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.”