Parents and residents press Sebastopol Union trustees for public stance and curriculum on racism

Multiple parents and community members urged the Sebastopol Union School District Board of Trustees on Aug. 21 to publicly condemn racism and make anti-racism work a district priority.

Nancy Case Shaffer opened public comments by thanking the board for its service and asking the board to "take a stand publically against racism." Several other speakers — including Faith Ross, Kristy Boblitt and Robert Moniz — described personal experiences or family experiences of racist incidents in local schools and urged a communitywide response rather than handling such incidents only on a case-by-case basis.

Parent Nadine Burke Harris, who said she has two students in the district, said she and her husband have tried to work with school leadership and had donated toward anti-racism curriculum. "She asks that a public statement against racism is made as well as teaching students more acceptable behavior," she told the board, and asked that the topic be placed on a future board agenda.

Board President Deborah Drehmel acknowledged the comments and described next steps: she said a meeting with the parent group and a facilitator had taken place earlier in the week and that the district will schedule a Listening Session with the facilitator, district administration, the board and the school community to work collaboratively on the issue. "The next steps are to have a Listening Session with the facilitator, district administration and the board along with the school community, to work collaboratively," Drehmel said.

The superintendent, Sara Gramm, said staff are preparing a community message and compiling information about actions already taken and planned; she confirmed a facilitated listening session will be scheduled. The board did not take a formal vote on a public statement during the Aug. 21 meeting; trustees described the work as ongoing and collaborative.