I was already out of the valley when I got a text message from Scott Larson about a front-page article in the Methow Valley News about the latest school board meeting. Later, I heard from another acquaintance who was less enthused. I couldn’t find it online and all the better. I wanted to focus on the holidays.
After reading the article yesterday, Methow Valley News’ subtle cues affirmed what I already knew- we each have our points of view and it is vitally important to have more than one news source in the valley.
First, a disclosure. I am a member of RenewED: Advocates for Student Excellence. I wrote about why I joined an educational group here and here. I support reform to improve academic excellence, age-appropriate books in school libraries, age-appropriate sex ed curriculum, parental rights, and protecting biological girls from unfair competition by biological boys in sports. This is the platform adopted by RenewED.
Now, cues in last week’s Methow Valley News article that indicate we differ on where we stand on girls’ sports.
1. The Headline.
“MVSD board is asked to restrict transgender girls in school sports”
Whether you are asking MV school board to “protect,” “restrict,” or “ban” is an indicator of where you stand on this issue. RenewED asked the school board to consider two proposals submitted by other school districts to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) to protect girls’ sports. The first proposal would allow all transgender athletes to compete in the boy’s division and reserve the girls’ division for biological girls. This would provide transgender student athletes the same opportunities afforded to all boys competing in WIAA organized events. The second option would establish a third category for transgender student athletes. This would limit the number of athletes that could participate. RenewED has not come out with a platform to favor one proposal or the other, but we stand firm on the rights of all competitors- boys, girls and transgender students- to compete fairly.
2. “Public School Activists”
You could say RenewED is an activist organization, but I wonder if activism would have the same connotation if we were championing LGBTQ+ rights. Somehow, girls’ rights have become associated with oppression vis à vis transgender athletes, even though girls’ rights are also human rights.
3. “Biological Girls”
It is a commentary on the times when the term “biological girls” is written in quotation marks while “transgender girls” is not.
4. “Michael Liu urged the board to push back on state law.”
During the school board meeting’s public comment period on Dec. 19, Michael Liu, a candidate for Gary Marchbank’s interim seat on the school board, read a portion of a letter he submitted to Methow Valley News, which the editor chose not to publish. It was published in the Examiner.
“While it is easy to hide behind state and federal nondiscrimination laws, the fact is, half of states now have policies in place requiring students to participate in sports consistent with their biological sex rather than gender identity.”
One can hide behind laws or work within their frameworks, which other states and school districts have done. “Push back on state law” should have been placed into context.
5. “Liu thrust himself into the forefront of the debate when he announced his interest in a school board seat….”
This is what Liu said at the Dec. 19 school board meeting:
“My hope is that the current school board will select a replacement for Gary Marchbank who can bring a diversity of thought and perspective to the board. Ideally, a parent with kids in the school system who understands what parents, students, and teachers are experiencing. Knowing that they are often very busy and unable to serve, I am also interested in applying and if selected, I would certainly work hard to add diversity and thought to the board and work on these issues.”
Liu’s kids, who are now adults, were mostly homeschooled. He highlighted diversity of thought when he announced his candidacy before the school board on Nov. 22. Whether that means he “thrust himself into the forefront of the debate” is, I guess, a matter of perspective.
6. “Flouting Washington State Law”
On more than one occasion, MVSD Superintendent Tom Venable, who advises the elected school board members, has praised the board’s adherence to the law. MVN missed a critical counter argument relayed by Larson at the most recent school board meeting. Larson compared doing nothing to segregation laws during the civil rights era. Should school districts have petitioned their states to challenge the law or should they, as many did, have pointed to the law and done nothing?
RenewED has petitioned the school board to submit a request to WIAA to consider changing the rules to provide an equal playing field for girls in middle and high school sports, as the following school districts have done: Lynden, Blaine, Brewster, Cashmere, Colville, Grand Coulee Dam, Lake Chelan, Lynden Christian School, Mansfield, Mead, Okanogan, Omak, Oroville, Tonasket, Eastmont, Moses Lake, and Thorp.
This would not be a violation of the law, as MVSD likes to point out.
The question before us is, do males have an advantage when it comes to strength, speed and endurance? If so, do we have an obligation to protect females from unfair competition by males? If the answer is yes, then we should not only submit but support requests to WIAA to reconsider its policy. By doing nothing, one is left to infer that MVSD believes males and females are competitive against each other or that the current policy is unfair, but they are unwilling to do anything about it.
People have a right to petition their elected officials. It’s long past time for each school board member to go on record about where they stand on this issue. People have a right to know.
As for the Methow Valley News, I look forward to Don Nelson’s editorial about where he stands. His paper’s implicit bias is evident to those of us on the other side of this issue. I look forward to reading why.
I sincerely thank you for all your hard work on this.
Well written
Thank you.