Mesa Public Schools’ LGBTQ+ policies spark debate
As published by The Mesa Tribune
An ideological tug of war ended with no clear winner before Mesa Public Schools' Board last week over LGBTQ+ policies in the district.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, 17 of 26 speakers addressed the issue. Of the 17, nine thanked the district for its inclusivity and welcoming attitude toward all students, while the other eight speakers voiced concern that schools are pushing a social agenda that makes students uncomfortable.
“Parents have a right to raise their children and direct their education as they see fit,” said Sharon Benson, an MPS Governing Board candidate.
“Issues of sex and sexuality are being introduced to children who these teachers and staff members are not related to, and they have no idea if the parent is ok with that,” she said. “It is a parent’s job to determine when these issues are brought up with their child.”
Supporters of Mesa’s policies appeared on behalf of Tami Staas, an educator at Summit Academy and executive director of Arizona Trans Youth and Parent Organization, who was singled out for criticism by some of the speakers opposed to the district’s LGBTQ+ policies.
Benson said, “They believe a teacher is being attacked personally. She is not being personally attacked, but she is violating state law.”
Benson referenced a 2022 podcast, criticizing Staas for saying she provides her students with an inclusive environment and was “introducing pronouns and different things like that.”
Kendra Rhodes, a mother of two MPS students, was among the supporters of the district’s policies.
She said that part of her son’s success was because “he understood that his teachers saw him for who he was. They weren’t disguising prejudice and hate as pearl-clutching concern.”
Rhodes later said in an interview that the divisiveness among the speakers reflected a “difference in beliefs.”
“There is a number of people who believe that we should still adhere to Christian teachings in public schools, and that includes being against equality for our LGBTQA+, trans, all of those kids,: Rhodes said.
“And there is the rest of us who understand that these children are valuable human beings.”
Rhodes supported Staas, saying she taught both of her children at Summit Academy.
Staas came under fire both for her classroom activities and her advocacy outside of school.
Recent interviews and webinars Staas conducted for teachers on how to deal with LGBTQ+ issues have been circulated on conservative social media platforms, making her the subject of much criticism.
“Last board meeting,” she said after last week’s board meeting, “they called for me to be fired. There’s no evidence that I’m doing anything wrong. I’ve been subject to HR investigations… they want to vilify me, and they call me the LGBTQ+ ringleader.”
