Susan E. Davis, President
Plymouth-Canton Board of Education
E. J. McClendon Educational Center
454 South Harvey Street
Plymouth MI 48170

Patricia Patton, Principal

From:SARATOGANY@aol.com
Thu, 10 Feb 2000 06:43:38 -0500 (EST)
Subject:MI:Schools reject plea for gay pride signs (may be arbirtated)
To:SARATOGANY@aol.com, bdm3g@gateway.net

Msg fwd by:
The Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS, PO Box 2345, Malta, NY 12020
Email to:saratogany@aol.com

"The Actual or Perceived GLBT Student Protection Project"

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

Detroit Free Press
Schools reject plea for gay pride signs
http://www.freep.com/news/education/gay10_20000210.htm

Schools reject plea for gay pride signs

Teachers' dispute may be appealed, arbitrated
February 10, 2000

BY AMBER ARELLANO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Plymouth-Canton Schools -- Leaders for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools have dismissed a plea to let teachers post gay pride displays on bulletin boards in its secondary schools.

On Tuesday, district leaders notified two openly gay teachers that they would not be able to re-post displays about prominent gay people and gay issues. The teachers had filed a grievance with their union local after the district ordered the teachers to remove the items during October, gay history month.

Mike Chiumento, one of the teachers, said Wednesday that he plans to appeal.

"I think the message it sends is that bigotry is sanctioned by the district," said Chiumento, a 23-year veteran band teacher at West Middle School.

The district's spokeswoman, Judy Evola, and school officials involved in the grievance were unavailable for comment.

The flap over the bulletin boards has sparked debate over how to address gay issues in the community's schools. Gay students and supporters say they're often harassed and they need more public support.

Some parents, however, say that displays about gays may encourage students to try out homosexuality.

Since then, students have organized the community's first Gay-Straight Alliance, a group for gay students and their supporters. Last month, the group raised about $250 for activities.

In the grievance, the local affiliate of the Michigan Education Association cited district policies and teachers' rights under their union contract to address controversial subjects.

It also argued that gay students have a right to a school environment free of harassment, according to Joann Gustafson, a middle school teacher who cochairs the union's grievance committee.

The contract prevents the union and district from discussing details of the grievance. If the union appeals the decision, as it promises to do, the case will probably go to arbitration within six months, Gustafson said.

American Civil Liberties Union officials said they would wait to see what happens with the arbitration before considering a suit against the district.

"It appears they're being censored based on the content of their displays," said Michael Steinberg, legal director of the ACLU of Michigan.

Other displays, such as African-American History Month bulletin boards, have been accepted, he said.

AMBER ARELLANO can be reached at arellano@freepress.com.

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