In nature, male and female Northern Cardinals are pretty easily distinguished with males a bright red and females a pale brown or tan with reddish hints on their wings, tail, and crest. At NCOE, a disagreement about human plumage has left the school district down a teacher. About two dozen mostly NCOE students organized a peaceful protest in the hours preceding a specially called Unit 3 School Board meeting Wednesday night to consider the resignation of an educator.
Lily Sanders took to social media to try to explain what happened and led the entourage Wednesday night speaking out during the public comment portion of the meeting. We also caught up with Sanders while students protested outside the unit office.
We have a spring fling every year and we have these games. One of the games for Drama Club was Runaway Runway. A guy wore a dress last year. So this year, I went to ask our principal and he just kind of told me the community complained about it so they had to ban it. I said is that even allowed. He said, well that’s your opinion.
Sanders says the drama club leader then pulled the entire activity in protest. She and some of her friends then tried to demonstrate their disapproval of the principal’s behavior and it was shot down.
The day of the event, me and some other students cross dressed with the drama club stuff that we use for the game itself. We walked in front of him in protest before school started and he told us to take it off or go home. We tried to ask why and he just kind of said because I told you. Then some people caught on, because we were told last second…literally the last hour of the day before the event we couldn’t cross dress. So people wrote “Free to Be Me” on their face with face paint because everybody does face paint. So over the intercom, after they had done it, they said everyone take off their face paint, we’re not allowed to have face paint anymore. I didn’t know what else to do so I emailed Mr. Vollman and said can I speak at the board and I gathered these people together to protest against it.
The outcome Sanders was hoping for and her reasoning…
They just unban it because it’s one day. It’s not like everyone wears dresses every single day. It’s just one day and it’s all fun and games.
Sanders did speak out at the board meeting. Board members thanked her for doing so but didn’t engage any further, offer rebuttal, or provide any explanation before recessing into executive session to consider resignations and employments.
Leaders spent the next 45 minutes behind closed doors and reconvened at about 7:50pm. At that time, board members unanimously accepted the resignation of Marsha Humphrey and also agreed to employ Reese Brockett as a 2nd Grade teacher. Humphrey wasn’t at the meeting or protest and hasn’t responded to our request for comment.
Sanders parents, Lyndon and Donna, say they’re proud of their daughter for taking steps to stand up for what she believes and fully support her effort.
Donna: Very much. She tries to stand up for herself and others when she’s at the school. She wanted to know why and nobody could give her a reason. That’s what upsets me. And I heard there was yelling going on and that’s not right.
Lyndon: That one day and they blew it all out of proportion.
Donna: It should’ve never come to this.
Lyndon: And we’re losing a good teacher I think.
At the conclusion of the school board meeting, Board President Matt McArthy offered this.
Please understand that no change to our dress code or policy have been made at all. So, the same that was in effect at the beginning of the year is still what’s in effect now.