La Center Superintendent Peter Rosenkranz told parents at Tuesday’s meeting that he agrees with the many parents who are saying they should be involved in these types of issues with their children
Leah Anaya
For Clark County Today
Several La Center parents and residents spoke at the La Center School District (LCSD) State of the District and Board meetings Tuesday (Feb. 28) night, with many giving thanks and applause to Superintendent Peter Rosenkranz. This follows a civil rights complaint signed by 31 teachers and staff members regarding the district’s new pronoun policy (issued in November 2022), which says that staff will discuss any student pronoun change request with parents.
Where before the change, school staff would privately ask a student their preferred pronouns at school and refer to him or her in that way until the student said otherwise. Now, Rosenkranz said, staff won’t proactively ask a child to express their preferred pronouns. Rather, if students want to be referred to in a different manner than what is listed on their Skyward account, they must initiate the conversation with staff.
“If a student wants to go by a different pronoun,” Rosenkranz said, “that’s just fine. The student will be referred to the counselor and the principal of their school, and they will then connect with the parents.”
Rosenkranz added that he wanted to facilitate a partnership between staff and families to help the student in the best way possible.
The issue was first discussed at the January school board meeting, where some LGBTQ activists claimed that not asking a student their pronouns is dangerous. Erin Smelser, who is both an employee of LCSD and a Clark County Pride board member, said that telling parents what a student asks to identify as is “outing” the student, and can be dangerous to students who do not have “supportive” families.
“Reporting back to parents is outing kids because a child should choose who they talk to,” Smelser said. “Whether it’s family or not, they should be protected by the school and the district, and it should really only be between them and the faculty that’s dealing with them.”
A third-party investigation was prompted by the complaint, which found that there was no violation of civil rights, state laws, or district policies. That decision has since been appealed by the 31 teachers and staff members.
Rosenkranz told parents at Tuesday’s meeting that he agrees with the many parents who are saying they should be involved in these types of issues with their children.
“I’m not here to determine whether you’re supportive or dangerous,” Rosenkranz said. “I’m here to collaborate with you on reading, writing, math, and science so our kids can learn and grow. They’re your children, not mine. As a school, we’re here to support all children, regardless of how they identify. If they choose a different identification, ok, great. Tell us.”
Seven parents spoke in support of the new policy during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting.
“They’re my children, not yours,” said La Center parent Justine Stimmel. “I get to raise my kids. Your job is to teach the subjects of English, math, writing, reading and so on … I know there are good teachers here that deeply care about being a good educator and genuinely care about their students. I’m thankful for these teachers, that is worth saying. Children have the right to learn and thrive without fear of distress. We must be wise. Children and teens’ minds are growing, life sometimes can be difficult, let’s not add stress. Gender is not a social construct. When it comes to gender and identity, the truth is there are only two genders: male and female.”
Parent Buffy Spargur also addressed the board. She said, “I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to our Superintendent Pete Rosenkranz for taking a stand for all children and their parents in our community … I am beyond grateful for, and support, his courage. But that does not seem to be good enough for the 31 teachers and school staff that filed a formal complaint and an appeal to the investigation in regard to what they personally want.”
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Thank you Superintendent Pete Rosenkranz for using some common sense. The only argument I read in this article against your decision contradicted itself. Erin Smelser said ” a child should choose who they talk to,”. If the teachers are asking the children, then the children aren’t deciding who they talk to. Teaching students to keep secrets from their parents is definitely not good policy! We need more leaders like Superintendent Pete Rosenkranz . As for the 31 trouble makers that are fighting this policy, well I will just say we have too many of them already. They worry about familys that might not be supportive, I am afraid if that is the case keeping secrets from them could result in disaster. Secrets are only secret for so long.
Teaching children to keep secrets from their parents was until relatively recently an activity confined to pedophiles and child traffickers. Leftists have in the past and continue to systematically strive to erode, and eliminate where possible, parental rights.* While it is still possible to find educators within the system who possess common sense and who do not view parents as the enemy, such as Superintendent Rosenkranz, unfortunately their numbers are rapidly dwindling. Sending your child to public school is literally playing Russian roulette with his or her future, a risk fewer and fewer people are willing to take.
*Washington School-Based Health Alliance provides this handy chart, which has not been updated for the new trans youth treatment laws. A surprising number of parents are unaware of these laws, which are the basis for increasing numbers of educators believing that the state is in control of all children and is better suited than parents to determine the best interests of children, as well as the push for school-based health treatment.
https://wasbha.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/WA-providing-health-care-to-minors.pdf
“Parental rights” here is code for “dehumanizing children and treating them as the property of parents”.
