Plymouth schools to vote on ban on Scout meetings
Teachers union objects to group's anti-gay policy

By Jennifer Chambers, The Detroit News

PLYMOUTH -- The Boy Scout motto is "be prepared."

In what appears to be a test of that maxim, the Plymouth-Canton Education Association is telling local troops that meet on school property to prepare to relocate if they are going to exclude gay men and boys from their ranks.

The teachers union signed a resolution that essentially asks the Plymouth-Canton Board of Education to deny the Boy Scouts meeting and recruiting space in schools throughout the district. The resolution, which had one dissenting vote, will be presented to the school board tonight.

"This is not about the Boy Scouts or the kinds of activities they provide for kids. From what I know those are quite good," said Mike Chiumento, a member of the Plymouth-Canton Education Association. "I think they are doing a very damaging thing to themselves with this policy and our message is, change your policy and you are welcome back to the schools."

The Boy Scouts' controversial policy on gays made headlines when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that the 90-year-old organization could legally exclude gays. The court decision affirmed the scouts' standing as a private association with the right to set its own standards for membership and leadership.

The Plymouth-Canton teachers union is the first in Michigan to take a stand against the Boy Scouts' policy. Chiumento, a teacher at West Middle School, said at its annual summer convention the National Education Association adopted a similar motion, but it did not specifically name the Boy Scouts. The NEA then encouraged local unions to do the same, he said.

The question of whether a school district can legally ban the scouts from school property is up for debate.

Under the Equal Access Act passed by Congress, student-led, special interest, noncurriculum clubs must be allowed to meet and have equal access to school property if a school receives federal funds and permits any student noncurricular club to meet.

The same law is also being used around the country to support the right of students to organize gay/lesbian/bisexual support groups in schools. School districts can opt out of the act by not allowing any noncurriculum clubs.

However, since the Boy Scouts is not led by students but by adults, it does not qualify for protection under the act, said Heather Sawyer, staff attorney with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York.

"What the district has to think about is whether they have a general policy against discrimination," Sawyer said. "It is problematic for any government entity to entangle itself with any group that discriminates."

John Perry of the Detroit-Area Council of Boy Scouts, which represents troops in Plymouth, said it is illegal to ban any group from access to school buildings unless you ban all groups.

"I'm not surprised that special-interest groups are doing this. I don't have any knowledge of what the school board will do but I'm sure they will do the right thing," Perry said.

Not all Boy Scouts use public schools for meetings. Churches, private homes and other locales are used by some troops. Perry said using local schools provides the Boy Scouts with an easy and convenient place for meetings and to recruit children, and it is where they want to meet.

Gary Glenn of the American Family Association of Michigan, which describes itself as pro-family, agrees that banning the Boy Scouts would be illegal and accused the teachers union of allowing itself to become "little more than a water carrier for the homosexual agenda." Glenn said he plans to attend the meeting on Tuesday.

"Teachers and the union are attempting to punish the Boy Scouts for taking a firm stand to protect youngsters from adults who engage in deadly homosexual behavior," Glenn said. "We expect the school board to put what's best for young people."

School Board member Judy Mardigian said she did not want to comment on the resolution until it is presented to the board.

This is not the first time the school district has become embroiled in controversy over gay issues. Last October, administrators removed bulletin boards about homosexual issues at West Middle School and Plymouth Salem High School. The teachers union has filed a grievance against the school, and negotiations are in arbitration.

Parent Rochelle Baron says the Boy Scouts as an organization has had a tremendous effect on her 13-year-old son, Matthew. The group's policy of excluding gays is a take-it or-leave-it kind of thing, she said. Her son's troop, Plymouth #743, does not use school property for its meetings.

"If you're going to ban somebody if they're going to cause trouble that's OK, but the Boy Scouts? I can see both sides, but I am a taxpayer and I have a right to use that facility," she said. "But if my son was gay and he wanted to be a Boy Scout, it would be tough because it's a wonderful organization."

