Public plea to DV School Board: ‘Protect our kids’
Milford. More than 70 people attended a special meeting of the school board to support student rights.
Milford /
| 23 Apr 2025 | 04:38
More than 70 people came out to vocalize support for students rights at a special meeting of the Delaware Valley School Board on April 16. Photos by Melinda Compton.
“If you cannot stand up for all students,” local resident and parent Christina Gore told the Delaware Valley School Board, “you do not deserve a seat at that table.”
The Delaware Valley School Board held a special meeting on April 16 to address the dismantling of the U. S. Department of Education, specifically the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), and its effects on the student body.
The board invited attorneys John Freund and Brain Taylor from the Bethlehem-based law firm King Spry, who specialize in education law. The OCR is a division of the department that oversees implementing laws including Title 9, special education, 504 law and others. State laws in Pennsylvania extend protection for gender ideology but the attorneys specified that they were not sure what still exists now as the Philadelphia office has been closed.
School Board President Pam Lutfy opened the meeting by welcoming the public. She and several board members read out loud questions that had been submitted before the meeting and answered them accordingly.
The interpretation of OCR has changed since 2016. The school’s solicitor, Nicholas Mcintyre, stated his concern over liabilities the school might face if the OCR isn’t repealed. But then there would be liabilities if civil rights protections were removed as well, making it a question not of liabilities, but morals.
Most of the concerns brought up by the public were regarding the OCR.
The board stated it hasn’t called for a vote to disentangle itself from the OCR. But the school board meeting in March, board members Jack Fisher and Carl Will tried to force a vote to reverse the school’s stance.
The public was also concerned with certain members of the school board’s social media, claiming that there have been several nefarious campaigns to encourage the board to protect “cis kids” from LGBTQ kids. (“Cis kids” refers to children whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.)
Many in attendance voiced their opinions about not trusting the board to put what’s best for the students first.
“If you cannot stand up for all students,” said local resident and parent Christina Gore, “you do not deserve a seat at that table.”
The message from the public to the board was clear. Stop worrying over personal agendas and beliefs and do what’s best for the students. The many of those in attendance indicated they want strong, proactive steps to stop gender-based bullying.
One member of the public called the board out for “picking and choosing questions” the members decided to address and stated that the executive orders are not laws and should not be treated as such.
There was a proposal to establish a committee to protect the school’s more vulnerable students, which was met with encouraging applause.
Currently, there are no trans athletes at DVHS. Board member Christine Agron explained that the high school already has boy, girl, and gender-neutral bathrooms and that people need to comprehend this and stop spreading misinformation.