APS School Board Caucus - Voting Underway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s weird how secretive AGIA is about who they are.

I don't know that they are secretive, but if they are, I can certainly understand that they would want to keep a low profile to avoid having their kids bullied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I bet I'm one of the many democrats who are not familiar with it.

As a Democrat (capital D!) and a damned Boomer (just barely), I'm more than familiar with the way Republicans have for years been saying "Democrat" rather than "Democratic," and if you don't understand that getting a name or a word wrong on purpose is an expression of hostility, I don't know what to say to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see where Miranda put Democratic Party in quotes. Did she edit her post?

I don't see it either. Miranda must have edited the post.

[Anonymous]

She never put it in quotes. She said Democrat party instead of Democratic, which was undoubtedly a typo that people here are trying to turn into a wild conspiracy theory.

I really thought Arlington was smarter than this, but this SB caucus is bringing out the worst in people.

[Anonymous]

Considering that she is running for the Democratic nomination, this is a monumental mistake to make.

Both candidates are making too many mistakes, so what’s one more? 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Anonymous]

Really? It's right there. Third paragraph: "my values reflect those of the Democrat party." It's a totally irrelevant issue but definitely written that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Considering that she is running for the Democratic nomination, this is a monumental mistake to make.

Both candidates are making too many mistakes, so what’s one more? 🤷🏽‍♀️

+1.

ACDC must be spinning right now.

[Anonymous]

Democrat party? No Democrat would write that. Maybe a mistake. But a big one. For someone who is already highly suspiciously courting the Republican vote. Ick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone l know who support Mary are total psychos. Their kids are a mess. They were fear mongering during the pandemic. They have not been at all concerned about all the learning loss. I think any reasonable person would vote Miranda to fix this dumpster called APS.

On the other hand, you sound perfectly reasonable. /s

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Miranda Turner just started a thread on AEM to address all of the rumor mongering and invite people to contact her if they have questions or issues they would like to discuss. If she’s willing to jump into that lions den, she definitely has the flame-retardant underpants necessary to deal with Arlington parents.

Oh man. In that post, when explaining that she’s a life-long Democrat, she says her views reflect those of the “Democrat party.” According to Wikipedia, this is an epithet to describe the Democratic Party that is used disparagingly by Republicans. It’s literally the way Republicans mock the Democratic Party. If she was trying to persuade her readers that she’s a democrat, that probably wasn’t the way to do it.

Republicans who do that don't tend to have BLM signs in their front yard, FWIW. They don't tend to be open supporters of the NAACP. They don't tend to be donors to the Democratic Party (yes, there are public records to substantiate that). Enough with the dirty politics.

Im not engaging in “dirty politics.” I’m laughing at the irony of using a disparaging term for the Democratic Party to convince voters that you are a democrat. It was funny, or at least I thought it was.

It looks like she edited the quotations in AEM, unless I'm missing it. She had time to do that, but not to answer whether she supports trans, gender nonconforming and nonbinary youth.

This is also a stupid gotcha. It's not up to the board members to come up with ideas for how to implement and enforce policies. They are there to review, approve and hold accountable. It sure seems like Mary Kadera would be happier with a job in the APS administration making policies and plans instead of being on the board approving them.

It'a not a gotcha. SB candidates in the past have been asked these questions. Their responses do inform citizens in how they will vote. I personally cannot cast a ballot for a candidate that thinks of some children as less than.

Really, all she has to do is answer the question.It's not that hard. Or is it?

I’m not on AEM, what is being asked by AGIA of both candidates?

Arlington Gender Identity Allies reached out this weekend to both school board candidates to ask this question:
How will you ensure that transgender, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming students feel seen and welcome in Arlington Public Schools, particularly in light of new Virginia laws requiring affirming policies in schools in the next school year and in light of actions by some individuals and groups to try to exclude these students from participating fully in their school communities?
Mary Kadera's reply is posted here, but there has been no response from Miranda Turner.

That was posted a lot earlier today. Given the flak she's receiving on AEM and here for not responding, you'd think she'd at least post a perfunctory response confirming support and offering a more robust answer later. But crickets and those crickets say it all.

I’m surprised she hasn’t given ANY sort of generic response by now. When did AGIA first ask? Almost a week?

The “Democrat party” thing could just be a typo. Meh.

[Anonymous]

Good grief. I used to be a republican (raised evangelical), and I've never heard the "Democrat" thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. I used to be a republican (raised evangelical), and I've never heard the "Democrat" thing.

Most of us have not heard of it. If it was actually a thing no one would have to dig up a random Wikipedia page to prove that it’s an insult. We would all know.

[Anonymous]

She's a Democrat, not a Republican. It was a mistake, nothing more. This is so stupid. Figure out if you like her positions. If not, fine, then vote for someone else. Or not. But this is silly.

[Anonymous]

Miranda's answer to the AGIA question. Seems like a barebones recitation of the existing policy and a mealy-mouthed statement of support "and I support it."

Good morning, and please accept my apologies for the delayed response. There was absolutely no intent on my part to discount your concerns or otherwise suggest that this isn’t an important issue. Given the hectic nature of voting week currently underway, I appreciate your patience and the opportunity to respond. APS recently went through a process of examining application of the Equal Educational Opportunities/Nondiscrimination policy to transgender students in school. The resulting Policy Implementation Procedure (PIP) and draft guidance addresses issues like school bathrooms, locker rooms, field trips, and preferred name/pronouns, and I support it. It provides a default of permitting students to access facilities and activities based on their gender identity and sets out a nondiscriminatory approach where any student has access to and the right to request certain accommodations. Both of these are important to the framing of the issue to avoid singling out gender-nonconforming students, vs. the better approach of broadly applicable policies and practices. It looks like APS hasn’t yet published final guidance, which it should proceed to do, and should monitor implementation to make sure the rights and practices described in the PIP are actually being carried out at the school level in a way that respects student identities and rights. I’d also suggest final guidance incorporates more explicit reference to the policy on bullying and harassment prevention, an element of making sure our transgender and gender nonconforming students feel safe and supported in school.

[Anonymous]

Please stop all of this bullying of the Turner campaign. She made a typo and has now responded to all the questions you've asked. This is so silly. She's the far more qualified candidate and is exactly the kind of Dem that APS needs. Get over yourselves.