Dear Superintendent Kelley and members of the Bow School Board:
Per my presentation to the School Board this evening,
Pursuant to the Right to Know Law (RSA, 91-1), I am requesting public access, within 5 business days, to the governmental records:
1) Some parents no longer feel comfortable bringing any problems before the school board. They fear retribution but worse, they feel that retribution will be aimed at their children. How do you plan to rectify this situation ?
2) If the top administrator and others in the district are willing to possibly violate a parent’s right to free speech, how is this topic covered in a school where teachers are tasked with teaching about 1st amendment rights?
3) Are there any politically motivated signs, symbols, flags etc. hanging anywhere in the school? IF so, why were those acceptable but parents couldn’t express their viewpoint?
4) Please explain how insurance works if a female student is injured during a girls sporting event by a biological male? The same with legal expenses? We’d like a detailed explanation if the school district covers any or all of the medical, psychological and legal expenses. There was a girl in North Carolina who was partially paralyzed when she was hit in the face when a biological male spiked the ball.
5) We’d like a timeline of events from when this policy was proposed to when it was changed. That includes roll call votes at any school board meetings.
6) We’d like documentation including emails, texts, electronic communications with anyone involved in the incident where the two parents were issued the trespass orders.
7) What are the locker room and restroom policies?
Per RSA 91-A:4IV(C) If you deny any portion of this request, please cite the specific exemption used to justify the denial to make each record, or part thereof, available for inspection along with a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the information withheld.
I understand that not all of the information is available in a government document. However, I hope that at some point, you will be answering those questions in a separate format so Bow parents will know these answers.
The handful of parents who contacted me are now deeply concerned that they can no longer speak freely to any staff based on the hostile environment within the school community. I asked them to speak on their own behalf tonight but they are worried that their views do not align with the Superintendent. They now question if there would be retribution towards their children who currently attend the school. The weaponization of the police and issuing a no-trespass order has had a chilling effect on some of the parents in your district.
We do not know, going forward, what these sports teams will look like in the future. Will these girls have to face a team where half of their opponents are biological males? These are real concerns that they deserve to have clarified. I’m hearing from other parents in another district that their girls are worried they will face retribution if they choose not to play a game if a biological male is on the opposing team. They are feeling pressured to play when they are concerned about their own safety.
—
Ann Marie Banfield
TRUST REQUIRES TRANSPARENCY
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