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Parent urges district to address library visitor’s appearance at Holly Hill; administration says building-level limits apply
Summary
A parent at the West Clermont School Board meeting said an individual sent by the county library who presents in women's attire visited Holly Hill Elementary multiple times, and asked the district to prevent such persons from entering schools; the district responded that it lacks authority to control non-employee visitors’ dress.
At the March 17 West Clermont School Board meeting, a parent of two Holly Hill Elementary students urged the district to prevent a recurring visitor sent by the Clermont County Public Library from entering that school because, he said, the visitor presents with facial hair, makeup and women’s accessories.
Scott Baker, who identified himself and gave his address, said the visitor’s presentation has prompted questions from students about gender and that he had raised the issue at the building level without what he described as an adequate response. "This individual is male, with facial hair, makeup, and women's accessories," Baker said to the board. "This is completely unacceptable inside of our school buildings."
Baker told the board that the library has sent the individual as part of its program and that parents he has spoken with do not support the visits. He asked the district to take action to prevent what he described as "normalizing" such appearances in school.
District staff replied at the meeting that building administrators had said they do not have the authority to impose dress-code or appearance rules on employees or representatives of outside organizations, and the parent said that response was not acceptable to him. The board did not take formal action on the comment; the matter was recorded as public comment in the meeting minutes.
No board member proposed a policy change during the March 17 meeting. The superintendent and administration later pointed to the district’s public-engagement channels for concerns and reiterated standard procedures that aim to route personnel complaints through appropriate administrative channels before the board will consider them.
The board’s public-comment procedure displayed at the meeting reminded visitors to state name, address and school/organization affiliation and limited remarks to three minutes. The superintendent noted that the board will not hear personal complaints about school personnel unless those concerns have first been addressed through the appropriate department or administrator.