Since the high court ruling, some school districts across the nation have decided not to continue charter relationships with Boy Scout troops. Funding has also been cut for some troops. Ten of the 1,400 United Way chapters across the country have withdrawn funding from Boy Scout troops, Perry said. The Allegan County United Way revised the way the Boy Scouts there can receive funding. The group's status was changed from a partner agency to a designation-only agency.

The United Way Community Services in Detroit has not pulled funding from the Detroit-Area Council of Boy Scouts or the Clinton Valley Council of Boy Scouts, which together represent troops in all of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.

Boy Scout membership continues to be on the rise in Metro Detroit with a 34 percent increase in the last five years, Perry said. The Detroit-Area Council serves more than 80,000 young people and 15,000 adult leaders.

"You'll find that a majority of people are behind us in this position. We are not homophobic, we don't teach intolerance, we teach kids to respect differences. We have a right to set our own rules," he said.

What's next:

The Plymouth-Canton Education Association will present the following resolution to the Board of Education during its regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. tonight at 454 S. Harvey in Plymouth:"The Plymouth-Canton Education Association will oppose the use of Plymouth-Canton Community School buildings by the Boy Scouts of America and any other organization that sanctions discrimination for the purpose of recruiting and meeting."

· You can reach Jennifer Chambers at (734) 354-4049 or at jchambers@detnews.com.

From:SARATOGANY@aol.com
Date:Wed, 15 Nov 2000 13:29:40 EST
Subject:MI:Teacher's Union Request to Ban Scouts Denounced at Board Mtg (no vote yet)

Message from:
The Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS, PO Box 2345, Malta, NY 12020
Email to:SARATOGANY@aol.com

The Real or Perceived Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Student Protection Project

===================================================================
Datroit Free Press

Ban on Boy Scouts fought

Teachers union seeks to halt troop meetings
November 15, 2000

BY MARY OWEN
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

The request to ban Boy Scouts of America troops in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools was roundly denounced at a Tuesday night school board meeting.

About 100 parents and other community members were responding to a motion approved by the district's teachers union Sept. 26 that called on the board to deny any group -- including the BSA -- from recruiting or meeting in the schools if they discriminate against gays. The Scouts ban openly gay troop leaders.

"It's a question of what's in the best interest of the children," said Richard Mathews, an assistant Scout master in Canton. The father of two scouts is opposed to restricting the district's 44 troops from using school facilities.

"The Boy Scouts does not discriminate against children."

Plymouth-Canton Education Association President Chuck Portelli said the 96-member union executive board approved the motion in response to a letter from the National Education Association urging them to do so. The 950 teachers in the union who are not on the executive board did not vote.

"The PCEA leadership believes that discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated," said Portelli. But "we're not condemning the Boy Scouts of America."

The board did not vote on the issue Tuesday. Portelli said he would be very surprised if the board took up the issue. The union's motion cannot be enforced without the board's approval.

While parents touted the value of the scouts and questioned whether the union was overstepping its boundaries, some people agreed with the union.

"By having the Boy Scouts, which is a discriminatory agency, we are not giving our children a clear message about fairness," said Plymouth resident Lois McDowell.

Contact MARY OWEN at 313-222-6831 or

====================================================================
This message has been distributed as a free informational service for the expressed interest of non-profit research and educational purposes only.

PRIMER WEBSITES
GLSEN --- Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
www.glsen.org
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
www.lambdalegal.org

Safe Schools Coalition of Washington
www.safeschools-wa.org
The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project Home Page
www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
www.pflag.org
Empire State (NY) Pride Agenda
www.prideagenda.org
GLAAD
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
www.glaad.org

"The Real or Perceived GLBT Student Protection Project"
("Being safe at school should not be a radical concept".. Jamie Nabozny)

A project of:
Coalition for Safer Schools of New York State

John Myers
Director of Operations and Programs
PO Box 2345
Malta, NY 12020
(518) 587-0176
Email:SARATOGANY@aol.com

(To subscribe or unsubscribe (CSS-NYS Email List) send request to SARATOGANY@aol.com)

Return to P.E.R.S.O.N. Project Home Page