of children/adults who do not fit the simple “boys are boys, girls are girls” categories will cause some children to become other than “straight.” This fear is unfounded. Gender expression, i.e., how one feels about one’s birth gender, is internal, not derived from external forces. The controversy is alive in Cecil County.
In October, a Hartford County PAC sponsored a billboard in Elkton, urging Cecil’s citizens to protest at the Board of Education meeting October 12 to “Take Back Our Schools.” Their website ReformNow.co, announces, “the perverse reality of sexual grooming in our schools.” “Sexual grooming” refers to the act of gaining an individual’s trust through favors, with the intent to eventually sexually exploit him/her. It is utterly shameful to imply that our teachers and school board act with such intent!
The stated top concern of Renee Dixon, school board candidate for District 4 is, “The transgender agenda being pushed upon our children needs to stop. A minority should not be pushing their agenda onto our children which hurts our children. . .” In fact, attempts to suppress all reference to the existence of sexual minorities demeans and stigmatizes a whole sector of our population, increases the likelihood of threats to their physical safety, and denies students their right to a physically and psychologically safe learning environment. The CDC’s most recent data on health risk factors for sexual minority youth demonstrates this, showing that they are up to 4 times more likely to be threatened or injured with a weapon or bullied on school property, and have fourfold greater risk of attempted suicide.
A GOP-sponsored PAC turned our local school board election into a one-issue campaign, distributing flyers defaming local teachers and incumbent board members; their official finance report shows expenditures of $15,000 on direct mail costs (see Ceciltimes.com, 11/1/22).
Resist their fear-mongering! School Board candidates Diana Hawley (District 5) and Bill Malesh (District 4) have already demonstrated their commitment to the welfare of all students through their past leadership, supporting a wide-range of basic services for students, teachers and families, and working hard to make our schools physically and psychologically safe for ALL students. Joe Ferdinando’s (District 3) public record leads me to believe that he, too, will provide balanced leadership for continued excellence in our schools. Cecil County needs your votes for them.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.