But coalition says it will continue to protest until a mutually agreeable policy is proposed
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
The Burlington Area School District, which has been scarred by racial-charged incidents in recent months, advanced a proposed anti-racism policy Nov. 16 with possible final adoption tentatively scheduled for a Nov. 30 Board of Education meeting.
The Board of Education initially planned on reviewing the policy on Nov. 9 before the meeting took a confrontational turn, with protesters demanding immediate action on anti-racist policies, which came during the public comments portion of a meeting at Karcher Middle School.
The confrontational and emotionally charged meeting, caused the Board of Education to adjourn without taking action on the proposed policy change.
A week later, the Board of Education returned for a brief virtual meeting and passed the first draft of the anti-racism policy.
“The Burlington Area School District and Board reject all forms of racism and harassment of a student, staff member, or school visitor as being destructive to the district’s mission, vision, values, and goals,” the policy’s purpose states. “The district pledges and is committed to providing a physically and psychologically safe, secure and respectful environment, free from discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, color and national origin for all students and staff.”
The policy also addresses individual racism, such as conscious and unconscious bias, and external behaviors and actions towards others.
Additionally, the policy acknowledges structural, or systemic racism, according to the first draft.
While the Board of Education conducted the first reading during an online meeting, which did not include public comments, the Burlington Coalition for Dismantling Racism said none of its representatives were invited to offer further insight on the proposal.
“We thought we were finally on a path to creating meaningful change in Burlington schools,” said BCDR President Darnisha Garbade in a statement. “Over the last year, we’ve worked tirelessly to make connections, develop relationships, and identify resources to support this cause, only to be left behind by a School District that would rather check some boxes than do the work of being antiracist.”
The district on Tuesday did not specifically address this concern, adding the Board of Education felt it was imperative to move forward, according to a statement.
“The school board considers this work important and urgent,” BASD Communications Coordinator Julie Thomas wrote in an email. “They wanted to proceed with the process of adopting an anti-racist policy that addresses all harassment of students at the Nov. 16 meeting.”
Garbade said she and other BCDR representatives plan to continue calling for racial justice and equality for students and staff of color at BASD.
“We plan to protest until BASD adopts an anti-racism policy and antiracist curriculum that BCDR, National Equity Project, BASD could agree on,” Garbade said on Tuesday.
For a complete version of this story see the Nov. 19 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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