Lucy Lauser,
You must be what most people would call a Troll or better word for it Progressive Leftist who cares about the Left Leaning Agenda of the Schools. This was never the case when I went to school I graduated in 1993 from River and we never had the issues we have today, yes there was stuff but not as bad as it is now. I am glad the school did what they did…
I was raised by the same religious extremists who are currently trying to commit genocide against trans people. I was homeschooled so I could be “protected” from knowing about things like the existence of queer people. So yes, now I’m dedicated to destroying the reputation of the evil child abusing cult that destroyed my mental and physical health and frequently talked about starting a new civil war. If you want to call that “leftist”, fine, I don’t care. You’ve been calling me far worse since I was a tiny child.
LOL
If you actually want to protect kids from “gender confusion”, like I experienced my entire childhood until I learned trans people exist and immediately stopped being confused, you need to stop controlling their self-expression and depriving them of knowledge.
LOL
This is how I know you aren’t serious about protecting kids, laughing at survivors of child abuse. Shameful.
Dear Lucy, I would suggest you get professional help.
Until you are 18 you are the property and responsibility of your parents who created you. Parents pay for your clothes, housing, a bed, transportation, food and all your personal needs. Kotex, shampoo, soap, haircuts, etc…I realize your anger, IQ, and maturity level is below your current age bracket. Do you live in Battleground where the water is fluoridated?
Did your parents provide all of the above? Your stink is about not teaching you to change sex if you wanted to? Are you spoiled and didn’t get what you wanted?
What teacher, school or institution would provide all of what your parents did? No teacher is in charge of any student’s medical issues. They can’t sign for your operation or hormones. This is why they should NOT be teaching this in schools.
I can understand teaching about menstruation and safe sex. At 18 you can do whatever you want. Move out, get a job, support yourself.
I understand your home schooling wasn’t adequate if you did not learn to read well and research topics. Would you have rather lived in an institution and told what to do every day?
You have stated your parents caused you child abuse for not telling you about Trans hormones and body mutualization. Do you think that would hold up in court, if you tried them for child abuse? Would you have rather been raised in a Foster Home? Do you think a Foster Parent would have told you all you want to know and provide for your every desire?
Were you homeless and didn’t have food?
Be grateful for everything your parents have done for you.
Seek professional help. Get a religion you like. All religions teach people to honor their parents. Talk to your doctor. Your hormones may need tweeking!
Your assumptions are incredibly patronizing and completely wrong. The way you speak about me is invasive and dehumanizing. I was beaten and bullied for being feminine as someone assumed to be a “boy”. I was denied proper medical care due to anti-science conspiracy theories and nearly died from an infection. I was used as child labor to build a house, and then ended up disabled and homeless as an adult.
I have sought and received professional help, that is why I transitioned and am still alive today. I started having chronic health problems during puberty that went away or improved when I switched to estrogen. I will continue speaking out about the physical, emotional, and medical abuse I experienced to help protect other kids like me. You should be ashamed of how you treat survivors of child abuse. I hope you have no power over any children.
Please STOP using this platform discussion for attention about your experience being TRANS. No one asked you. You clearly have no children in the school system so your say is VOID. It’s inappropriate for you to come on and discuss what happens with children that don’t belong to you because of your own personal problems you had growing up. If you feel your parents failed you that is a shame but you are now as you said 31 so move on with your life and leave parents and the youth alone!
Please stop acting like you have the right to remove people like me from society and infringe on our right to free speech. I will never stop speaking out against the dehumanization and abuse of trans kids in my community. Maybe I’ll run for a school board position so I can do more than just speak about my own experiences.
Gov.ed is pure indoctrination.
Send your kids to gov.ed at your own risk
This is a welcome bit of sanity in what is increasingly an insane culture. As Superintendent Rosenkranz and Mrs. Stimmel said, they are the parents’ kids, not the school’s. Children who suffer from same-sex attraction or uncertainty about their sex should be treated with compassion, but ‘affirmation’ is not compassion. It is instead giving in to a lie.
I agree. Talk about UNcertainties! THAT word should become the total BANNER for the time we are living in today!
Compassion requires listening to us. Affirming trans kids results in a ~95% reduction of suicide attempts. Denying us the basic human right to self-expression is abusive and causes measurable harm.
Well done LaCenter SB. More SB need to pay attention and stop the crazy input from the outside.
Thank goodness for a leader who does not cave to the garbage they are secretly exposing children to. Erin Smelser should not be an educator. She seems to be more of an activist for the LGBTQ+-%$ community and should be kept far away from children. You can call your children by whatever made up pronoun you want, but keep that garbage out of schools.
