Right Here In Our Backyard

So many people think that because we live in a Blue state everyone is pro-LGBTQ… WRONG!

Stonington educators directed to remove LGBTQ+ flags on advice of district attorney
Westerly Sun
By Jason Vallee
October 14, 2022

A number of teachers in the school district have been directed by administrators to remove any LGBTQ+ flags from their classrooms on the advice of district attorneys who warned that the flags may be considered political statements.

Stonington Education Association President Michael Freeman, who heads the union, asked teachers to comply with the requests that come from Superintendent of Schools Mary Anne Butler and added that Butler has been receptive to concerns about the policy and has already set a meeting in November to discuss the matter.

“Superintendent Mary Anne Butler and I have had an in-person meeting, (exchanged) emails and numerous text messages over the last couple weeks. She has been gracious enough to allow me to attend a meeting with the leadership and legal counsel of the district,” Freeman said in an email to union members. “As with anything in the school district, we are embarking on a process to clarify what is going on. Such a process takes time.”

The matter was brought to the attention of teachers in an email to all union members earlier this week. In his first email to union members, which was shared with The Sun, Freeman told teachers that those who were instructed to take down flags were notified as part of a directive from Butler and the central office staff.

In the line from the musical Music Man song “Ya Got Trouble”…

Right here in River City, trouble with a capital "T"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool

Or in our case the “P” stands for “Pride”

There are no Blue islands there are only blue bubbles that can easily be popped.

VOTE!

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Update: October 28, 2022 7:00AM

There has been a development in the Pride ruling... they have seen the light!

Stonington Board of Education passes resolution to allow Pride flags back in the classrooms
Hartford Courant
By Ted Glanzer
October 26, 2022

Breandan Cullen, a recent graduate of Stonington High School, said he struggled initially with homophobia and bigotry when he was a freshman at the school.

He said he ultimately sought the support of a teacher who happened to have a small rainbow flag on a mug, which led to him becoming a member of the Alliance for Acceptance, a student group that supports and advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ community.

“Being in a community of people like myself made an incredible impact on my self-esteem, confidence and development into the high-achieving young man I am today,” he said during public comment at a special meeting of the Stonington Board of Education on Tuesday evening.

Cullen, an Eagle Scout who graduated in the top 10% of his class and is currently enrolled in the University of Michigan, said the display of the rainbow flags in classrooms plays a pivotal role in acceptance and tolerance for other students who are members of the LGBTQ community.

Cullen’s remarks followed the Stonington Board of Education passing a resolution on the recommendation of Superintendent of Schools Mary Anne Butler that Pride flags — a symbol of the LGBTQ community — be allowed to be displayed in classrooms, as they fall outside current board policies concerning partisan political displays, political influence and political messaging.

“These flags are statements of diversity, equity and inclusion that cross party lines and are not partisan,” Butler wrote in her recommendation. “We demonstrate diversity, equity and inclusion work in many ways, including our curriculum.”

In addition to permitting the display of Pride flags, the resolution also calls on the district to review within 30 days its policies to ensure they prohibit LGBTQ discrimination, as well as discuss with its unions ways to incorporate those policies in the district’s collective bargaining agreements.

The right-wingers keep on saying it is a political flag. But tell me, what party, what candidate does it represents?