School Cancels Talk By Gay-Lesbian Youth Group

BURLINGTON, VERMONT - Parents of Williston Central School students soon will receive a letter from Principal Walter Nardelli explaining why he called off an anti-bullying presentation by the Outright Vermont gay-lesbian youth group earlier this week.
Morning workshops planned for groups of seventh- and eighth-graders were abruptly canceled Thursday after some of the parents who attended a pre-workshop parent orientation with Outright representatives raised objections.
Nardelli said the concerns varied: Some parents felt their children were too young to be exposed to a discussion that would involve sexual orientation; others questioned whether Outright was an appropriate group to bring to the school.
"It was obvious to me that there was confusion about the breadth and range of the topic and how it was going to be discussed," Nardelli said. "There was definitely some confusion in people's mind of, 'What are you going to talk about?'"
It's unclear whether Outright will be invited back.
Nardelli said the issue will be discussed in a school committee and also at a School Board meeting so that the full community can weigh in on the best way to educate students about bullying and harassment. Friday he did not have a date for the meeting with the School Board.
The Outright workshops were to be part of a Safe and Supportive Schools speaker series. Parents were notified about the Outright talks in a mailing and told that they could opt not to have their children attend. Parents of about 20 out of 260 students opted not to allow their children to participate, Nardelli said.
All parents were invited to Thursday's orientation, which was designed to allow them to learn more about the speaker series and the Outright talk.
Williston father of four Chris Geffken was among the parents at the meeting. He objected to the Outright talk on two grounds: Parents should have been allowed to participate in the decision to invite the group, not simply told in a letter that the visit was scheduled, Geffken said.
And he disagrees with Outright's mission on religious grounds. "They are promoting a lifestyle that is against our belief system and our faith," said Geffken, who is Roman Catholic.
He praised Nardelli's decision to cancel. "It was a very brave decision that Walter Nardelli made that morning."
The session with parents went on for more than an hour and was at times emotional, Nardelli said. When it seemed that the differences over the workshop were not being resolved, Nardelli decided that the student workshops should be put on hold to allow for more community input.
"We couldn't narrow it down to a point where we felt comfortable moving forward," Nardelli said.
He said most of the comments he'd received Friday were critical of his decision to pull the event. He expressed regret about calling off the workshops on short notice and apologized to Outright Co-executive Director Kate Jerman and Outright volunteer Connor McFadden, a Burlington 17-year-old who is gay. Both attended the talk with parents Thursday and said later that they were surprised and disappointed when their workshops were canceled.
"I apologize to the speakers because this is not the way you want these things to happen," Nardelli said. "It's embarrassing for the school community."
from The Burlington Free Press