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Controversial public comments interrupt Lawrence board meeting; district and an educator respond
Summary
During public comment on Nov. 17, a speaker made political and inflammatory remarks about abortion and COVID policy and another made sexually explicit comments; the chair redirected commenters and an educator later offered praise for the district.
During the public-comment portion of the Nov. 17 Lawrence Public Schools Board meeting, a public commenter made politically charged and profane remarks linking falling birth rates to abortion and criticizing district COVID policies; the chair asked the speaker to remain germane. A subsequent in-person interruption included sexually explicit, fragmented remarks; the meeting then continued with a supportive educator comment.
Dr. Justin Spies identified himself before challenging the superintendent’s characterization of demographic causes for declining enrollment. "Would killing 22,720 children in the womb in 1 year lead to a decrease in birth rates?" Spies asked, citing state abortion figures and saying that the district’s pandemic policies prompted some parents to withdraw students. The board’s presiding officer asked Spies to keep comments relevant to district business and to remain respectful.
Shortly after, an in-person speaker made sexually explicit remarks that briefly disrupted the meeting; the presiding officer acknowledged the person and moved to the next scheduled commenter.
Lori Greenfield, a Prairie Park Elementary educator, used her allotted time to thank district staff and the board for their focus on students and educators. "We have a board that is supportive of our community…you've stayed student centered," Greenfield said, praising the district as American Education Week began.
The board’s public-comment rules were read at the start of the period, which instruct speakers to limit comments to three minutes and to avoid complaints about individual staff or students (those complaints must be handled through staff channels and specified board policies). No formal board action was taken in response to the comments; the meeting proceeded to its scheduled adjournment vote.
The district did not make a record in the meeting of verifying the numerical claims made by the public commenter about abortion counts, and no staff rebuttal addressing those figures was recorded during the meeting.
