Williamson County students complain of intimidation from adults following pride flag discussion

Williamson County students say they faced intimidation following last month's discussion on whether pride flags should be allowed in classrooms.Amy Duncan with LQBTQIA+ group Wilco Iris told board members at Monday’s meeting that some members of the crowd opposing the flags purposely intimidated students after the previous meeting.Duncan says she came to the board meeting to speak on behalf of those students who were advised not to attend the meeting by the adult volunteers at Wilco Iris who also feel the students’ safety is in danger.“Upon leaving the meeting last month, adults were waiting immediately outside these doors to intimidate our students as they walked back to their cars. Yes, grown adults used this space to create fear and anxiety for our students. I think this speaks directly to the importance of making sure these students find the support and encouragement they need at our school,” said Duncan.Nearly three dozen parents and students came to the prior board meeting to express their opinions on the pride flag issue.Supporters continued to argue Monday that it’s important for the flags to be in classrooms so LGBTQ+ students know they’re in a safe place.“Allowing students, teachers, staff, and parents to display the pride flag in our schools allows them to show their clear support for students of all sexual and gender identities. And this cannot and should not ever be construed as a bad thing. Rather it is a very good thing for our community,” said community member Tony Claudel.Williamson County parent Laura Seay was among those returning this month to further emphasize how the opposition of pride flags goes against the district’s character and urged the board to keep the issue off the agenda.“I’m here because once again a tiny minority of our community want to impose their personal values, control our professional educators, and make illogical, fear-based arguments that are not grounded in reality. This time, they have the idea that a pride flag somehow indoctrinates or sexualizes teenagers. I’m curious about how this works,” said Seay. "(A pride flag) doesn't harm anyone.”Opponents also returned to the board meeting to argue pride flags have no place in the classroom.Williamson County resident Rory Rottschalk was among them, but he stressed this conversation can occur without both sides accusing each other of hatred.“It is two different points of view of what is best for children. My comments last month were about my concern about a worldwide agenda. It appears that it is appropriate to teach comprehensive sexual education to kids that are in a classroom, captive in a classroom, you might say and they’re very young, very impressionable,” said Rottschalk. “My second concern was that it seemed to me that the pride community has attached itself to that global initiative and are able to access these very impressionable kids in a classroom setting. That does not seem appropriate to me.”Catherine McKinnie also spoke against pride flags and compared the politics of having them in the classroom to flying a Nazi flag. She told board members that the classroom should be a place to teach students how to read, write, and do arithmetic.“While a teacher’s sexual preference may be of interest to some, it’s really not the main issue of K through 12 education. What is? What are the grades that each school receives based on? They’re based on the results of tests in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Free speech, you say? But do you really believe that? Is it okay to have a Hamas flag? A Russian flag? How about a Nazi flag? The K through 12 classroom is simply not the place to adjudicate political issues,” said resident Catherine McKinnie.The issue of pride flags in classrooms has gained attention across the country in recent years. Superintendent Jason Golden told attendees at the last meeting that the topic of pride flags is a First Amendment issue.Golden told spectators this month that they are committed to making a safe environment for their students.“We know that in a school setting, so many issues will come up because we are a reflection of our community. And I want to reiterate that everything we do is with that fundamental, basic focus of making sure all our students are safe. So we always encourage our faculty and staff and our students if there is an issue that they see that might need investigating, to let us know,” said Golden.