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Board debate over 'his/her' vs. gender-neutral wording surfaces in supervision manual review
Summary
Board members clashed over replacing gendered pronouns in the proposed supervision/evaluation manual; one member framed the revision as politically motivated while administrators said the change was stylistic and can be reversed if the board prefers.
At the study session the board engaged in a pointed debate over wording in the updated supervision evaluation manual: a recommended change replaces the "his/her" construction with a gender-neutral alternative. One board member called the change "grammatically incorrect" and "a surrender" to political correctness, while other members and administrators said the change aimed to simplify wording and was not intended to be political.
"This is surrender," a board member said during the exchange, arguing the manual should retain the traditional "his/her" phrasing. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dahl and others pushed back that the edit was intended to keep language consistent and compact and that reverting the wording would be a simple edit if the board preferred.
Chair (speaker 5) polled the board for guidance; several members voiced support for the recommended language as written, though the discussion exposed clear faction lines on policy tone. The board did not adopt an immediate formal policy change in this session but directed that any further edits could be handled administratively or by bringing the matter back if members request it.
The discussion occurred while Dr. Dahl was presenting the manual and reviewing its four supervision options (clinical supervision, individual action research, cooperative action research and focused assistance). Members also discussed aligning terminology with state resources and how the district would implement the updated document during the upcoming year.
