Cusimano Apologizes, But Won't Resign
Board of Education member Colleen Cusimano admits she sometimes trips over her tongue, and regrets her ill-conceived analogy comparing merit class students to zoo animals, but she’s not resigning over it, as some have suggested she do.
At the end of a long day and evening of meetings, and in the midst of what promised to be a repetitive and cyclical argument regarding the issue of equal access to school bathrooms, Cusimano argued that bad-intentioned students would test the policy just to see if they could get away with it.
In making her case, an increasingly frustrated Cusimano, [pictured left,] compared merit classes to the “other side of the National Zoo,” prompting one teacher watching at home to grab his keys and drive to the Central Office building to demand an apology.
Cusimano said she gave a private apology and plans on making a public one at the June 14 board meeting. But she had overcrowded classrooms in mind, not students as wild animals, she said.
“It really has been taken out of context, but also terribly, poorly worded to not reflect what was going through my mind at the time,” Cusimano said of her May 24 comments.
The outspoken BOE member said that although she’s not proud of every word she’s said, she cannot guarantee she won’t make similar slips in the future. More critical to her than always making the right choice of words and phrases is that the BOE is the first board to develop its own policies, and engage parents and students in the discussion of those policies.
“I am proud of the precedent we have set, usually finding middle ground with nothing hidden from view. We are in a time when many factions want to pick up swords and shields and arm themselves with presumption,” Cusimano said. “There are some who think the worst possible thing is a poor choice of words, or someone being angry at them. I think the worst that can happen is that we fall to silence and pick our sides.”
Cusimano said she’s spent time in merit classes with her own kids, and that they are more crowded than the AP and Honors classes, and therefore present more challenges for students and staff. Dr. April Miller had previously discussed moving funds to help decrease class size, and Cusimano said she supported that discussion, “which did not advance.”
The discussion moved to the new policy for welcoming and affirming schools [for transgender and gender nonconforming students]. In response to the part of the discussion on staff being barred from asking questions of students about their gender status, Cusimano said she was attempting to imply, “badly,” that students don’t always do what they’re supposed to do, and “are often questioned and redirected at school.”
During the discussion, Cusimano said that schools are always “dealing with students pushing the buttons, pushing the envelope – when they want to do something illicit, they go to where teachers aren’t. We have years of discipline issues related to facilities.”
BOE Vice President Elizabeth Barrett countered with a question for Cusimano, “Colleen, do you want a coach saying to a student, ‘are you really a boy?’”
Cusimano told board members that she completely understood what the board is trying to provide – access provided with no questions asked, but was concerned that some would take advantage of the policy to stir up trouble.
But Barrett, [pictured right] who helped craft the new policy, wasn’t buying it. “You’re basically saying it’s ok to have some sort of detailed conversation … what teacher, staff member or school system employee would we ever empower to ask about body parts? Which is what this conversation comes down to. What you are saying, essentially, is what’s between your legs – that is the defacto question here,” Barrett said.
As Cusimano tried to explain her position, BOE member Michael Bunitsky appeared to see where the conversation was headed and attempted to put the brakes on.
“I have actually been in a high school classroom, in a merit level classroom, that is like the other side of the National Zoo. I mean, there are days ...,” Cusimano said. “Every single high school we have has a handful of kids at every school who say, ‘I am going to the girls’ room today and I dare you to ask me, I dare you to say something.’”
Bunitsky, [pictured left] a former teacher and retired administrator, interrupted with a few cautionary “heys,” but said he was not trying to censor Cusimano, but simply express his dislike for her characterization.
“It’s not that I had any idea that she was going anywhere [with her statements],” Bunitksy said in an email. “It is that I have limited patience with folks that don’t realize that all our students deserve to be respected. Each of them brings something unique to the classroom and really it’s the teachers’ job to not just teach the subject, but to find the thing that triggers that child.”
He said he “hates” when one group is targeted and that lately, the merit group is “the most ridiculed.” At that point, he said the discussion was getting “tiresome.”
“I stated the policy is about access and not behavior. And most of us recognize this was about gender identity, and that most kids will not switch their gender identity to go to a bathroom to cause trouble,” he said.
The Board of Education will vote on policy 443, Creating Welcoming and Affirming Schools for Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students on June 14. The BOE will also vote on redistricting issues surrounding Frederick city elementary schools. Both items are expected to draw big crowds.
