Greeley/Evans School District 6 Court of Appeals
Appeals hearing notice for book review committee's recommendation
From: Concerned Citizen <ConcernedWeldCitizen@protonmail.com>
Date: On Monday, April 10th, 2023 at 10:33 AM
Subject: Greeley/Evans District 6 Court of Appeals
Greeley/Evans School District 6 Board of Education & Superintendent Deirdre Pilch,
I am writing to express concern about the legal language used to communicate with the public regarding the book complaint process. The public is being handled as if we're criminal defendants in a court of law. This makes the process feel very adversarial.
You engage the community, kindly, when you are asking to siphon money from the property owners via taxation theft. How quickly thereafter you forget to pretend you work for the public. How quickly the sheep's clothing comes off. How quickly you forget to be nice. You may want to reevaluate your approach.
See attachment below, or rather, your notice of demands to community members who have appealed the D6 book review committee's recommendation, and Superintendent Deirdre Pilch's decision to knowingly expose other people's children, in graphic detail, to sexual crimes against animals and humans.
Here's my favorite part of the notice...
So, there is a reason children shouldn't be exposed to this content? Could it be harmful to them? What is the risk posed to them? A mom in a neighboring district gives a great reason in only 2 sentences.
I question the morality and intent of the people on this book review committee who've deemed Beloved by Toni Morrison, to be "educationally suitable" for children.
I also question the morality and intent of any adult that sides with them. In fact, I would like to be able to check all of the book review committee member's names against our state's registered sex offender list. Their names, however, will not be revealed to the public, according to President Michael Mathews, in an e-mail where he left the remaining questions unanswered.
This is a simple matter of adults in our community trying to prevent children from being exposed to inappropriate, pornographic materials being made available to them in their schools. This effort is met with constant resistance from the very people who ask us to entrust them with our children. Roadblocks are erected in the complaint process, and sudden policy changes are made in the board's favor, as necessary. And then there is the blatant contempt for anyone who questions it.
Why do you fight so hard against the community who is trying to protect children?
At the board of education meeting on December 12th, 2022, there were 175 complaints filed for Beloved by Toni Morrison, and over 5,000 complaints delivered in total. Superintendent Deirdre Pilch called these complaints "trash".
A book review committee was formed. They have read Beloved, and have not only deemed it "educationally suitable" for high school students, they also maintain that it should remain in our K-8 library, available to children 11 and up, informing parents only if & after their child has checked out the book.
Superintendent Deirdre Pilch upheld this decision, despite having the authority to overrule it. What might be her motivation?
When the public appeals to the Board of Education, we're sent legally worded communications which set forth terms & conditions along with a hearing date & time. We’re told that 5 minutes will be allotted for discussion of our appeal. Further, we must be prepared to have our time monopolized by board member’s questions “specific to the appeal”, and not the issue at hand – children are being exposed to sex crimes at school!
Of course, we wouldn’t have to go through this silly appeals process at all if Ms. Pilch would have used her authority to do what was right for children.
I mean, Pilch did say that reading “pornographic material” at the school board meeting was not okay. So why did she agree with the book review committee that it was okay for students themselves to read it? Why is she knowingly, and intentionally, exposing our children to “pornographic material”.
But, the buck stops here, with you, the Board of Education. It should be an easy decision for you to vote not to expose children to pornography, if you're worth your salt.
After this evening’s appeals hearing, it will be apparent to the community, who is trying to protect our children, and who is trying to give them porn. I have copied local law enforcement on this email, as the latter is a criminal offense. It’s important that they be informed of the risk posed to children in our community by persons in a position of trust.
The public isn't your enemy, or a defendant in a legal proceeding. This book review process should be a collaborative effort between the school district and the community, to protect children. Please consider having a public relations employee draft your letters to the public, instead of your in-house legal counsel.
Thank you.
Sent to: Taylor Sullivan D6 BOE <tsullivan2@greeleyschools.org>, Rob Norwood D6 BOE <rnorwood@greeleyschools.org>, Terri Pappas D6 BOE <tpappas1@greeleyschools.org>, Deirdre Pilch D6 Superintendent <dpilch@greeleyschools.org>, Michael Mathews D6 BOE <mmathews@greeleyschools.org>, Natalie Mash D6 BOE <nmash@greeleyschools.org>, Kyle Bentley D6 BOE <kbentley@greeleyschools.org>, Brenda Campos-Spitze D6 BOE, a Family Physician @ Sunrise Clinic <bspitze@greeleyschools.org>, John Gates D6 Security <jgates1@greeleyschools.org>, D6 BOE Security & Greeley PD School Resource Officer -Wade Corliss <wcorliss@greeleyschools.org>
CC: Weld County Commissioners <AskTheCommissioners@weldgov.com>, Sheriff Steve Reams <sreams@weldgov.com>, Weld County District Attorney Michael J. Rourke <weldda@weldgov.com>, Weld County Crime Tips <crimetips@co.weld.co.us>, County Council <countycouncil@weldgov.com>, Weld County Deputy Lisa Carpenter - Sex Offenses <lcarpenter@weldgov.com>
Greeley City Coucil: Johnny Olson <johnny.olson@greeleygov.com>, Tommy Butler <tommy.butler@greeleygov.com>, Brett Payton <brett.payton@greeleygov.com>, Dale Hall <dale.hall@greeleygov.com>, Deb Deboutez <deb.deboutez@greeleygov.com>, Ed Clark <ed.clark@greeleygov.com>, Greeley City Clerk <cityclerk@greeleygov.com>, Mayor John Gates - <john.gates@greeleygov.com>