Thursday night, dozens of parents and teachers gathered to blast the Roanoke County School Board for failing to publicly condemn a parent who expressed his anger regarding the school’s use of LGBTQ symbols and curriculum.
Last month, Damon Gettier, a father of a student at Glen Cove Elementary, called out “the child abuse, grooming, conditioning and indoctrination by sexual predators disguised as teachers and staff” after finding out about pride month decorations in various classrooms, according to The Daily Progress.
Gettier claimed that faculty such as the guidance counselor, assistant principle and the school psychologist were “bent on indoctrinating our children on LGBTQA and not on reading, writing and arithmetic,” citing images from the most recent yearbook in which faculty can be seen wearing jewelry, clothing and other accessories with rainbow patterns. (RELATED: ‘Smut’: Town Board Partially Freezes Public Library Funding Amid Parent Protests Over Sexually Explicit Books For Kids)
The fallout over a parent’s recent comment and the perceived board response continues. https://t.co/NK1qrunxhF
— The Roanoke Times (@roanoketimes) June 16, 2023
At the most recent meeting, parents claimed that the school board was “complicit” for failing to condemn Gettier’s statements. “All teachers, staff and students deserve a safe, welcoming, diverse and inclusive school system,” one parent said, according to local outlet WBDJ7 reported.
These comments come a few weeks after pro-LGBT community members held “peaceful demonstration” at the school to show “acceptance, appreciation, support, and unconditional love”
“It’s not up to school officials to talk to children about gender and sexuality, especially in an elementary school,” Board Chairman Brent Hudson told WDBJ7 after the meeting. “We have over 13,000 students in the school district. And each of those students, unless one of them belongs to a teacher or a staff member, those children belong to somebody else. And as a parent, I would be very aggravated and upset if someone were to talk to my children regardless of age, about sexuality and gender. That’s something that is between my wife and I and how we’re raising our children and we respect other people’s beliefs. However, it is our right to teach our children and bring them up how we see fit; it’s not up to the school district.”