The Sunol Glen College board declined to reverse their flag ban or affirm help for his or her superintendent on Tuesday night time, within the first frequently scheduled board assembly for the reason that controversial decision was authorized in September.
Sporting cowboy boots, board president Ryan Jergensen opened the assembly by saying that he anticipated “a civil dialogue.” And in reality, in distinction to the final two conferences, tempers appeared to have cooled barely.
Sunol Glen, a tiny one-school district set in a bucolic valley south of Pleasanton, has develop into the Bay Space’s epicenter of an academic tradition conflict that has unfold throughout the nation and California. When Jergensen and board member Linda Hurley voted on Sept. 12 to ban the show of a Delight flag from the campus flagpole, with third board member Ted Romo vigorously dissenting, the assembly led to chaos, because the board president ordered the viewers to be cleared from the room.
The following day, some dad and mom within the tiny district stored their kids dwelling from college, and opponents of the ban hinted that they may pursue a recall towards Jergensen and Hurley.
Per week later, on Sept. 20, it was the viewers who determined to stroll out in protest throughout a swiftly known as follow-up assembly.
At this assembly, Romo launched a decision to reverse the ban, calling it “a constitutional overreach.” One other decision was introduced to specific help for Superintendent Molly Barnes. Barnes publicly clashed with Jergensen over the Delight flag difficulty, and her job was seen to be in danger as not too long ago as two weeks in the past.
Earlier within the assembly, Romo opted to not attend the closed session portion, arguing that the “conservative members” of the board would use it as cowl to provoke Barnes’ removing.
The resolutions had been rolled into one agenda merchandise, which critics mentioned was an effort to curb public remark. The board finally voted to separate them, and to permit 20 minutes of public remark for every, on the request of board member Romo.
Jergensen and Hurley declined to convey the resolutions to a vote.
“Now just isn’t the time to ask me if I help her,” Hurley mentioned of Barnes.
Throughout public remark, neighborhood members talked about specializing in college students and never letting a measure divide them. The jeers that had outlined the earlier two conferences had light, considerably. One speaker mentioned that “we have to band collectively.”
Some blamed the Delight flag ban for dividing the neighborhood.
“The varsity by no means had an issue to start with,” one mum or dad, Matthew Sylvester, mentioned throughout public remark. “Now we do have an issue.”
Castro Valley Delight President Austin Bruckner Carrillo accused the board president of shuffling the remark playing cards with a purpose to stack public remark together with his supporters. One other neighborhood member, Debbie Ferarri,accused board member Romo of disparaging the neighborhood and calling them bigots.
Many neighborhood members current spoke in favor of the flag ban as the general public remark interval opened, claiming that it sexualized kids, amongst different arguments.
“This flag conflict is hurting our kids,” mentioned Fremont resident Jennifer Kavouniaris on the assembly. “We should settle for that our American flag represents everybody no matter their id.”
Nonetheless, pockets of resistance remained.
“The problem is you,” Bruckner Carillo mentioned of the board. “Once we cease attending these conferences, Ryan and Linda will transfer ahead with their hateful and dangerous insurance policies.”
The board won’t meet once more till December.