[Letters to Des Moine school board members should be sent to:
Board of Education, Central Campus, 1800 Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA 50309.]

THE DES MOINES REGISTER
Box 957,Des Moines,Ia.,50304
FAX 515-286-2511, E-MAIL: letters@desmoine.gannett.com

Thursday, April 18, 1996

METRO EDITION

* The D.M. school board is being asked to change - and retain - rules on rights of gay employees.

By Kellye Carter, Register Staff Writer

A Petition war is brewing over protection for gay Des Moines school employees.

At issue is whether the school district - one of the state's 10 largest employers - should continue to forbid discrimination against homosexuals in hiring and job opportunities.

A student group has collected 1,000 signatures supporting the current policies, organizers said. And its effort has been taken up by The Interfaith Alliance Of Iowa, a non-partisan ecumenical political group.

Alicia Claypool, Alliance chairwoman, said her group is aiming to collect 1,000 signatures too, but they haven't been counted yet. The cause has been endorsed by several groups, she said, including the Des Moines Human Rights Commission.

"These students are very courageous to stand up and really lead the community in this effort," she said.

PARENT'S PETITION

Supporters of the policies said they will give their petitions to the Des Moines school board Tuesday.

They are responding to the 1,000-signature petition presented to the board April 2 by Concerned Parents of Des Moines, a conservative Christian political action committee that wants to eliminate protection for gays.

The policies prohibit discrimination based on 10 factors, including sexual orientation, religion, marital status and national origin.

"We're not trying to get into a numbers game with them," said Bruce Tillotson, Concerned Parents chairman . "The reason we presented them was there were people in support of this petition."

Tillotson said his group gathered signatures "relatively in one day."

Both sides claim to represent the mainstream.

STUDENTS HARASSED

Sara Dirks, who helped start Concerned Students of Des Moines, said some teen-agers were harassed because of their support for the anti-discrimination policies. Some adults asked her whether she is a lesbian, said Dirks, a North High School junior.

"It would make people feel safe if they thought the only people who were willing to work for homosexual rights were homosexual, but that's very, very wrong," she said.

The students expected some harassment, she added.

"The thing that's incredible is how many people have been supportive and want to work for this themselves," she said.

Claypool, the Alliance chairwoman, agreed.

"There's a lot of outrage about this," she said. "People are saying to us there are more important issues we need to be focused on in the community and especially in the schools."

"NOT THE SAME ISSUE"

Even some people who opposed last year's proposal to teach students about homosexuality have signed petitions supporting the anti-discrimination employment policies, Claypool said. "It's not the same issue," she said.

Concerned Parents led a successful fight against the highly controversial curriculum plan and spearheaded the September election defeat of veteran school board member Jonathan Wilson, who is gay.

Tillotson said the election turnout showed that an "overwhelming majority" of people support striking "sexual orientation" from the anti-discrimination policies.

But Kit Murray, a Roosevelt High School junior and co-founder of Concerned Students, said removing such protection would be wrong.

"It is discriminating against a group of people because of who they are," she said. "I don't think their quality of work is affected by their sexual orientation."

*

Both sides in the petition wars agree on one thing: The Des Moines school board will decide what happens next.

Some residents want the board to drop its employment policies that protect gays from discrimination, but others oppose such a change.

Two board members said Wednesday they are being lobbied by both sides but don't know what they will do. Board members who survived last year's firestorm over including homosexuality in the curriculum aren't eager to tackle the issue.

Suzette Jensen is the veteran member of the board's policy development subcommittee, which would likely recommend any changes in the anti-discrimination policies.

"I think this issue has gotten us so far off track from what key issues are in the school district, I wish it would go away," she said. "I think most of t he board members don't even want to deal with it."

The committee's other members, Harold Sandahl and Laura Sands, couldn't be reached Wednesday.

Board President John Phoenix said he knew of no plans to take the issue to the policy subcommittee.

Jensen and Phoenix are among a majority of board members who previously supported the anti-discrimination policies. Now they hesitate to say whether they want to retain it.

"At this point, I'm not in the position to answer that question," Phoenix said. "Until the committee has had a chance to do its job, I'd just as soon not pass judgment on work they haven't done yet."