In June 2022, the Forest Hills School Board voted to pass it's "Culture of Kindness" resolution, which sought to restrict what teachers could discuss in the classroom, particularly around assignments where students would have to consider their race, class, gender, or sexuality. That same year, the board also voted to cancel Turpin High School's "Diversity Day," an annual event that invited students to participate in activities and hear guest speakers discuss topics like history, criminal justice, and empathy.
The introduction and passage of the resolution sparked backlash from some in the school community and resulted in a federal lawsuit filed by a group of parents and students who claimed it violated their constitutional rights. After a legal battle that lasted nearly 18 months, the district agreed to pay the parents $100,000 and rescind the resolution in late December.
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Forest Hills denies the "Culture of Kindness" resolution violated anyone's rights and doesn't admit to any wrongdoing, but some in the district see the legal settlement as a major win for students and the district as a whole.
'We are here to govern'
In November, voters in the district elected Wendy Strickler Biederman and Jason Simmons to fill the two open seats on the school board in 2024. The two campaigned together and strongly opposed many of the actions of the board, including the controversial resolution.
With the resolution now gone, the two say they're ready to join the board and give the district a fresh start in the new year.
Biederman says the resolution had no place in Forest Hills and hopes the community can move on from what was a tense and combative past few years.
"It left students feeling unwanted and vulnerable," she said. "That's never going to be OK. That is the antitheses of what we are elected to do as board members. We are there to govern and lead the district in the best interest of all of our students."
Simmons says the actions of the previous board got peoples' attention, but not in the way they likely intended.
"Our community sent a message in November about what they think our schools should be," he told WVXU. "They rejected some of this right-wing political messaging that we're seeing nationwide, that we're seeing at the state level, affecting our schools. It really is important that all members of our school board recognize that type of messaging isn't welcome here. It isn't what we want. It isn't reflective of what's happening in our district."
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Simmons states he wants the board to embrace diversity in the district and put political agendas aside, so they can work together to make sure all students feel welcome.
'This felt like a loss'
But after the board's last regular meeting in mid-December, it appears that may be an even bigger challenge than expected. During the public comment portion of the meeting, about a dozen speakers from the community used their time to thank outgoing board member Leslie Rasmussen for being a vocal opponent of policies introduced by the other board members that targeted diversity efforts.
Near the end of the meeting, Rasmussen thanked the speakers and asked her fellow board members to end what was a relatively subdued meeting on a good note.
"Nobody say anything bad after, because I want to end on a positive note here," Rasmussen said.
Sara Jonas, the board member who first introduced the "Culture of Kindness" resolution followed up Rasmussen's comments by celebrating board president Linda Hausfeld, who is also leaving the board and voted to approve Jonas' "Culture of Kindness" resolution. Jonas listed many of Hausfeld's accomplishments during her two year term, but had few comments for Rasmussen only saying, "It's your last meeting, and I wish you well."
Hausfeld capped off the meeting by addressing Rasmussen directly.
"Leslie, because of your actions it engaged me and encouraged me to get involved. I'm so glad I did," Hausfeld said. "And I hope you have the life you deserve."
After that comment, Rasmussen held up her hand in the shape of "L" on her forehead, a gesture commonly interpreted as calling a someone a loser.
Just over a week after the last regular meeting, the board held another one the morning of Dec. 21 where they voted to remove the "Culture of Kindness" resolution. Following the vote, board member Jonas released a statement saying the resolution was originally intended to protect the civil rights of all students and claimed her words related to it were intentionally misrepresented. Jonas called the lawsuit "frivolous and not supported by facts or law."
Even though it appears some board members have hard feelings about the removal of the resolution and November's election results, Simmons says he will still try to find common ground with Jonas and others.
"I can recognize that this is something that probably felt like a loss for them. This is something they were fighting for that they believed in and so let's start healing together and start healing with the district and say, 'Let's not go down that route again. Let's reset,' " Simmons said. "We're a team now."
Strickler Biederman says though everyone may not see eye-to-eye, every board member wants what's best for the district, and the key to a productive and positive year for Forest Hills will be civility.
"We need to be able to work together in a civil way toward those outcomes, so yeah, we may need to have some tough conversations and we may need to be problem-solving, but we need to do it in a respectful way where we can continue to move the work forward," Biederman said.
Both Simmons and Biederman say they've recently met with and spoke with many of their fellow board members and believe they can work together to put students first.
"Our kids are watching," Simmons said.