I don’t understand why you think it is appropriate to call certain children “garbage”
He wasn’t. He was stating the ideology is garbage.
Reducing the existence of an entire demographic of people to an “ideology” is a handy way to defend yourself against accusations of genocide when you attempt to destroy us.
Who is attempting to destroy you? Robert is simply agreeing with La Centers thoughts that school is not the place nor are teachers the people to have these discussions with students. You are grossly over reaching with all this. You do you. None of us are under any obligation to ‘affirm’ what biologically most of us see as wrong. Biology shows two genders.
No, “biology” shows no such thing, which is pretty obvious when you know people who are made of half XX cells and half XY cells.
You are attempting to destroy us by eliminating our ability to exist openly in society. This authoritarian oppression of trans kids in school is just one small facet of the whole fascist project. I have friends fleeing their homes because of state persecution making it illegal for them to exist in public.
Our state needs more funds in mental institutions.
Lucy, please quit writing. Your responses are not good arguments. You could have moved out and lived on your own and supported yourself, since you are so independent.
Many states have emancipated minor laws. Sixteen is the age. Tell your friends. WA is one of them.
Flee and be happy. Don’t look back. Get a group of friends together to share an apartment. You may need to work 2 jobs to pay rent.
Are you still living at home?
There is no,” state persecution law making it illegal for them to exist in public.” Show proof and site the law!
San Francisco Bay Area, LA, Fire Island, New York and Chicago are the hot spots for trans and gay living. You can dress however you want. Fine more like-minded friends.
If parents don’t want their sons to wear dresses and you think that is child abuse, move out. Support yourself and live freely.
Your ignorance has made a better argument why pronouns, pornographic books and indoctrination of children needs to stop in public schools; paid for by your parents and other adult community resident’s taxes.
Make learning lifelong. Research before you speak.
You said, “I have friends fleeing their homes because of state persecution making it illegal for them to exist in public.” Name the state and law.
Quit making things up!
Quit gaslighting me. I’m a 31 year old woman who worked until my body failed, and was then denied support and became homeless.
My friends are fleeing Tennessee because of the new anti-drag law that vaguely describes drag as “wearing clothes not associated with your assigned sex at birth while performing” and deems it “obscene”, which means any trans person speaking or singing or anything in public while wearing our own clothes could be considered an “obscene drag show” and arrested.
There’s also a bill in another southern state that would make it a sex crime for a trans person to exist in a public bathroom at the same time as a child. Plus someone at CPAC literally just said we should be eradicated from public life. So stop gaslighting us.
Ummmm, you’re not actually a woman.
Parents are the most likely perpetrators of child abuse, especially against trans kids. Children should be treated as humans with the right to privacy and the agency to decide when and how to come out to their parents.
They should not be treated as the property of their parents, as I was. My parents homeschooled me so they could strictly control what I was allowed to know, so I grew up confused and terrified that I was broken or evil. I was almost an adult before I learned that trans people exist. Depriving children of accurate knowledge about the full diversity of humanity is abusive, and parents have no right to abuse their kids.
Just because you’re claiming some type of issue at home growing up in no way translates to forcing that perverse and crazy pronoun ideology on children in schools. Your claim that “Parents are the most likely perpetrators of child abuse” is an out right lie and ignorant to say the least! You can just say stupid stuff like that and pass it off as truth.
Parents are the perpetrators in well over half of child abuse cases. That’s simply the truth, and you’re talking to a survivor of child abuse who was “protected” from knowing about the existence of trans people, exactly like you wanted. I’m here to tell you it harmed me.
Dude, I’m done. There’s nothing you can say to convince me that being trans is normal. Sorry. I don’t care what adults do. Go put on a prom dress and waltz around wal-mart. But keep away from children in schools and leave the parenting to the parents.
Trans people are recorded being religious leaders three thousand years before Christianity. I don’t understand why you hate us so much for simply existing and freely expressing ourselves as we supposedly have the right to do in this country. Trans kids have just as much right to be themselves in school as any other kids.
Lucy, please read two books
Stalin: Russia’s Man of Steel, by Albert Marrin
Christianbook.com
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Dr. R Flemming – AIDS (HIV) INSERTED INTO COVID-19
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They put 3 HIV protein in Covid vaccine and now the military is being tested for AIDS
These videos are on Brighteon.com
Wm. Cooper was killed by our government for telling the truth
Do some more research and always be a forever learner. You have the right to be yourself but keep your sexual desires and gender to yourself. Parents don’t want their kids influenced to try homosexuality.
I’m not interested in your fascist conspiracy theories, I was raised by far-right Christians so I am extremely familiar with the alternate reality you live in. It almost killed me.
