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Here’s what happens when a GOP Idaho senator shows up to confront his local woke school board

January 13, 2023 | | Print Article

A Caldwell, Idaho school board meeting devolved into chaos Monday after a member cut the mic of newly-elected Republican State Senator Chris Trakel who was passionately speaking against a proposed policy that would allow transgender students into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

(Video Credit: PublicFreedom)

Outside, a few hundred people waited in line to comment during the one hour allotted for public feedback.

Trakel contended that the school district should nix the policy and warned that it risks a lawsuit if a young girl feels uncomfortable by the presence of a transgender in the bathroom. Trakel reportedly has children that go to school in the district.

He noted that he had previously spoken before the board as a parent, but said this time he was addressing them in his official capacity as a state senator.

“You under Idaho law are required to maintain the morals and health of all the students,” he informed the board members. “You allow a male to use a female bathroom, you’re gonna put all of their moral health and safety at risk.”

(Video Credit: Fox News)

Then the state senator brought up the possibility of a lawsuit, “It’s already happened in several states and there’s already been rulings on it. So before you waste taxpayer money, before you put a kid in harm’s way, you better throw this policy out and not even consider…”

As Trakel was speaking, school board president Marisela Pesina turned her head toward another board member.

“I’ve got the floor, Ms. Pesina, will you please listen to me?” he asked her.

She turned back to Trakel, who then said, “You claim you want people to follow the rules, but you break the rules left and right.” Then he brought up an incident from the previous board meeting.

Pesina decided to adjourn the meeting which caused attendees to explode in anger. She accused Trakel of not following the board’s procedures. She said they would recess for 15 minutes.

“I’m sorry, we have asked you. [You] absolutely know the protocol,” she tersely told Trakel.

“You’re not following the protocol yourself,” he responded.

Another board member then moved to adjourn the meeting as it was obvious the parents in attendance were getting increasingly angry. Pesina asked for a second.

“No!” someone shouted. “Your people are speaking.”

Another board member seconded the move.

Trakel brought up the state law regarding open meetings in turn.

“Section 74-201: The people of the state of Idaho, in creating the instruments of government that serve them, do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies so created…” he recited.

At that point, Pesina instructed whoever was controlling the sound system to shut off his mic and it went dead.

The crowd started shouting at the board members and Pesina hastily called for an adjournment.

Earlier in the meeting, a middle schooler took the podium and told the board that she doesn’t think “that it’s right for a boy who feels like he’s a girl to change in the same room as the girls because it would make us all feel very uncomfortable changing with a boy in the room. And I don’t think that they should be allowed in the same bathroom as the girls because they make everybody feel very uncomfortable to be using the bathrooms with a boy.”

A woman also spoke who noted that there are “only two genders, that’s it” and “teaching is for reading, writing, and arithmetic. It is not to sexualize our kids. That is not what our tax dollars are to go for.”

“Another thing, we pay your guys’ wage, we voted for you. We can vote you out,” the woman told the board, as people agreed, shouting “Amen!”

In response, Pesina threatened to shut down the meeting, “OK, we can stop this meeting. I’ve already asked you, folks. And just for the record, we don’t get paid.”

The woman who was speaking was not about to be dismissed, “I want to tell you something, everybody is going to answer to God one day, You’re not going to escape it in any way.”

One mother named Brittany Gish told Fox News, “They have no interest in hearing how the parents feel. They have no interest in including us in their decisions. They are just tyrants, and they just want to push their agenda and do their own thing. They’ve proven that time and time again.”

“We want rights for everybody, but what I don’t want is someone else’s rights to infringe on my child’s rights. She has her right to her privacy and all the other children should as well,” she said.

KTVB reported that under the gender identity proposal, students would be able to use different school facilities “based on the gender identity they most express at school.”

Parents would then be asked to meet with the school’s principal or school administrator so they could explain the student’s perceived needs and develop a plan that is “in the best interest of the student.” Everyone would then sign the plan, noting the consensus and any dissenting opinions.

Another section on “confidentiality” states that when staff talks to the parents of a transgender student they would have to use the student’s legal name and pronouns corresponding to the gender the student was assigned at birth unless a previously agreed upon plan says otherwise.

A separate part of the proposed policy would allow a student to go on overnight trips regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity and would allow school activities that are separated by gender “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity consistently expressed at school.”

The school district was quick to release a statement, “It was disappointing that some attending refused to follow the rules, which prevented others from sharing their thoughts with the Board. Caldwell School District welcomes and encourages feedback on its work.” What we do not welcome are those who refuse to follow the steps necessary for a civil, courteous, and respectful environment for that feedback to occur.”

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