The Hastings School Board met on Wednesday night with a wide range of topics discussed. But none was more important than Policy 100, which dealt with the district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion protocols. A massive crowd in support of keeping the policy showed up, with several individuals holding signs, and one reading a letter signed by 104 teachers in the district. One of the school board student representative’s also ended their update in the meeting with the thoughts of their fellow students’ position on the issue, stating that many students were afraid of what would happen if the policy went away.
The Policy 100 discussion took place towards the end of the meeting, where School Board Clerk Melissa Millner read a letter she wrote explaining her position on the issue. Director Mark Zuzek read a letter from a district social worker, discussing the reason’s why the district should keep the policy, and Zuzek even was willing to compromise to reword the policy to make it better. One school board member remarked a clarification that “it’s disingenuous to call this a sunsetting, it’s an elimination”. One school board member asked where in the strategic plan it mentioned the words equity, remarking “I don’t think it’ll take you long to find it, it’s not in there”. One school board member was absent from the meeting, but it didn’t change the results, as despite the overwhelming opposition of the policy’s elimination, the board voted 3-2 to sunset the policy and make it part of their district strategic plan. Boo’s rang out after the vote, causing the meeting to go into a very short recess to clear the room. According to the official documents, linked here, Policy 100 <a href=”http://https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Agenda/931?meeting=680587″>states the following </a>. We will have plenty more on the aftermath of Policy 100’s removal.
Additionally, the board began the process of finding an interim school board member after the tragic death of Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, with 7 candidates identified. They are:
Chad Neuharth
Theresa Auge
William Beck
Elaine Mikel-Mulder
Lisa Hedin
Katherine Szepieniec
Mariah Ring
This interim member will serve in the role until a special election can take place. Those interviews are set to take place March 31 and April 2. The board also confirmed a search would begin for a new superintendent, with Tammy Champa briefly addressing the news she is departing for Owatonna. Champa said she would put out an official statement at a later time, but reminisced on her time in the district, and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
