LAKEVILLE, Minn. (WCCO) – A school board in Minnesota has voted to remove posters with the a Black Lives Matter message from classrooms.
The Lakeville Public School District superintendent is defying that vote, for now, saying they’ll stay up until new posters are ready.
For 45 years, Jill Lawrence has been a fixture in Lakeville.
“We moved out here to raise our family in a small town,” Lawrence said. “There was 11,000 people and now I know it’s in excess of 70,000.”
During that time, Lawrence says the four-year debate over the district’s inclusive poster series, specifically regarding the Black Lives Matter messaging, has stood out.
“In my opinion, I haven’t seen anything as contentious as this,” Lawrence remarked.
“I think that saying Black Lives Matter has made some people feel less than, but what they don’t understand is that Black people have always been made to feel less than,” Lawrence added.
In a letter to parents on Wednesday morning, Lakeville Public School District superintendent Michael Baumann wrote, “it is clear there is a deep need for our students to know that we all belong.”
Baumann promised a new, “refined” poster series; one that “both promotes inclusivity and academic excellence.”
In that writing, Baumann also said the posters will stay up for now.
“I actually was very pleased with the communication,” Carrie Popp, president of the Education Minnesota Union, said. “The fact that he is saying that we can keep the posters up for right now until it’s actually fully decided.”
Despite the divisiveness displayed in public meetings, Popp says it’s had no impact on the student learning environment.
“We want to include everyone and we want marginalized groups to see that they’re recognized in our schools,” Popp added.
Lawrence says she wishes the school board would focus less on signage and more on supporting its students and teachers.
“We need to come together as a community because divided we will fail,” Lawrence said.
A federal court is slated to decide on the issue on Feb. 10.
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