How did it almost kill you?
Are you sure your done this time? Please let it be so. We see you Robert. For exactly who you.
You’re? See me however you want. I won’t lose sleep over how child groomers see
me.
We are a naturally occurring human biological variation, some like me had health problems caused by our natural hormone levels and transition improved our health.
Agreed one hundred percent. This world we live in has gone nuts.
Really Robert. As a child of an abusive alcoholic father, I can tell you, your comment and opinion are ignorant.
Your parents have every right to teach you what they want you to know. They home schooled you to protect you from being indoctrinated with the fascist /socialist NWO rhetoric. They allowed you to grow up without being influenced to take hormones and influence you to cut off your body parts before your brain develops at 25. If they taught you correctly and you can read and research on your own, you could have figured it out and asked them questions. Common sense isn’t common. I see you didn’t learn critical thinking! Many trans people regret surgically changing their body parts later on in life and become suicidal.
Can you imagine being Christian and you teacher is telling you God doesn’t exist? No God? We are all atheists. Would you fall for that?
How many teachers nationwide have had sex with students or been arrested for other criminal crimes against children. Look it up. that is why your parents homeschooled you!
Sex changes are not important topics in school. Do whatever you want to your body after you are 25.
Remember we are going into The Great Reset. As it is happing, hospital supplies and pharmaceuticals are not available. Right now, they are medicine supply shortages. Can you imagine not getting hormones when there are none to be had? The trans people will turn into what? Without hormones a girl who cut off her breast could grow a beard!
Have you heard of the frozen tomatoe juice popsicles? Confused males put this up their anus and it melts so they can have a fake menstrual cycle and wear a kotex.
Your parents protected you and did not abuse you.
It sounds like you have an obsession with trans porn, please stop sexualizing us like this it’s extremely gross.
Thank you Ms Stimmel and anyone fighting today, to RESTORE sanity in our crazy mixed up sadly misled society!
Does ANYONE but me, SEE how much BS has been introduced into our childrens schools, since January 20th, 2021 ?
Those who are AWAKE and AWARE, Must continue speaking up! OUR WORLD IS GOING MAD; and we need every good person in the fight to restore sanity. Before its too late !
Your delusion is freaking scary. The world was going mad way before 2021. Like when there was slavery….priest and Boy Scout leaders molesting children …..our last president bringing out all the neo-nazi and letting them think it’s okay to spread their hate. Talk about awake and aware like it’s a bad thing.
Right? These are the same people who kept telling me to “wake up” and then complain about people being too “woke”
Forget the pronouns and go back to Miss and Mister!
Ask students,” What was their gender at birth?” Washington hospitals now ask for gender at birth when making an appointment. Gender at birth matters!…???
WA hospitals want to know your gender at birth when making a foot doctor appointment! If you don’t tell them, NO appointment!
Have three rest rooms for students. Boys, girls, and LBGTQ. That would solve all your problems and honor the LBGTQs. (The gender confused and parts missing students) Put a petition up for the LBGTQs in the gyms for dressing and showering. This gives the respect, privacy, and compassion.
Contact your legislators to ban Atrazine and endocrine interrupters like BPA in products. Our government has chemically castrated people and animals since 1957 by using Atrazine. Dr. Ax has an article about Atrazine.
What happened to teachers’ conferences or open houses to speak to the teachers? Emails are easy, to notify the parents on the sexual confusion the student is going through. Teachers keeping secrets from parents is intolerable.
Schools have become indoctrination institutions to take parental rights away. The most dangerous person in the US is the head of the teacher’s union. We have students flunking English, Math and Science. Teachers seem more focused on LBGTQ issues, indoctrinating confused minors to change sex and take hormones, pornographic gay sex books in libraries, exempting the tax paying parents whose property taxes pay for those schools, school libraries, and teacher’s wages.
Why would anyone want vote to be taxed for school levees when the teachers can’t teach the basics? Check your child’s school grade point average.
If parents don’t have rights, pull your children out of public schools. Home schooling and private schools are better choices, judging by the bad grades of a large number of students in Clark County. Schools get paid by attendance. Home school and bankrupt the schools. The school boards may change their tune.
Rumble: Ask Doctor Drew: Interview with Senator Ron Johnson
Around 30 minutes into telling of the investigative study done by congress, in Washinton DC, about covid 19 and the FDA… They mentioned the Teachers Union lobbied the FDA to do the masks mandates and the 6 feet apart without no scientific evidence it would work. Fauci said, masks don’t work, but the teacher’s union knew better. They got money for that, while reducing the student’s oxygen intake making them depressed and suicidal. I would call that child abuse!
