Our ED attended both sessions of Gwinnett’s March school board meetings. They were quite informative and eventful. Two staff members each committed a violation of the Open Meetings Act. They each held firm to violating even after it was explained to them.
The 2pm work session included a breakout session with the Teachers Advisory Council (TAC) and the board member for their school. The teachers were permitted to freely shared thoughts and concerns with their member. Unlike the scripted dog and pony show Area Board Meetings that our board holds with the community each year. Our ED was in the District 4 session with Dr. McClure, who is not seeking re-election this year. After 23 years on the board, Dr. McClure was not able to answer a single question. To be fair, not all of the questions dealt with board level policy, but he couldn’t answer those as well.
The 7pm business meeting included roughly 17 people addressing the board. Two speakers particularly stood out. First, a GCPS graduate who gave a very emotional and compelling testimony related to the abstinence based sex-ed curriculum, “Choosing the Best.” The other was a Duluth HS senior who chided Superintendent Wilbanks and the board for silencing students’ voices related to the student walkout. One of the meeting attendees recorded Wilbanks’ very telling remarks at the end of the meeting. All in all, an interesting day.