By Guy Page
A Milton parents group last Thursday night demanded the local school board withdraw its proposed equity policy. They submitted a petition signed by more than 1000 Milton residents.
“We are asking our elected School Board Trustees to vote to abandon the proposed Equity Policy at the next board meeting and terminate any further work toward an Equity Policy. If the School Board chooses to continue with this policy, we request our filed petition to be put up for a vote on Town Meeting Day,” Nichole DeLong of Vermont Parents Against Critical Theory (VPACT) told the school board.
VPACT stresses it’s not a fringe group of disaffected parents. The number of Milton signatures on the petition are more than half of the total number of voters at the last annual school meeting.
“Over the past few months, we have spent hundreds of hours engaging our community with an honest open dialogue about this policy, something this Board has not done,” VPACT member Brock Rouse said. “During this process, we presented a petition to residents of Milton urging the Board to vote no to the adoption of this recommended Equity Policy. We have over 1,000 signatures on this petition which includes parents, students, community members, teachers as well as current and former Board members. This is more than half of the total votes that were cast in the most recent School Board election.”
The true number of equity policy opponents is actually higher, VPACT claims. Some teachers said they, too, want the equity policy abandoned, but were afraid to sign out of “fear of repercussions by school leadership and co-workers, who support, and are the driving force behind this policy,” Rouse said.
School Supt. Amy Rex has been a key planner of the proposed equity policy since work on it began in 2020, VPACT said.
No formal action was taken by the school board on the VPACT proposal December 15. The school board is scheduled to hold an executive session-only meeting Tuesday, December 20 on student disciplinary matters. No agenda has been posted for January on the school district website.
Under Vermont state law, local school boards are not legally required to add petition requests to Town Meeting ballots. However, in general practice both school board and selectboards lean towards including petitions that have broad local support and address local issues. Concerned citizens also always have the option of running for school board and amending or dropping the policy.
At the December 15 meeting, VPACT outlined the history of the proposed equity statement it wishes the school board to reject or, failing that, put before voters in 2023. “In June of 2020, our Milton School Board and Milton Selectboard buckled like cheap lawn chairs” to pro-BLM sentiment in the aftermath of the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a VPACT statement said. It signed a joint resolution of ‘racial equity’ empowering Superintendent Amy Rex and equity coordinator Wilmer Chavarria to convert a half-page state recommended policy into “a 14-page Policy that would change the entire operations of our school.”
The proposed equity policy creates a new advisory/policy board accountable only to the Superintendent, takes a strong stand for transgender sports participation and against election ‘misinformation, defines “white” in cultural terms, and would change any curriculum and instructional planning as deemed necessary. For more details on the proposed equity policy, see Dec. 2 Vermont Daily Chronicle news story, “Milton parents petition against school equity policy.”
VPACT noted that the Milton school officials don’t deny the equity policy is based on Critical Race Theory, a Marxist academic theory that seeks to impose socialist values on matters of race.
During an April 28 meeting in which VPACT members were present, policy creator Wilmer Chavarria stated “I don’t want to get into this game that some districts have gotten into just because some people are upset about CRT the districts pretend that it’s not a thing. It is a thing. It is very present and it informs a lot of what we do.”
Categories: Education
If the petition was more widely circulated there would have been more than 2,000 signatures in Milton. Too much equity, too little equality!! Let’s just cancel MLK day because it’s now become irrelevant in America’s brave new world of misinformation.
“VPACT noted that the Milton school officials don’t deny the equity policy is based on Critical Race Theory, a Marxist academic theory that seeks to impose socialist values on matters of race.” This is the heart of the problem today, insane politically correct/socialist demagoguery. To think we have a Marxist representing us in Congress. Bernie the Castro cult coven warlock leader. Thankyou, Guy!
Excellent work Niki and Brock and all the volunteers. Keep up the facts and talking with all the citizens of Milton. Your work is working, I know I’ve witnessed it first-hand.
Friends around Vermont, this is happening around our great State in almost every school elementary to high school. This work is what must happen in your community and holding your schoolboard members accountable. I strongly encourage you to contact your local schoolboard or school district and speak with the Equity Director or the Superintendent for what types of CRT, SEL, DEI (Equity), etc. planning and/or programs are happening in your school. As parents or taxpayer/community member you have a right and responsibility to know. Attend a schoolboard meeting, the date, time and location must v=be legally warned and they are open to the public.
If you want more information on how-to step-up, contact VPACT or my “Vermonters for Vermont” Initiative at V4V2018@aol.com. We hosted Townhalls on CRT and other public policy items around Vermont. Thank you.
#ParentsRights
https://vermontdailychronicle.com/milton-parents-submit-1000-signature-petition-with-opposing-equity-policy/#respond
These so called equity, inclusion, diversity initiatives are nothing more than Progressives keeping their divisive tactics front and center. It’s their method of claiming the “moral higher ground”. At the same time, casting shame and canceling all who challenge their activist tactics. It about time the citizens stood up to these cultural Marxists who insist on bullying all those who challenge them as well as calling out their destructive and divisive methods.
Didn’t both Brock and DeLong get defeated in the last Milton School board election?
Yes they did get defeated Gibbs, what is your point ?
Those pushing this Marxist agenda use race as a weapon and call out everyone as racist or homophobic that want the school boards to actually promote learning instead of pushing their CRT, Equity and transgender based agenda.
Are your aware that equity has nothing to do with the equal chance to succeed ?
Are you concerned the School board has ignored hundreds if not more emails and calls from concerned citizens ?
Are you concerned about the continuing trend of Student Aptitude and Grades degrading ?
Are you aware one of the teachers at the High School has a BLM Banner in their classroom ?
If you defend that, would you defend the Right of a teacher to put up a Trump Banner or a Christian Banner ?
I am grateful for Ms. Delong, Mr. Rouse and all the others that took the time to attend the last two meetings. The Parents that spoke addressed the fact they are ignored by the Superintendent and the members of the School Board. I hope many of those that signed this Petition will attend the next School Board meeting and step up.
Here’s a hypothetical question for you Gibbs, Let’s say you ran for any office or position in Government in VT.
You lost. So do you shut up and go away forever or does your voice still matter ?
It takes great strength and conviction to get back up after you got knocked down.
Here’s another question for you. Next time the Milton School Board ( or any other )
makes a decision that you are absolutely against, and they ignore every email and attempt you make to have it addressed, do you give up on your kids ?
The Superintendent and the School Board members have failed their responsibility to represent all students and Parents in the District. But they sure are great Pawns for the Marxist agenda.
It’s called “Presentism” and it’s premise is that everyone today are better people than anyone in history from 200 years ago,
and that the cure has to be “equity” to make up for the injustices from the past.
This is very exciting! Three cheers for VPACT and the citizens in Milton. Thank you!
Thank you VPACT, I am feeling guilty, my mom will be 100 on Dec 27th and she still bakes but only uses large WHITE eggs. In the 1950’s she ran the hot lunch program for Jr and SR High in Derby and always said white eggs are better. Should I be calling someone for forgiveness?
We are living in twisted times where evil is good and good is evil. Vermont is run by radicals (like Mad-Man Bernie Sanders) who fully support and are in lock-step with the Biden regime ramming their perverted Marxist (progressive left) ideologies down the masses throats. They are sticking with their progressive plan (Obama-nation) to “fundamentally change America.”