Parents, community members urge board to review 'found' club approvals amid equal‑access and safety concerns
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Summary
Multiple speakers urged the Peninsula School District board to scrutinize proposed 'found' clubs and related outside organizations, arguing some formed groups and outside mentors could marginalize LGBTQ+ students; district staff described the club approval process and said clubs must be student‑initiated and staffed by district employees.
At the meeting’s public comment period several parents and community members urged the Peninsula School District board to delay or review approvals for new student clubs tied to outside groups and to tighten safeguards.
Jacqui Pinkerton said she was speaking specifically about consent item 7.05 and asked the board to gather more information before approving groups whose stated beliefs she said conflict with district values of inclusion. She called for board leadership to “be courageous” when faced with new information.
Nicole Hicks, a district parent and former educator, told trustees she is “concerned by the Blessing Group operating their found clubs in our schools.” She alleged that the organization and its ‘found club’ model supplied adult mentors and materials that, in her view, could allow non‑school persons to direct or regularly attend student group activities and therefore circumvent Equal Access Act protections. Hicks identified the Blessing Group’s base at Harborview Fellowship Church and said the organization’s stated goal is to “empower students to share Jesus.” She urged the board not to approve the proposed club at Goodman and to rescind approvals at other schools pending investigation.
Chief of Schools Julie Schultz Bartlett responded during a board discussion, outlining district policy for non‑curricular clubs: clubs must be initiated and run by students, require a staff member as the advisor (not an outside adult), have a charter/constitution, meet outside instructional hours, and pass school‑level review before coming to the board for approval. Schultz Bartlett said principals and district staff review the paperwork and correct deficiencies before items appear on the consent agenda.
The consent agenda was later approved as presented; the transcript does not show the board taking an immediate, separate vote to rescind or delay any single club approval during that motion. Several public commenters also raised separate concerns about outside events and organizations using school facilities and urged the district to strengthen policies for student safety and external groups.
The board did not take immediate policy action on the specific complaints during the meeting; trustees asked staff to provide additional information and to follow up with policy review as needed.