Ann Arbor News
January 14, 1998

Sexual orientation returns to police-in-schools pact
Contract language gives anti-discrimination protection to homosexuals

By SHENA ABERCROMBIE
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

It should've been a routine vote - approve or reject a contract for a sheriff's deputy to work in Ypsilanti schools.

Instead, two opponents who first met in City Council chambers to debate whether homosexuals should be protected against discrimination in city ordinances are at odds again - this time in the Ypsilanti school board room.

At the heart of this fight is whether the school district should include sexual orientation as a protected group in its contracts and, ultimately, in its policies.

Charles Duty, a proponent of gay rights, came to the board last year to lobby for a return of "sexual orientation" in school liaison contract language with city police. The previous contract had listed sexual orientation as one of the groups protected against discrimination, but that was dropped in the new contract.

Tuesday night, a group called Citizens Opposing Special Treatment urged the board to remove sexual orientation from a similar contract with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department.

Board members eventually approved the contract, which included anti-discrimination protection for sexual orientation, in a 4-2 vote.

Under the contract, the sheriff's department will provide a deputy to work in Ypsilanti High School and other Ypsilanti public schools located in Ypsilanti Township at an annual cost of $70,429.

Board President Hugh Hamrick, who requested that the contract come before the board, was absent.

Trustees Gigi Gooding and Tom Reiber voted against the contract.

"All I see in this contract, is that it's just a contract," said Trustee Karen Taylor. "It's not a policy for the district or anything else."

But Reiber sees it as a threat to the district.

"I don't remember the prior contract having this language," said Reiber. "Maybe that's because I wasn't doing my job. But our own attorney advised us not to include such language. We can have a teacher who is a pedophile, and this teacher may say that he has a right because that's his sexual orientation. We as a board would have no rights at all."

Reiber said he in no way endorses discrimination against homosexual students, but the umbrella of sexual orientation includes too many unknowns.

Gooding gave no specific reasons for not supporting the contract, only that she did not believe that sexual orientation language should be included.

Members of COST were pleased to find support for their position on the board, but disappointed with the final vote.

"We believe it (sexual orientation) should not be included in school policies or contracts," said Judy Bloss, a representative of COST. "We don't want to see the day that the school district has to defend itself against a lawsuit by a teacher who says he wasn't hired because of his sexual orientation."

COST is currently circulating petitions in Ypsilanti to overturn a new anti-discrimination ordinance in Ypsilanti that includes protection for homosexuals. The Ypsilanti City Council approved the ordinance late last year.

Gena Giannuzzi, who came to support COST, warned board members what could happen if it included sexual orientation in its contracts or policies, using her home school district of Wayne-Westland as an example.

Giannuzzi said that school board approved a set of policies granting special rights to homosexuals in January of last year.

Since then, she said, three potential lawsuits have arisen involving the policy.

"These policies do not protect districts from liability, but instead increase liability," said Giannuzzi. "The Wayne-Westland school district attorney found that the circuit court affecting Michigan has ruled that sexual orientation is not legally required to be included in the list of special rights. That led the school district to eliminate the sexual orientation policy last August."

Charles Duty, who was not present at the meeting, but spoke to The News afterward, disagreed with that interpretation of the law.

"Title IX (a federal law) is very direct about what needs to be shared with students about sexual orientation," said Duty. "It's a federal mandate. As for whether the school district includes sexual orientation in their policies, I think the school board is in the best position to make that decision."

However, Duty was alarmed by the votes of Gooding and Reiber.

"The board hasn't changed, and a year ago it was OK to protect people," he said. "I hope that sexual orientation doesn't divide not only the school board, but also the city of Ypsilanti."

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