Lori Graham
Contributing Writer
CHRISTIANSBURG – During the public address session of Tuesday’s Montgomery County School Board meeting, several members addressed the school board concerning the consideration of the transgender and gender identity policies that were recently passed in the state of Virginia that can impact school systems in the Commonwealth.
Betty Thomas, a Christiansburg resident and MCPS student, addressed the board in support of keeping the current MCPS transgender policies. Currently, students may choose to use the bathroom facilities or locker rooms that match their preferred gender identity rather than one assigned at birth.
“Before you passed the transgender policy, my life in school sucked,” Thomas said. “Thank you for doing what was best for your students and passing the transgender policy and try to think about that when you discuss Governor Youngkin’s new model policies and the harm they would cause this evening.”
Christopher Thomas followed in support of the transgender policies previously approved by the Montgomery County School Board.
“When my middle child, Betty, came out as gender non-binary my family was already in crisis. Betty was a tangle of frustration, rage, sadness, and loneliness,” Thomas said.
The father of Betty Thomas went on to say how the transgender policies that were passed by the school board positively impacted Zur’s life.
Thomas said, “Thank you, you did this, and you stood by Betty when Z was vilified by our Board of Supervisors. You expressed outrage when a candidate for this board used a picture of Zur and Zur’s siblings in a political attack on her opponent.”
Dr. Bernard Bragen, Superintendent of Montgomery Public Schools, spoke on the current transgender policy and the impact Youngkin’s new policies will have on MCPS students.
“Our current policy as was stated is effective and will remain in effect, which is currently we believe meeting all of our students’ needs, and at that time if there’s any adjustments or things that need to be made that will be presented to the board for their decision at that time,” Bragen said.
Guylene Wood-Setzer, the Equity Administrator for MCPS, was unable to be present at the regular board meeting due to a family emergency but will provide information in the future on the topic of transgender and gender identity policies.
During the Superintendent’s reports, Bragen recognized Dana Partin as having been appointed to the Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice and Intervention by Governor Youngkin. Bragen also introduced a video highlighting children’s return to schools for the 2023-24 MCPS school year. The images in the video showed students of all ages across the county as they began their first day of school this fall.
In another announcement by Bragen, MCPS school board received certification for the election of collective bargaining representatives, an initiative passed earlier this year.
“Montgomery County Education Association, the election that was conducted a little bit awhile ago was certified by a third party, which means that they will officially be the sole representative for our professional and administrative staff for collective bargaining moving forward” Bragen said. “A resolution is going to appear on our next agenda certifying these results so that they can move forward with that process.”
The new Montgomery County School Board Student Representatives from Auburn High School, Alexandra Jost, and from Blacksburg High School, Lishu Wang read the school’s mission and belief’s statements as well as updating the board and audience on upcoming school events and successes at their schools.
MCPS’ seniors of the month were recognized by each of the county’s four high schools. Leah Faith Kouns from Auburn High School, Theo Villanueva from Blacksburg High School, Addison Lee Campbell from Christiansburg High School, and Naomi Vianey Ramos-Mendoza from Eastern Montgomery High School.
The Stock Market Game winner was also recognized during the meeting by Brenda Mash, Gifted Resource Teacher. The winner is James Brando, a rising sixth grader at MCPS.
“Last year as a fifth grader, James participated in the Invest Right competition at the elementary school level. The prompt was teamwork, more specifically in working with your team and what types of teaming would your investment portfolio look like if you had $10,000 to invest for life,” Mash said. “The essay entered by James garnered a first-place win for the entire state of Virginia.”
The MCPS school board also approved several grant proposals during the Tuesday night meeting.
Montgomery County Educational Foundation 2023 Grant Cycle, in the amount of $24,883, Exploring ESY in the amount of $50,000, and the Virginia Department of Education Stronger Connections grant program in the amount of $350,000 were unanimously approved by the school board.
During a presentation provided by Jonathan Schulz, an update was given to the school board of members of recent grant proposal successes that have led to more money available to support the school’s programs.
“Since January of 2021, MCPS has applied for 127 competitive grants and been awarded more than $5.6 million in grant funding,” said Schulz, as shown on the grant update Powerpoint presented to the school board members. A full breakdown of the grants and monies received can be viewed on the Sept. 5 agenda at mcps.org.
