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Residents criticize board over transgender policy comments and proposed changes to gifted‑program form
Summary
Multiple residents and local stakeholders used public comment at the Jan. 14 meeting to oppose what they described as targeting of transgender students and an apparent removal of race/ethnicity from the gifted referral form, urging the board to protect vulnerable students and maintain transparency.
Dozens of community members addressed the Goochland County School Board during public comment on Jan. 14, with many speakers urging the board to protect transgender students and criticizing board members for remarks and proposed policy actions they said were divisive.
Scott Turner told the board that some recent comments “sound like a gay or trans kid’s nightmare” and accused board members of promoting fear; Linda Boggs introduced a newly formed citizens group and said members want to work constructively with the board. Dr. Mada Potts, a former teacher and researcher, told the board medical and research organizations support medically appropriate, age‑appropriate gender‑affirming care and urged the board not to create “bias‑based bullying” or unsafe school conditions.
Other speakers addressed a separate but related controversy over the gifted‑program application form. Multiple commenters — including Jen Strozier and Lauren Comstock — said that removing race and ethnicity fields from the gifted referral application will prevent the district from tracking representation in the gifted program and hamper efforts to monitor whether the program’s makeup reflects the student population.
“I am very concerned about the discriminatory practices that target vulnerable populations,” said Beth Tolley, who urged the board to make schools safe for all students. Lauren Comstock criticized what she described as “lack of transparency” and called on the board to follow appropriate public‑review processes before making changes.
Board chair Meredith Moses responded in remarks after public comment, saying the transgender policy changes discussed previously were non‑substantive wording edits and that race and ethnicity data remain documented elsewhere in student records; she said omitting those fields from the referral form was not intended to make those data unavailable for reporting.
Ending Members of the public asked the board to restore transparency, protect students from harassment, and avoid policy changes without adequate public review. The board chair said staff would continue to provide the required data and noted the referral‑form change was not meant to erase race/ethnicity tracking.
