This is a clip of Board-member Richard Hendrick's rant against the rights and safety of transgender students at last week's board meeting. While it is within his position to share his opinion on policies/procedures, he went beyond that by then abusing his position of power to go on a rant about his views on pronouns, transgender people being deceitful, and blaming transgender students for the rise of mental health issues among youth. Much more was said by him that is hurtful and harmful to the LGBTQ+ community and their families.
He has a documented history of using his elected platform to publicly invalidate BIPOC students' experiences with racism in the Sumner Bonney Lake School District and now this. His term ends in 2023, but he has "trainees" that he is conditioning to run to take his place. A message needs to be sent to the board and community that this is not the culture we want for our community and students. There are a few things that the community can do to show this: 1)Request that the board censure him 2) Request that the board remove him from the policy committee and 3)Demand Board-member Hendricks resign at once from the school board. He's quite full of himself, so he's likely not going to resign, but it's important that he and his trainees know this type of behavior will not just be washed over.
Letter to: Director Richard Hendricks
richard_hendricks@sumnersd.org
Cc:
Director Erin Markquart, Board President
erin_markquart@sumnersd.org
Director Kevin Lewis
kevin_lewis@sumnersd.org
Director Deb Norris
deb_norris@sumnersd.org
Director Paul Williams
paul_williams@sumnersd.org
Dr. Laurie Dent, Superintendent
laurie_dent@sumnersd.org
Dr. Thu Ament, Deputy Superintendent
thu_ament@sumnersd.org
Kelly Denn, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services
kelly_denn@sumnersd.org
David Brower, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Student Services
david_brower@sumnersd.org
Joshua Agpalza, Director of Equity
joshua_agpalza@sumnersd.org
WSSDA Standards to consider.
Rick’s conduct makes the entire board falter on meeting these standards:
Standard 1, benchmark a, question 6: Does the board model civility in all its interactions?
Standard 1, benchmark e, question 5: Does the board treat all individuals, including fellow board members, staff, students and community, with respect?
Standard 5, benchmark a, question 2: Does the board exhibit cultural, racial and ethnic understanding and sensitivity?
Individual Standards that Rick does not meet:
Standard 1: Values and Ethical Behavior
B. Demonstrates commitment to equity and high standards of achievement for each student.
C. Commits to treating each individual with dignity and respect.
D. Models high ethical standards.
Standard 2: Leadership
A. Contributes to thoughtful governance discussions and decisions by being well informed, open-minded and deliberative.
B. Understands that authority rests with the board as a whole and not with individual directors
F. Respects the board’s role in policy making and supports all adopted board policies.
Standard 3: Communication
B. Communicates accurately and honestly, with awareness of the impact of his/her words and actions.
C. Listens carefully and with an open mind.
D. Maintains civility and treats all people with respect.
Standard 5: Accountability
E. Complies with board policies/procedures and the law.
BP 5012 - Civility
To promote a work and learning environment that is safe and productive for all staff and students, and to encourage the free flow of ideas without fear or intimidation (comment to Dr. Dent about hiring and firing superintendents)
Imposing personal demands at times or in settings where they conflict with assigned duties and cannot reasonably be met (continually calling David Brower out during comments)
Careful with this board policy, though, because it specifically states that non-civility does NOT include talking about controversial topics…