Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Schools

Gay clubs issue dominates school forum

Amid the rising clamor over the legitimacy of Gay-Straight Alliances, concerns such as school crowding get shoved aside at a town hall meeting.

By MELANIE AVE
Published December 16, 2005

PLANT CITY - The growing debate over gay clubs in high schools took center stage Thursday as supporters and detractors lobbied the superintendent during her final town hall meeting of the year.

Michael Freincle, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Brandon High School, described the clubs as a "safe haven for kids who just don't fit in with other groups." He urged superintendent MaryEllen Elia and the school district committee studying all special interest clubs to keep the clubs in place.

Newsome High School parent Alice Wilkinson questioned whether the groups were merely "social clubs," having no place in public schools.

The discussion, attended by about 120 people at Plant City High School, so dominated the evening that some parents and teachers - who wanted to talk about school crowding and their children's education - wondered if they were at the wrong meeting. The event attracted a school social worker from Pinellas County and a Miami attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Debate about the appropriateness of the clubs has been growing since September, when parents of students at Newsome High School learned of plans by some teens to start a club there. Gay-Straight Alliances are in place at a handful of county schools and are commonplace on campuses nationwide.

Earlier this week, the parents, many of them Christians, submitted 1,100 petitions to School Board members telling them to ban the groups, which they say foster discussions on sex and sexuality.

In response to the push by some parents to boot the clubs from the schools, Equality Florida launched its own public relations campaign to drum up support for Gay-Straight Alliances.

District officials have received about 1,500 e-mails, many of them form letters, in favor of the clubs.

During Thursday's meeting, Freincle was insistent. "Don't even think of banning GSAs or any other clubs," he said, as members of the audience applauded.

Teacher Bart Birdsall asked Elia if the task force planned on getting rid of all the clubs, across the board, as a way to eliminate Gay-Straight Alliances.

Elia said the task force, which will soon add parents and students to its membership, will study the clubs and forward recommendations to board members.

Its purpose, she said, is not to ban anything. "It is working to look at what is appropriate."

"There are a lot of clubs that are lifelines to our students," Elia said later, referring to school clubs in general. "You talk to some students and they'll say they are the reason they're in school."

Club opponent Allan Trovillian encouraged Elia to involve parents of teens in the study and said he is hoping for an "honest evaluation of the facts."

"We're going to be positive in our approach," he said. "We're not going to name-call. I believe we can discuss. I believe we can debate. I believe we can go forward on this."

Toward the end of the meeting, lawyer Rich Bowers, who has a daughter at Durant High School, came to the microphone to talk about school crowding and ways to pay for more schools.

Durant is one of the county's most crowded schools.

Outside the meeting, he complained about how the issue of gay clubs dominated the discussion.

"Frankly, I don't appreciate it," he said. "I'm a parent, and I have a vested interest in the schools."

Thursday night's town hall meeting was the last of seven for the year for Elia, who became superintendent in July. She began holding the meetings around the county in September to hear from parents and students about issues of most concern.

Most of the meetings have been routine, drawing questions about school crowding, attendance boundaries, quality teachers and bus routes.

But Tuesday, the question of Gay-Straight Alliances took on more urgency when some Brandon area parents submitted petitions with 1,100 signatures to Hillsborough School Board members, asking them to ban the groups.

The alliances, which are organized by students, meet regularly in a handful of county high schools as part of club day activities.

In reaction to the parents who oppose the clubs, the district has formed a committee that is studying all special interest clubs, considering the impact they have on academics and whether better-defined policies are needed.

"This issue will not go away until sexually oriented clubs go away," wrote Christian activist Terry Kemple. "We want action."

Nadine Smith, director of Equality Florida, described the parents' message as: "We don't care what happens to gay students in our school."

Gay-Straight Alliances are allowed under federal laws that protect the free speech of students. If schools allow some nonacademic clubs, including those in which students study the Bible, they cannot discriminate against others.

Some of the parents who oppose the clubs do not believe they are protected by law.

The Newsome High principal allowed the club because it met minimum requirements - a teacher sponsor and more than 20 students interested. She did require one extra step to join, parental permission, which is not a must for joining other clubs.

Rules on student clubs vary. Some campuses allow students to meet during class time while others meet only during lunch or before or after school. Most clubs have to have a faculty sponsor and a stated purpose.

Melanie Ave can be reached at 813 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 16, 2005, 01:09:55]