Council woman Michelle Belcock said, ” There was no vaccine mandates in Clark County.” Students did not have to take the covid toxic jabs. Were the teachers recommending the toxic jabs to students? Why didn’t the Clark County Health Board and council tell the public and the school boards, no student has to take the covid jabs, because there are no mandates in Clark County on the covid jabs? Now many students have heart disease, vax injuries, or Died Suddenly. The county council knew this for quite a while and kept it secret, when Doctor Melneck kept recommending the jabs and boosters.
Wow
I’m not the one who’s confused here
Gender confused.
“Parts missing students”? These aren’t amputees, lady. You know trans kids don’t get their parts chipper chopped, right?
“Gender affirming care” is just hormone blockers when they hit puberty and letting kids wear what they want. Nothing permanent, no hacksaw required.
Even this old hillbilly knows that. (Sorry to hear about your foot doctor: can’t say I understand the issue, but you seem bothered.)
I don’t know why any of this is anyone’s business. Seems like a lot of reaction for teachers just being kind to kids. Now some kid feels silly and wants to go by “she” and gets sent to the principal’s office and the kid’s folk’s called.
If I called my granddaughters mom every time she pretended to be Spiderman or a snow plow, that poor woman wouldn’t get a minute of peace.
A kid wants to try out going by “they” and end up sent to a councilor, the principal, AND the parents get called? And we’re having multiple meetings about it? What on Earth…?
This is such a waste of time and resources. Kids say stupid stuff all the time and adding forty hurdles so someone calls a kid he or she 2 times a day messes with any kids who actually are experiencing real gender issues and is just annoying for everyone else- just call the kid what they want- who cares?
We used to let kids choose their nicknames- are we making Jacks, Kates, and Daves into federal cases too? Is “Tim” way too radical? Better send him to the funny farm, that boy is a TIMOTHY.
Heaven forbid this school admin runs into an Ashley or a Casey. Are they a boy or a girl? Oh no! I SAID THEY AGAIN! Send me to the principal!
Ridiculous. Dumb move, La Center. This is embarassing.
I don’t do pronouns. And neither does anyone that matters.
The first word in your comment is a pronoun
Gender Dysphoria is Mental Illness. Mental Illness is not a Gender.
This reality angers you does it not?
I don’t have gender dysphoria, that’s what transition is for
Yeah. A correct one.
I would just like to address the trans youth who are reading these comments: You are valid. You are loved. You are supported by more people than you know. I’m sorry that we as a society have failed to provide you a safe enviornment to learn and grow. Thank you for being here and for being you.
The Trevor Project Crisis and Suicide Prevention 1-866-488-7386
No such thing as ‘trans youth’. You and Lucy should start a Unicorn farm.
Denying our existence doesn’t make us stop existing, it just makes us grow up suicidal, which I assume is your real goal here
Stop being a twit. They were saying something nice. You got a “Grown Adult Fruitcake that Beats Up On Kids” Stand?
“Wackadoodles” as the kids say. I would buy a unicorn, my mule could use a tall friend. And those kids ARE loved as they are and want to be even if some mean old cuss is their daddy. Be a man and get right with God. Some of us are actual Christians, not this Baptist “hate everyone until the world burns” trite.
Tired of you old fools. Aren’t you tired of being this way?
I couldn’t keep my dogs and my kids names’ straight 30 years ago, I dont understand the dustup here. Dragging kids out of class cause they asked a question ticks me off. Passing rules and laws cause you’re uncomfortable and your little feelings are hurt- it’s weak and it’s annoying.
The behavior in these comments is outrageous. If any of you actually live here, I am ashamed of Clark County and I’m praying for you to get right. Didn’t a little girl get killed a year or two ago because of this hateful behavior?
Yes Nikki Kuhnhausen was murdered in Vancouver in 2019 for being trans. She was 17. A year before her murder she had also been shot several times and nearly died then.
Poor kid. Jesus.
Seems like half the problem isn’t even letting little boy Billy choose his pronouns so much as letting him know people are different and it’s bad to be hate-filled and mad for no reason.
Instead of showing that kid little teeny pronouns are scary by kicking anyone different out of class.
Shame there ain’t parents in this comment section or article interested in teaching their kids manners.
Don’t you understand that this is not about us?! These kids are dying! Using correct pronouns is life saving. It’s suicide prevention!
Deinstitutionalization was never For The People by The People. It was forced on our society no differently than the Obamacare Tax Scam was. We must rebuild our mental hospitals. Our liberals need their actual safe spaces back!
Institutionalizing people for “mental illness” is cruel and harmful. And what is considered “mental illness” is decided arbitrarily by whoever has the power.