The Pride Flag was raised again on Tuesday January 20th. About 50 community members, teachers, administrators and students joined the SVHS GSA on the front lawn of the school to do a flag planting but we know many more were with us in spirit. It was a moment of solidarity and community that really felt like an out and proud moment among community members, and the students truly shone in this moment and told us how supported they felt. This is what Student leadership looks like!!!

After reviewing President Bells public statement which can be seen here A Message from SVUSD Board President David Bell Regarding the Pride Flag at SVHS – Sonoma Valley Sun Wake UP Sonoma takes issue with several issues as outlined below.

1. He states he did this on purpose to gauge public reaction. Subjecting the students at SVHS to his own experiment to see how people would react. WHAT?Who does that? Especially a School Board member entrusted with the health and safety of students. This experiment had a very negative impact on the students of the GSA and the community as a whole. 

2. President Bell demonstrated use of unilateral exercise of authority outside of a board meeting, without opportunity for public comment, or vote, or any community transparency.

3. He did not follow SVUSD Bylaws which state – 

“.Unless agreed to by the Board as a whole, individual members of the Board shall not exercise any administrative responsibility with respect to the schools or command the services of any school employee.  Individual Board members shall submit requests for information to the Superintendent.  Board members shall refer Board-related correspondence to the Superintendent for forwarding to the Board or for placement on the Board’s agenda, as appropriate.”

It is also against the rules laid out by the California School Boards Association (CSBA), which states:

“Authority is granted to the board as a whole, not each member individually. Therefore, board members fulfill these responsibilities by working together as a governance team with the superintendent to make decisions that will best serve all the students in the community”

Overall, this leads us to ask about the governance of the School Board. Many are asking about whether or not there are Brown Action violations which took place, including whether Bell communicated with other board trustees about this outside of a board meeting. Ultimately we don’t feel that appropriate checks and balances are in place to prevent a single board member to authorize such consequential actions going forward.

4. Finally, we take issue with his characterization of the pride flag being just another flag, and minimizing the impact and meaning of this flag to the community and most of all LGBTQ youth. This is not an “all flags matter” situation. Having a flag flying at the high school sends a powerful message, that every student is seen, valued and safe here. LGBTQ students face higher rates of bullying, anxiety and isolation, a visible sign of inclusion can be the difference between feeling invisible and feeling supported. To compare a symbol of inclusiveness and safety to a flag for sports team or Future Farmers of America, is an uninformed and tone deaf thing to do at a time when the rights of LGBTQ communities are being threatened and fear is at an all time high. When a school publicly stands for inclusion, it tells all students and families that kindness, safety and community are core values – not negotiable ones. We did not hear an apology for this, Mr. Bell which was the most consequential part of your actions.
This is a slippery slope of local rights being at risk, and a school board trustees going rogue. We feel it important to keep this issue in the public eye, and we hope that you will all continue to support this effort and show up for the kids.