Wichita school board member quits — then doesn’t — over vote to protect LGBTQ people
It’s welcome news that the Wichita school board finally approved a statement of non-discrimination that protects gay, transgender and gender-nonconforming students and employees.
It’s unfortunate that the vote wasn’t unanimous.
Two board members — Mike Rodee and Ron Rosales — voted against the change, citing concerns about potential lawsuits, but it passed 5-2.
After Monday’s vote, Rodee announced his resignation from the board. On Tuesday afternoon, he submitted a statement rescinding the resignation and asking his fellow board members to “continue to consider me an active member of the board.”
Wait, what?
“I believe in the vision and mission of our district, and remain committed to serving Wichita students,” Rodee said in his statement Tuesday.
The bizarre back-and-forth came after a heated debate during which Rodee said the district could open itself up to expensive litigation if it added gender identity and sexual orientation to the categories included in its non-discrimination statement.
Then he said they should dodge the decision altogether.
“Honestly, I don’t think this is something that the board should even be allowed to decide,” Rodee said. “We’re volunteers. We’re not legal people.”
And again — what?
Wichita school board members are indeed volunteers. Rodee no doubt realized that when he ran for his seat in 2013 and again in 2017.
But the board sets policy for a district with more than 50,000 students — the state’s largest. It oversees a budget of $761 million. Board members hire superintendents, buy textbooks, decide the school calendar and more. Over the past decade, they sued the state for more funding for schools and won.
For Rodee to claim that deciding whether to shield LGBTQ people from discrimination and harassment is above his pay grade is a sidestep worthy of “Dancing with the Stars.”
To quit the board altogether after a vote didn’t go his way not only was irrational and petty, it was an insult to the constituents he pledged to represent.
The fact is, the Wichita board wasn’t rushing anything when it decided to extend protections to LGBTQ students and staff members. The board has debated the issue for years, and it’s behind most other school districts, universities and private corporations.
Last year, the president of United Teachers of Wichita urged board members to expand the nondiscrimination statement. In May, board member Ben Blankley proposed revising the statement to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, along with immigration status.
In June, board president Sheril Logan directed the superintendent to review all the district’s policies and guidelines to ensure a consistent message and “to make sure every student in our district can feel safe.”
Other districts, including Topeka, have adopted guidelines for transgender students at school which spell out specifically that students have the right to be addressed by their preferred names and pronouns, and to have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity.
There’s more the district could do, including training teachers how to approach LGBTQ students and issues in their classrooms.
But as board member Stan Reeser said Monday: “Words mean a lot.” The new statement is a long-awaited step in the right direction.
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This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 5:56 PM.
