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Heated public comments at Sumner Bonney Lake board over summer ‘Plateau Pride’ event at elementary school
Summary
Parents and community members traded accusations and defenses at the Sumner Bonney Lake School District board meeting over a July summer event at Donald Iseman Elementary that included drag performances; organizers said the event was a community rental and performers faced threats after photos circulated online.
Dozens of residents addressed the Sumner Bonney Lake School District board on Aug. 20, sharply divided over a July 26 summer event dubbed Plateau Pride that took place on school property.
A parent who identified himself as Daniel told the board he was concerned that the rental included a “90 minute drag show” and a “Toddling Tots parade” and asked the board to investigate whether the district had conducted a thorough facility‑use review. “I emailed the Sumner Bonney Lake School District on July 14 to express my concerns,” he said.
The event’s organizer, Abby White, identified herself as executive director of the behavioral‑health agency Hope Development Practice and said the organization works with LGBTQ+ people. White acknowledged that “inappropriate photos” from the event had circulated, said her legal team reviewed them, and told the board that performers and staff received death threats after the images were shared. “Our legal team did go back and look into the pictures,” she said, and the organization has connected affected people with supports and local law enforcement.
Other commenters characterized the event differently. Several parents called the presence of drag performers on elementary‑school grounds “sexualized entertainment involving minors” and used the meeting podium to press the district for policy changes. “This is not about my opinion on drag performers as an adult. This is about a public elementary school being used for sexualized entertainment involving minors,” said Shannon Lindsgrab, who said she is a parent of a second grader at Donald Iseman Elementary.
Conversely, speakers including Bill Davis and Patricia Tamasia urged the board to defend the district’s facility‑rental policy and to avoid amplifying what they said were misleading online posts. Davis said Plateau Pride was organized by Hope Development Practice, “a nonprofit behavioral health agency,” and described the district as a landlord that rented space under community‑use rules rather than an event sponsor. “The district was a landlord, not a producer,” he said, and warned that online misrepresentation had resulted in “death threats” to performers and organizers.
Multiple public‑comment speakers urged the district to be transparent about facility‑use vetting and to clarify opt‑in/opt‑out procedures for families. Others asked the board to consider policy changes that would give parents greater notice about outside groups using school facilities.
Board staff closed the public‑comment period after all registered speakers were heard and the board took a brief break before continuing the agenda.
What happens next: The board did not take immediate policy action at the meeting; several commenters explicitly asked the board to review facility‑use approvals and to clarify procedures for notifying families. The board listed upcoming work items and scheduled its next regular meeting for Sept. 16, 2025.
