12/11/2020
“Burlington Area School Board meeting ended Monday night with chanting, arguments, School Board members walking away and a police presence.
The issue at hand was a proposal that BASD adopt an anti-racism policy and curriculum, which advocates have demanded but others in the community have opposed and the School Board has not adopted. Such polices have been internally discussed since March.
The demands have been made after numerous allegations of racism in Burlington schools, with critics saying the school district has done little to discourage such behavior. Several of the young people who spoke Monday said that, while attending Burlington schools, they were called out for their race, on the receiving end of racial slurs, had been spit on and were physically hurt because of their race.
One mother of a current college student who attended Burlington schools told the School Board "Your silence and inaction speaks volumes, and the world is watching you now," noting that the way Burlington schools have dealt with race has received national media coverage while the School Board has not taken action on long-discussed anti-racism policies.”
A Burlington Area School Board meeting ended Monday night with chanting, arguments, School Board members walking away and a police presence.